The City of Lexington’s Green Check program recently honored nine new certified members. Honorees included: Most Valuable Pets (Silver), EARTHeim Landscape Design Studio (Silver), Bluegrass Landscapes (Silver), West Sixth Brewing (Bronze), GRW (Bronze), Carson’s Food & Drink (Bronze), Downtown Lexington Partnership (Member), Clark Law Office (Member), and Barnhill Chimney (Member). The program recognizes businesses for their green initiatives and helps them expand their sustainability efforts.

Becoming a Green Check Member business begins with a personal consultation and completion of the Green Check Sustainability Scorecard. The Sustainability Scorecard caters to organizations across a variety of sectors, including restaurants, non-profit organizations, retail, and manufacturers. 

Based on their baseline sustainability score, the business or organization is awarded Gold, Silver, Bronze, or Member designation. Although the certification is valid for three years, member organizations are encouraged to pursue higher tiers through continued participation and achievement.

These nine businesses all demonstrate a commitment to increased sustainability within their facilities and operations. Examples initiatives from the businesses include installation of rain gardens, upgrades to energy efficient lighting, office compost programs and promotion of alternative transportation. Beyond these high-impact features, there are lots of actions individual team members can take to improve sustainability in the workplace.

After three years, businesses who wish to renew their certification go through the recertification process. The 2016 pilot Green Check businesses were up for recertification this year. All five businesses moved up in membership level. They are as follows: Lexmark (Gold), Bullhorn (Gold), Good Foods Co-op (Silver), RossTarrant Architects (Silver), and Lexington Habitat for Humanity (Silver). 

Green Check is a program of the City of Lexington, managed by Bluegrass Greensource. For more information, including how to become Green Check Certified, please visit www.LexingtonKy.com/GreenCheck.