Green Business Challenge

GBC logo

ABOUT

The Charleston Green Business Challenge ran successfully for five years culminating in 2016.  As staff and priorities shifted with growing needs, so too did interest in participation from the business community.  

Even though the Challenge has come to an end, its impacts on the environment and on the people who participated will last forever.  The Challenge has inspired many Charleston area businesses and organizations and empowered them with the tools and knowledge to continue operating sustainably on their own.

A special thanks to all the participants, and to those who still embody the spirit of the Challenge everyday, for their continual efforts to make Charleston more sustainable.


GREEN BUSINESS RESOURCES

Keep your organization up to date on the latest best practices to help you save money, reduce your carbon footprint, stay healthy and more!  

The City encourages you to communicate your green successes on social media and tag us at #CharlestonGreenBusiness if you don’t mind us sharing your tips, impacts and highlights with others!


RESULTS of the GREEN BUSINESS CHALLENGE

View the impacts below and celebrate the achievements of real savings through sustainable practices, making meaningful connections between businesses and green and local products, and collectively working together as a community to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  

Impacts over 5 Years

  • 445 businesses/organizations participating cumulatively, ranging in size from 120 square feet to 3.5 million square feet
  • Conserving 31,740,000 gallons of water, enough to supply over 100 homes for 1 year
  • Implementing 2,280 new initiatives
  • Nearly $240,000 in cost savings
  • Recycling 150 plus trucks full of materials
  • Reducing waste by over 150 trash trucks
  • Saving 56,900,000 kilowatt hour in energy, offsetting 42,346 metric tons of CO2e, enough energy to power over 5000 homes in 1 year

View the Cumulative Report (PDF) to see accomplishments of participants.


PHOTOS

View a gallery of photos from the Challenge.


Green never hurts the bottom line.- Don Meadows, Chief Engineer at Hawthorn Suites

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