Travel Green

By Melinda Toussaint

The green movement is expanding at a large rate, so much so that it’s important for business owners to catch the green wave. Becoming an eco-friendly business is as important for your image as it is for the environment.

If you’re in Wisconsin, one great way for your business or the business you work for is to volunteer for the Travel Green Wisconsin program. Because of the Great Lakes tourism Wisconsin attracts it was important for us to come up with a program dedicated to preserving the land and sustaining natural resources.

Travel Green Wisconsin is a voluntary program that went state wide in 2007 to help review, recognize, and certify tourism businesses that were going green. It formed a green checklist that businesses are striving to achieve to be certified as a green business.
This checklist includes:

-communication and education
-waste reduction, reuse, and recycling
-energy efficiency, conservation and management
-water conservation and wastewater management
-air quality
-wildlife and landscape conservation and management
-transportation
-purchasing
-local community benefits

After a Baseline Environmental Assessment, completing enough sustainable practices from the checklist above, and submitting an application annual fee your business will be Travel Green Wisconsin certified.

Sporting the TGW certification logo benefits your business and customers in several ways. By becoming more energy efficient and conserving natural resources it will reduce your company’s costs and boost your image in the community. Boosting your image will help contribute to new customers that will feel good about supporting an eco-friendly cause.

Travel Green Wisconsin is open to all types of businesses whether it is restaurants, events/festivals, or accommodations. In the last two years TGW has dedicated itself to taking action towards environmental, social, and economic sustainability and for two years businesses that have volunteered have kept the cause going. Set green goals for your company to achieve and send your application in to TGW and in no time you could be an integral part of those efforts.

For more information visit http://www.travelgreenwisconsin.com/. You can also check to see if there are programs in your area (like the Travel Green Minnesota program) or set similar goals from the checklist for your business to achieve.

Travel has become the third largest source of revenue nationwide so take a note from Travel Green Wisconsin by starting your green business practices today!