Advocating Green Business In San Francisco

I am happy and excited to be here today. The proposed Green Business Program truly reflects all that is great about the City and County of San Francisco. It's about a cleaner, healthier City...reducing waste, increasing recycling...and creating new best practices not just for City Government but for its residents and businesses as well.

Speaking of business, I serve on the SF Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and we are very enthusiastic about green business development. In fact, we are organizing our first green business event to be held in just a few months. We as a Chamber understand the incredible business opportunities that can be created here as our local companies develop new green technologies and products for potentially worldwide markets.

In my own business, I am proud to be San Francisco's first certified green office supply business. It was a wonderful process¸with advice and later inspections by truly remarkable and dedicated people from the Department of the Environment, Public Health and the PUC. Okay, I admit I was a little fussy about having to trade out a regular toilet for a low flow toilet but I did it.

I've been working full time in my business for 25 years and I have never been more enthusiastic than I am right now. I've had the honor to serve as a environmental regulator for the past seven years and today I get to "practice what I preach" in my own business. Don't get me wrong...these are challenging times for my small retail business...yet I feel energized in my quest to "green" the office products industry...making "green" a no brainer...like how I switched all the non-recycled copier paper on my shelves with 30% post consumer...I've "greened" them and they don't even know it...that's fun!

I feel strongly that it is in the retail environment where the best environmental progress can be made. Very much like our local garbage company working with the SFDOE has made it easy for us to recycled almost 70% of the waste stream, we should strive to get green products into the hands of the everyday consumer.

Okay, I'm getting a little ahead of myself...so I will conclude by saying THANK YOU San Francisco for the green business ordinance...you have my enthusiastic support!