That said, why not have both? Consumers love organics and they're also pretty darn keen on green practices. Mixing these two awesome attributes up can help you increase business success, gain new savvy eco-customers and you'll be doing something amazing for this planet as well.
First read Green Practices for Organic Businesses to cover the basics. Then, dig deeper into the world of eco-business with the resources below - all of which will help make greening your business practices much easier.
1. Green Business Network
Image courtesy Green America
In general, Green America's Green Business site offers business tips and tricks, networks, resources, and technical assistance for sustainable industries. Membership in Green America includes a listing in their fabulous, well read and well loved National Green Pages, a publication that will help connect your business with eager-green consumers.
Specifically, as a business, you'll want to connect with The Green Business Network™, a program of Green America. This eco-savvy business network is comprised of 5,000 businesses and the tools offered by the network can help succeed in today's competitive green marketplace.
You can browse the Green Business Network for tips and advice free of charge. However, if you join the network officially, you gain access to many other cool perks, some of which are shown below.
5 Super Organization Perks
- Gain instant access to millions of green consumers.
- Earn Green America's trusted Green Business Certification.
- Become eligible for Green America's business awards.
- Get exhibitor access at Green Festivals® - a festival that brings in over 170,000 visitors annually in five cities.
- Gain access to a wide range of tools and supports you need to develop and deepen your sustainability practices.
2. Alternative Farming Systems Information Center
Image courtesy USDA
As a NOP certified farm or as a farm that's on its way to organic certification, one of the best resources to check out is the Alternative Farming Systems Information Center (AFSIC), a subsection of the USDA that specializes in locating resources about sustainable food systems and practices. Their focus is driven by a goal of making sure that those working in agriculture are able to maintain a sustainable present and future.
Mainly, AFSIC specializes in library services related to the various aspects of alternative (sustainable) agriculture and their vast selection of resources are a big help for organic farmers looking to go green. See some of the perks of this organization below.
5 Super Organization Perks
- Explore a slew of alternative farming resources on just about every topic you can imagine.
- Easy access to awesome publications, including bibliographies, resource guides, directories and databases in print and/or CD ROM format.
- Get a free brochure on sustainable agriculture.
- Locate directory links to online searchable scientific databases that pertain to sustainable/alternative agriculture.
- Watch cool current and historical featured videos from both the Alternative Farming Systems Information Center and others sources that explore sustainable, organic, natural or alternative views of agriculture.
3. Green Restaurant Association
Image courtesy of Green Restaurant Association
The Green Restaurant Association (GRA) is an excellent national non-profit organization that supports restaurants interested in sustainability. GRA provides plenty of easy and cost-effective ideas for restaurants, manufacturers and distributors who want to green their restaurant business.
GRA aims to provide convenient and cost-effective tools that can help folks in the organic restaurant industry reduce practices that harm the environment, while increasing useful practices that protect our planet.
GRA offers support and certification for restaurants and also offers support for distributors attempting to green their products. Oh, and just in case you're nervous because going green sounds like too much work - don't be. GRA's goal is to make the green transition as smooth and stress-free as possible. Learn more about GRA benefits below.
5 Super Organization Perks
- Get noticed by both green-loving consumers and the media.
- Cut costs and save yourself some time and energy as well. GRA sorts out the hard stuff, so you can relax.
- Research has shown that going green can improve restaurant staff productivity and morale
- GRA helps keep you current on environmental legislation aimed at restaurants.
- GRA consultant services offer detailed solutions to help you reach your eco-goals
4. Green Retail Decisions
Image courtesy of Green Retail Decisions
As anyone involved in organic or green retail knows, it's very hard to find decent resources related to industry news, trends, statistics and so fourth. It's sad, but true that organic and eco-retail is an often ignored sector. Not at Green Retail Decisions though. At this helpful site, retail is all that matters.
The main goal of Green Retail Decisions is to, "Help improve the profitability of retailers and their suppliers by providing actionable information and insights on best practices in sustainable retail and supply chain program development, marketing and implementation."
While the organization notes that their primary readers are executives at retail companies, anyone interested in developing and implementing more sustainable retail programs will find Green Retail Decisions utterly useful. Check out the perks below.
5 Super Organization Perks
- Up-to-date news about what's fresh in green retail - headlines galore!
- Spotlight features that take an in-depth look at an important topic of interest or a major retailer. This area of the site is minimal, but hopefully will keep updating, because it's a great idea.
- Access a killer research center focused on eco-retailing.
- Check out a nice green retail glossary and connect with supporting organizations.
- Become a full-fledged member of Green Retail Decisions and gain access to exclusive "Members Only" content and more. Oh yes, and membership is 100% FREE.
5. National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture
Image courtesy of National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture
The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) acts as the voice for sustainable agriculture in the federal policy arena. NSAC partners with U.S. grassroot farms, organics, planet conservation and rural organizations to help advocate for federal policies and programs that support sustainable agriculture.
NSAC member groups are very useful for organic growers looking to go green, as their goals include supporting small and mid-size family farms while protecting natural resources and promoting healthy rural communities. See some organization perks below.
5 Super Organization Perks
- Sign up for action alerts and stay informed on important eco-agriculture issues.
- Read the helpful Advocacy Toolkit and learn awesome skills, like how to write an effective good op-ed piece.
- Increase visibility of your farm by taking part in some of NSAC's media and public relations actions.
- Learn about the issues via reports by NSAC staff who engage in advocacy work with legislators and administrative agencies in Washington, DC.
- Download great sustainable agriculture publications.
6. Rodale Institute
Image courtesy of Rodale Institute
Rodale Institute is nonprofit pioneer in the field of organic farming. The organization offers information related to organic agriculture best practices, farmer advocacy, certification policy and more. Rodale Institute also conducts organic research via their innovative Farming Systems Trial - the longest-running U.S. study comparing organic and conventional agriculture.
When it comes to running a farm in a sustainable manner, Rodale is at the top of their game. With plenty of green ideas, research and news, Rodale offers any organic grower or producer excellent ways to go green and stay green.
5 Super Organization Perks
- Super intense resources on how farming, done right can help halt global warming, plus practical ideas that can help you protect the planet.
- Farmer-to-farmer resources, articles and personal grower stories that explain how you can keep organic farming profitable and sustainable.
- Plenty of farming and sustainability news to keep you occupied when you get a break.
- A cool 15-hour online Organic Transition Course designed to help farms transitioning to organic understand the National Organic Standards.
- Research galore about how organics specifically help conserve resources and protect the earth.
7. GreenBiz
Image courtesy of GreenBiz
GreenBiz is a corporate sustainability news and information provider. Their mission is to "Provide clear, concise, accurate, and balanced information, resources, and learning opportunities to help companies of all sizes and sectors integrate environmental responsibility into their operations in a manner that supports profitable business practices."
The acclaimed GreenBiz website offers a slew of hearty resources for businesses along with daily newsletters for sustainable business professionals, videos and so much more. See just some of GreenBiz's perks below.
5 Super Organization Perks
- Many awesome reports, such as the helpful State of Green Business Report and six growing trends in corporate sustainability.
- Lots of green business news and articles daily.
- A useful green job board.
- A member-based GreenBiz Executive Network offering peer-to-peer networking and many other useful resources and benefits.
- Find usually hard-to-locate green business events.
8. Environmental Working Group
Image courtesy of Environmental Working Group
Environmental Working Group (EWG) provides news along with research findings about all kinds of environmental topics, including organic farming, pesticide-free food, federal farm subsidies and many other issues that matter to the Organic Industry.
While not directly a B2B organization, EWG does cover issues that should matter to anyone involved in organics or green business practices. Learn more about what the EWG family of sites has to offer below.
5 Super Organization Perks
- A very well-laid out section made especially for those interested in sustainable agriculture.
- A U.S. farm subsidy database.
- A seriously large breaking news section.
- A chemical index unlike any you've seen (it's huge!)
- A large amount of EWG conducted research on all sorts of topics related to safe and healthy living and working.
9. LocalHarvest
Image courtesy LocalHarvest
LocalHarvest connects local organic farmers, CSAs, farmers' markets and other organic agriculture businesses with consumers. While LocalHarvest doesn't offer tons of news or advice, they do provide consumers and businesses with plenty of great information about low-carbon, local eating and local shopping. Local is eco-friendly as it cuts back on resources, so it's great to get involved with an organization like this that encourages local goods.
For organic businesses, the best reason to get involved with LocalHarvest is that this organization maintains a definitive and reliable "living" public nationwide directory of small farms, farmers markets, and other local food sources. They toss in an easy to use search engine which helps consumers find your farm or small organic business and also encourages consumers to establish direct contact with small local business. See some of LocalHarvest's benefits below.
5 Super Organization Perks
- Excellent, in-depth information about CSAs.
- Create a FREE listing for your farm, market, restaurant, food coop, or other food-related business.
- Helpful forums covering all sorts of small local and organic businesses.
- A useful newsletter for anyone interested in local goods.
- CSAware - a handy paper-free CSA Management System.
