Ozarks GreenScore helps businesses track sustainability

Area businesses looking to quantitatively assess their environmental sustainability will soon have a free resource in Ozarks GreenScore - a voluntary program launching Sept. 1 that seeks to improve energy efficiency and reduce waste in the workplace.

The program is a joint venture of the Partnership for Sustainability, the Ozarks Center for Sustainable Solutions at Drury University, Drury Students in Free Enterprise and Choose Environmental Excellence, an environmental education program led by the city of Springfield and Greene County.

Ozarks GreenScore was conceived by OCSS Program Manager Doug Neidigh and Drury SIFE Director Josh Jones as a way for local businesses to better evaluate their sustainability levels and receive recognition for hitting benchmarks. Neidigh and Jones developed a draft scorecard that businesses can use to rate themselves on key sustainability criteria and best management practices.

Jones said Ozarks GreenScore goes one step further than the sustainability pledge available to businesses through the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce. Businesses that take the chamber pledge agree to make improvements to their operations when feasible and to collaborate with the Partnership for Sustainability, a nonprofit organization consisting of 13 member-partners including City Utilities, Springfield Public Schools, the city's two major health systems and its four largest universities. More than 100 businesses have signed the chamber's pledge.

"It was a great concept at the time to really promote sustainability within businesses, but what it really lacked was any ability to quantify what exactly it was the businesses were doing," Jones said. "There's really no way to differentiate a business that's really taking a lead ... from those that were just pledging to sustainability in name only. I still think a lot of businesses don't understand what it means to be sustainable."

Jones and Neidigh took the scorecard concept to Mary Norman, who at the time was administrative coordinator for Partnership for Sustainability, and Choose Environmental Excellence coordinator Barbara Lucks; both groups signed on.

Neidigh said the Ozarks GreenScore worksheet was designed for general office users as well as manufacturing, construction, hospitality and other sectors. A cross-section of 15 area businesses and nonprofit organizations already has participated in an Ozarks GreenScore pilot program, and several have provided valuable feedback, Jones said.

"I think it was an eye-opening experience for them to address sustainability in a more systematic approach," he added.

In September, businesses will be able to download the worksheet from www.ozarksgreenscore.com. Participants are advised to score themselves on policies and procedures already in place and to implement suggested strategies, wherever possible. Completed worksheets are then faxed to Neidigh, who schedules a follow-up on-site assessment. The final step is a written report that verifies the company's score and spells out recommendations for future improvements. Based on their performance, businesses will receive a bronze, silver or gold designation, and a corresponding window decal.

Neidigh and Choose Environmental Excellence coordinator Barbara Lucks conducted several of the site visits for pilot program participants, including the Discovery Center and Springfield Public Schools.

The school district's sustainability and energy manager, Greg Pelkey, said he scored Holland Elementary School because the school is one of three that has received a grant to establish green teams and sustainable initiatives. The results of the unscored dry run weren't unexpected, he said, pointing to policy gaps and behavioral shifts as potential areas for improvement.

"The GreenScore is another tool in the bag, and the more tools we have, I think the better we'll be," Pelkey said. "For a medium to smaller-size business, I think it's going to be a great tool."

Discovery Center CEO Emily Fox said Ozarks GreenScore will be formally introduced to the business community Oct. 1 at the chamber's 2009 Business Expo at the Springfield Expo Center, 635 St. Louis St. She said business owners who choose to participate in the free program will likely achieve more than a shift toward sustainability.

"They will hopefully see an effect on their bottom line," said Fox, who recently assumed leadership of the Partnership for Sustainability after the board eliminated Norman's full-time position earlier this year. "I think it will be a good tool for their business plan."