[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 4615-4616]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            RECOGNIZING THE BAY AREA GREEN BUSINESS PROGRAM

 Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I take this opportunity to 
recognize the 10th anniversary of the Bay Area Green Business Program 
in Contra Costa County, the Contra Costa Green Business Program.
  Founded in 1998, the Contra Costa Green Business Program was one of 
the first green business programs to be established in the nine-county 
Bay area region. Composed of a partnership between local, regional, 
State, and Federal Government agencies and utilities, the Bay Area's 
Green Business Programs help local businesses throughout the Bay area 
proactively conserve resources, prevent pollution, and minimize waste.
  Californians have always led the way in fighting for a clean 
environment. I applaud the Contra Costa Green Business Program for 
strengthening and

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sustaining the quality of the environment in the county through a 
collaborative partnership of public and private organizations that 
encourages, enables, and recognizes businesses taking action to prevent 
pollution and conserve resources.
  Breaking with the tradition of environmental initiatives targeting 
big businesses, the Contra Costa Green Business Program offers small- 
to medium-sized businesses a complete environmental guide, scaled to 
their operations, for conserving energy and water, reducing waste, 
preventing pollution, and complying with environmental regulations. It 
also certifies and recognizes businesses of all types for meeting these 
rigorous environmental standards.
  The Contra Costa Green Business Program has certified over 300 
businesses throughout the county in the last 10 years. I commend the 
program's dedicated staff and volunteers who work diligently to show 
local businesses how they can be both green and profitable at the same 
time. By recommending a wide range of measures that help lessen 
greenhouse gas emissions and conserve resources, the Contra Costa Green 
Business Program is helping smaller businesses protect the climate in 
very meaningful ways.
  I congratulate the Contra Costa Green Business Program for its 
dedicated work on this special occasion, and I send my best wishes for 
many future successes over the next 10 years.

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