Rent or purchase a building that is close to public transportation stops and bike paths

Track and measure your company’s impact on the environment along your supply chain

Create a fund/scholarship for local youth to pursue higher education

Create a pathway program for local youths to intern and eventually become employed at your company

Create an executive leadership team with women, minorities, and people from underrepresented communities in top leadership roles

Eliminate all single-use paper, styrofoam or plastic cups, plates, and utensils in the kitchen area. Use reusable mugs, dishes, and silverware instead

Provide a product or service, as part of your company’s core strategy, that delivers a social or environmental benefit and/or focuses on an underserved part of the community.

Provide a benefits package that meets the needs of employees, and is well-defined, accessible and transparent to all workers

Provide a living wage for all employees, at all levels of the organization including both full time and part time workers

Incorporate biophilic design by installing green walls in the office environment

Purchase all office paper products made from 50-100% recycled materials

Arrange the workspace to take advantage of areas with natural sunlight

Philanthropically donate a percentage of your revenue or profits and/or company time to an environmental cause

Reserve at least one day a year when your company volunteers for local environmental or community projects (e.g., Habitat for Humanity, Earth Day, Save a Tree)

Purchase ENERGY STAR qualified or similarly highly efficient appliances

Provide an annual public report or update on your company’s environmental and social responsibility efforts, initiatives, and improvements

Install bike racks outside of the office or choose a building with ample bike racks on-site to support the amount of employees

Provide equitable opportunities to ensure women have equal access to employment, leadership roles, and pay

Provide fair and appropriate breaks for workers based on hours worked and enforce a strict policy that they must take them

Institute a policy for providing training, certification, and professional development opportunities to employees

Adhere to labor, child labor, forced labor, and reasonable working hour laws and practices

Keep corporate accounting accurate and up-to-date, enabling operation decisions to be made about investing, hiring, and project management

Properly dispose of all hazardous waste materials including batteries, paint and chemicals, lightbulbs, aerosol cans, and electronics

Install a filtered water tap or water bottle refill station that provide high-quality drinking water

Become an annual sponsor, making a substantial contribution to a meaningful event promoting sustainability in your area

Establish a paperless billing program for your customers

Have accessible green space somewhere onsite or in close proximity to grounds

Regularly evaluate employee satisfaction through interviews, surveys, or calculation of employee net promoter score

Choose paperless billing with vendors, business partners, and suppliers when possible

Eliminate unnecessary paper usage as much as possible including forms, contracts, meeting agendas and materials, proofs, and drafts

Administer company-wide employee training on sustainability efforts both at work and at home

Conduct exit interviews to gain insights on company culture and operations and make improvements based on feedback

Give opportunity for all employees to provide feedback of any kind and feel secure and empowered to do so

Locate home office in room with ample windows to take advantage of daylighting

Place a company employee on the organizing committee for a sustainability event

Become an active member, either by serving on the board, donating or volunteering time for an organization that continually works to improve the environment

Recycle or sell your used toner cartridges

Purchase recycled or remanufactured toner cartridges

Develop a paper reduction policy that clearly defines when and how items should be printed

Use air-filtering plants throughout the office

Print and copy double-sided only

Make your business’ sustainability efforts a central part of your message by filling out and linking to your GBB Public Profile and publishing your sustainability commitment on your website

Choose bio-based, reused, recycled, recyclable, or FSC certified boxes and bags for shipping

Reuse, sell, or donate used or unneeded furniture, equipment, and office supplies

Use virtual meeting platforms to replace travel when possible

Communicate your social responsibility initiatives with customers and other stakeholders in a way that clearly defines your company values, policies, objectives and actual performance

Evaluate customer and community satisfaction with your company through calculating your net promoter score (NPS)

Provide regular formal review, linked to a comprehensive development plan, with clear and constructive feedback to all employees

Use a shared printer

Create and implement a policy for protecting sensitive information

Conduct regular cyber/data security checks

Include a specific commitment to a positive social and environmental impact in your corporate mission statement

Create and implement an employee code of conduct

Create and enforce a policy for preventing and addressing discrimination and harassment

Train employees on your cyber/data security policies and what to do in case of a potential breach

Assist at least one other business in learning about sustainability, social responsibility, and environmental business efforts and encourage them to join GBB

Commit to inviting, receiving and acting upon customer and community feedback in a welcoming and constructive way at all times.

Organize a sustainability committee to lead your organization’s sustainability program

Complete the GBB getting started steps

Develop a sustainability mission statement for your business and define your company’s core commitments

Populate your company’s sustainability accomplishments in your profile

Announce your commitment to GBB to all employees

Relax the office dress code to allow for attire that doesn’t require dry cleaning