BY LINDA BAKER | OB EDITOR
Several Eugene-area businesses included on our 100 Best Green Companies list — Isler CPA, Mountain Rose Herbs, King Estate Winery, Ninkasi Brewing and CAWOOD — celebrate with the GreenLane Sustainable Business Network at a ‘Green Eugene’ party.
BY LINDA BAKER | OB EDITOR
One green business awards party is never enough. Three months after Oregon Business threw a lunch-time bash celebrating its 100 Best Green Companies to Work for in Oregon project, several Eugene-area businesses included on that list — Isler CPA, Mountain Rose Herbs, King Estate Winery, Ninkasi Brewing and CAWOOD — celebrated with the GreenLane Sustainable Business Network at a “Green Eugene” party at Lewis & Clark Catering Company.
The event was an opportunity for like-minded business people to network and share ideas about sustainability practices. The “Green list” companies co-sponsored the event and invited their colleagues, clients and vendors.
“No one is opposed to have an excuse for a party,” Nichole Hayward, an account manager at CAWOOD, told me. “We felt like it was a way to promote being a green business in Eugene and a great way to increase our networks.”
Based on OB’s widely recognized 100 Best Companies to Work For in Oregon project, the 100 Best Green Companies were determined by an anonymous employee survey and an independent assessment of the employers’ sustainability practices. In 2013, there were 440 organizations and more than 20,000 employees participating in the project.
Our 100 best green company project aims to set a standard for green practices in the workplace. As the “Green Eugene” event suggests, 100 Best organizations also leverage the award to add value to their business. “We market this award by purchasing the actual awards and displaying them in our office and sometimes at trade booths,” Isler CPA Kim Meyers told me. She said Isler features the award in local Chamber of Commerce ads and “freely speaks of it when conversing with clients and referral sources.”
If the Eugene party was a good marketing opportunity, the OB 100 Best Green awards celebration, which took place this past June, racked up praise for its inspirational atmosphere. “As sustainability coordinator, being at the actual awards gave me fresh gusto, fresh ideas,” says Hayward, whose company made the list for the first time this year. “It was beyond motivating.”
To be sure, quoting one of the 100 Best Green winners about how much they loved our 100 best party is a bit of shameless self-promotion. But we’re thrilled award winners are inspired by our celebratory events and we love to hear how organizations leverage the award to market their company’s products, services and working environment.
Next week, we have another 100 best event coming up; our fifth annual 100 Best Nonprofits to Work for in Oregon awards dinner takes place Wednesday, October 2 in the Portland Hilton.
In the meantime, let us know how your workplace has leveraged our 100 Best awards to boost business and create a better working environment for employees.
