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By Dawn Klavon
This week, Keep Prince William Beautiful (KPWB) will launch the Prince William County Green Business Council (PWCGBC), according to KPWB Executive Director Rico Fleshman. The new council’s mission is to engage businesses throughout Prince William County with local government agencies, peers, and environmental organizations to decrease litter in the county and increase business recycling up to 50% within two years.
“We serve as a conduit for the county and all things environmental sustainability,” said Fleshman. “It made sense to create an organization where we have kind of this critical mass of businesses that can join and then we can communicate with them.”
The PWCGBC will inform and educate members on sustainability best-practices resulting in environmental responsibility and locally informed community action. Member companies will be tasked with the work of environmental sustainability at their local organizational level and in our communities with the ultimate goals of reducing litter waste and increasing business recycling in Prince William County.
Area businesses are joining the Green Business Council’s efforts to become more environmentally responsible. Woodbridge-based OmniRide, for example, offers a suite of services, be that local or commuter bus, carpool, vanpool, and coming soon, microtransit, that are all environmentally beneficial ways of getting around by reducing Single Occupant Vehicle trips.
“OmniRide is proud to be one of the founding members of the Green Business Council,” said OmniRide Chief Development Officer Joe Stainsby. “We are excited to see what the future brings for the Green Business Council and proud that we were able to put our best foot forward and be part of it from the beginning.”
In an effort to make the new Green Business Council thrive, the following programs and services will be promoted:
Conferences– Quarterly conference events with speakers and education sessions allow members to leverage best-practices from environmental professionals, PWC leadership and peer organizations to implement actionable business plans and strengthen community stewardship by supporting volunteer opportunities.
Resources– Through networking events, our website, and conferences, PWCGBC provides its members with high-quality professional resources including an environmental audit toolkit, local provider discounts on goods and services, best practices, grant opportunities, news across the field, and more.
Professional Development– PWCGBC offers networking, strategic convening of environmental leaders, professional education seminars and the Environmental Professional (EP) certificate training course.
Innovation– PWCGBC is committed to bringing new voices, ideas, and innovation to the field and to broadening the reach and impact of environmental sustainability through our programs and services.
“This is an exciting and much-needed development at this critical juncture in plotting our county’s sustainable future,” said Occoquan District Supervisor Kenny A. Boddye.
KPWB aims to fight for a more beautiful Prince William through litter removal and prevention, community beautification, and environmental education. The organization hopes to engage community members through outreach and education on environmental stewardship and sustainability, excite community members by developing within our neighbors and friends a sense of pride in their community, and empower community members to take action to keep Prince William County clean and beautiful.
“We want our companies to be active stewards in our environmental efforts,” Fleshman said.
You can find more information on the Council here: pwcgbc.org.
