The Peterborough region has many economic strengths to brag about. Our close tie to our many lakes and rivers ensure our region is a magnet for tourists. Industries such as General Electric and Quaker are doing well, providing jobs and spurring the local economy, and we have an ever-growing small business community and vibrant downtown.

Businesses large and small are key to the growth of any region, and we in Peterborough are fortunate to have a solid business community.

Our business community is also very forward thinking, which adds to its continued success. When it comes to taking the environment into consideration in day-to-day operations, there are countless examples of local businesses that have stepped up to the plate, serving as positive examples for others.

Examples include Kawartha Chrysler Dodge Jeep Fiat, East Side Mario’s and Merrett Home Hardware who all upgraded their lighting and are now using significantly less energy because of it. One of the largest and most recognizable faces of the retail business community, Lansdowne Place, has worked hard to achieve environmental excellence. They’ve done everything from sending away organic waste for composting to installing a weather-based smart irrigation system to control water usage outside.

To further help businesses go green, Sustainable Peterborough in partnership with the Greater Peterborough Area Economic Development Corporation and the Green Business Peterborough program are launching the Sustainable Business Initiative (SBI).

The SBI is designed to foster sustainable economic activities among our region’s small and medium sized businesses and aims to educate, motivate and empower local businesses.

The SBI kick-off event will embrace the compelling case for sustainability with guest speaker Bob Willard author of The Sustainability Advantage- Seven Business Case Benefits of a Triple Bottom Line. Mr. Willard is a leading expert on quantifying and selling the business value of corporate sustainability strategies and has given hundreds of keynote presentations to corporate, government, university, and NGO audiences. Mr. Willard applies his business and leadership experience from his 34-year career at IBM Canada to engage the business community in proactively avoiding risks and capturing opportunities associated with environmental and social issues.

Mr. Willard identifies three ways to frame the business case for sustainability: improved profit, high return on investment (ROI), and higher share price/market valuation.

Sustainability has become the new buzzword similar to green business. However, as Mr. Willard notes, the success of any corporate sustainability initiative needs to revolve around more than just what is socially correct.  In short, it needs to measure up financially, demonstrating it will increase profit, provide a higher more aggressive return on investment and, for publicly traded companies, must improve share value.

As a business leader with IBM Canada, Mr. Willard actively engages the business community to be proactive in capturing opportunities associated with environmental and social issues.

The SBI is supported by local small and medium size business, those who can speak firsthand about the compelling case for adopting sustainable practices.  Some of these local sustainability champions will participate in a panel discussion at the event on January 17th.  This intriguing perceptive will provide justification for embracing sustainability strategies within our local region.

Since September 2012, the Greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce and GreenUP have been running a program for local businesses that supports the SBI. Called Green Business Peterborough, the program recognizes and encourages businesses to formulate goals and a plan of action that will help move businesses down the path to environmental sustainability.

The Green Business Peterborough program will help local organizations, discover how becoming more environmentally sustainable can bring many lasting benefits.  This program will help to identify incentives, opportunities, resources and create a network within Peterborough of mentors and testimonials; further making the case for businesses to embrace sustainability as a corporate practice that leads to success.

If you’re interested in learning more about the Sustainable Business Initiative, be sure to attend the kick off event on Thursday, January 17^th at the Holiday Inn in Peterborough.  The event runs 7:30 to 9:30 am and includes a local continental breakfast. The registration fee is $10. Those interested in attending can register online at http://businesscaseforsustainability.eventbrite.com/ or contact Brigid Ayotte 705-743-0777 ext 2160 or by email at ..

This blog appears courtesy of Peterborough Green-Up.