Green Business Certification Program
Clean Bay Business Program
Palo Alto's Regional Water Quality Control Plant created a Clean Bay Businesses Program several years ago. Recipients are recognized by the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant for the special efforts they have made to protect local creeks and San Francisco Bay from pollution. Vehicle service facilities and car washes, automobile parts stores, and pharmacies are all eligible to become Clean Bay Businesses. Independent hardware stores and garden centers are recognized for their participation in the regional Our Water, Our World promotion of less-toxic pest management approaches.
Business Environmental Awards
The Business Environmental Awards is a regional recognition for local business and industry sustainability efforts. For more information about this program, check out Business Environmental Awards.
Homeowners/Residents
In this section we will present ideas and suggestions that can help you and our sustainability efforts. Together we can make a difference.
- Energy conservation? Visit our Utilities Department's web site for more information. In fact, visit the Utilities PV-Partners section to see case studies in your neigborhood!
- Recycling? Visit our Recycling Program's web site for information.
Businesses
In this section we will present ideas and suggestions that can help you as a business owner/operator and our sustainability efforts. Together we can make a difference.
We would also like to showcase local businesses that are actively pursuing sustainable practices. If you would like to be recognized for your efforts please let us know by sending a description of your business activities and include how your practices relate to sustainability.
Industry
In this section we hope to present ideas and suggestions from others that can help you and our sustainability efforts. We also want to let you know of industries in our community that are involved in this globally important effort. Together we can make a difference.
Palo Alto industries have taken a leadership role in developing corporate sustainability programs. Here are some that have incorporated sustainability concepts into their organizations.
- Agilent Technologies, headquarters are in Palo Alto. From their 2002 Environment and Social Responsibility Report:
Agilent's purpose is to revolutionize the way people live and work through technology. We believe that the application of our insight, knowledge and expertise helps create products and services that improve lives. These range from providing technology used in accelerating fuel cell development to helping researchers speed up the diagnosis and treatment of genetically related diseases.
We strive to have a positive effect upon the society in which we live and work and the environment that surrounds us. Our citizenship objective is to be an economic, intellectual and social asset to each nation and community in which we operate."
Learn more about Agilent Technologies sustainability program in the 2002 Environment and Social Responsibility Report
- Genencor International, Inc. headquarters are located in Palo Alto. Their sustainability policy is:
Using our expertise in modern biotechnology, Genencor seeks to become a leader in sustainability. We will strive to emulate nature’s elegance, respecting the interrelationships of living organisms and making the most of the resources we use. Through innovation and collaboration we will protect the environment and promote the well-being of our employees and the world community.
Learn more about Genencor's sustainability program in the Second Annual Corporate Sustainability Report on February 2003
- Hewlett Packard Company headquarters are located in Palo Alto. HP's environmental policy is:
HP is committed to providing customers with inventive, high quality products and services that are environmentally sound and to conduct our operations in an environmentally responsible manner. That commitment continues to be one of our guiding principles that are deeply ingrained in our values. It is from this history and these values that HP has become a leader in delivery of environmentally sustainable solutions for the common good.
HP meets this commitment with a comprehensive environmental policy, strict environmental management of our operations and worldwide environmental programs and services.
- Roche Palo Alto headquarters are located in Palo Alto. Roche's sustainability policy is:
Roche is deeply committed to sustainability through all of its worldwide sites but particularly in Palo Alto, where we support a range of activities and programs including energy reduction, water conservation, environmental restoration, and zero waste, together with other supportive community programs.
Roche, with global headquarters in Basel, Switzerland, has a vibrant campus in Palo Alto where 1,000 people work on the discovery and early clinical development of medicines to treat serious diseases.
Roche subscribes to the principle of sustainable development as the basis for successful, forward-looking business activities. Roche accepts the definition of the Brundtland Report, published in 1986, that development is sustainable if it 'meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs'. Roche is conscious of the dynamic interdependence of economic, social and environmental interests and seeks to reconcile them in its daily business activities.
