News / Business
Green Business League Brings Green Certification to South Africa
South African Businesses can Earn Green Certification
The Green Business League has appointed Greg Seymour of Go Green Consulting as the director of its South Africa branch. Mr. Seymour is no novice to business or environmental issues. He has been active in environmental issues for quite some time, and now assumes an important role of working with the government of South Africa and South African businesses to make Green practices part of the growth plan for the country.
Obviously, growth and economic development is crucial to any economy. Green business practices actually allow business to be more effective, more efficient, and better able to compete in the world market. Concerns for transparency and good business stem from the ability to create a good business operation at the core of the business.
Properly accomplished, Green businesses operate more economically and operate more efficiently. As R Michael Richmond, director of the Green Business League in the U.S. says. “The Certified Green Consultant is the efficiency expert of twenty years ago. Businesses brought in these experts to cut waste, eliminate redundancies, and improve the bottom line. This is not that much different to what we are doing through Green practices.”
The success of the Green Business League in the United States allows our program to bring years of experience to other aspiring countries. The United States has been behind in the environmental cause for a while, but that is changing. We are now much clearer in our role and far more serious in our commitments. Lessons learned here are now easily transferred to other areas as ready-made solutions and programs. One of our latest efforts is to train and install Certified Sustainability Officers into every business allows Green business efforts to become comprehensive and connected throughout the business community.
Greg Seymour represents a new breed of professionals who act as the advisors and facilitators of what can be a complex compliance arena. Going Green is not as simple as replacing light bulbs or installing recycling bins. The program starts with an assessment that identifies the Green practices in place and then develops a Sustainability Plan going forward. If done well, the company will qualify for the GBL Green business certification that is one of the most credible certifications in the world.
Greenwashing is a practice to avoid because it is essentially lying to the public about the Green commitment of the country. One of the worst types of greenwashing is the temptation to buy a Green certification over the Internet. Industry-wise, it is understood that only an independently audited program is credible. In the United States as well as anywhere in the world, every Green Business League certification is always the result of a live audit and a proven Green program.
Greg Seymour reports that one of the reasons that he made the choice to go with the Green Business League was the fact that GBL’s insistence that Green certification is “Earned and not Bought” makes this certification respectable at all levels of government review and business acceptance.
Greg Seymour returns to South Africa with a daunting task. He and his team of dedicated Green consultants seek to participate in the Greening of a country that is ready for growth, inclusion in the world market, and desirous to make this marvelous country a part of a Greener world.
