Require all suppliers/vendors meet your environmental commitments

Sell products that are certified carbon neutral

75-99% of your workdays are remote

Own/lease a business space that has a green building certification such as LEED, BREEAM, Green Globes, WELL, Energy Star, Green Star, or another standard in your area.

Upgrade from older fluorescent T12, T8 and T5 lamps to LED alternatives

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

Provide 20 weeks paid family leave policy accessible to all employees

Compost your home food waste

Implement a green procurement policy

Have a composting program for your business food waste

50-74% of your workdays are remote

Implement a comprehensive recycling program

Provide 10 weeks paid family leave policy accessible to all employees

Install faucets with controls that turn off automatically (motion sensors)

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

Provide transit passes or funds to employees as part of the benefits package to encourage public transportation usage

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

Develop a comprehensive water use and conservation plan with measurable goals to optimize water usage

Meet if not exceed Federal and State regulations for your industry

Designate a percentage of the procurement budget for local suppliers

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

Perform a yearly assessment of all suppliers/vendors’ environmental and social practices in comparison to your company’s commitments

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

Properly recycle all household waste according to your local regulations

Create a detailed risk management plan for projects and programs

Identify and manage risks related to your suppliers’ sustainability performance

Prioritize working with business partners, service providers, etc. that are women-led, minority-owned and local small businesses

Define, institute, and clearly communicate a policy to prioritize employee diversity, equity, and inclusion

Use chlorine-free and FSC-certified paper products

Work with a suppliers or external companies to develop a take-back program for reusable or recyclable material

Send products in bulk with fewer trips

Assess your vendors’ procurement practices

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

Arrange the workspace to take advantage of areas with natural sunlight

Purchase offsets for the travel emissions and in-person work days that can’t be reduced

Purchase or lease used or recycled office equipment and furniture

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

Have a clearly defined policy that specifies how you will screen partners and vendors to ensure that their business operations are socially responsible and eco-friendly

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

Evaluate your company’s social and community footprint including diversity of supply chain, demographic of suppliers, and physical and financial impact of operations on local community

Develop an office thermostat policy that maintains internal air temperature within the recommended temperature range, and eliminates A/C and heating usage when the building is not occupied

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

Purchase produce in-season from local farmer’s markets or co-ops

Establish a process for the board to oversee and assess the company’s performance in sustainability issues

Pay top executives no more than the minimum compensation necessary to ensure productive and effective performance

Determine executive bonuses based company success in areas such as diversity, goal-meeting, stakeholder engagement, and long-term sustainability

Create and implement a human health and safety policy

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

Disclose any risks to the environment or the public created by your company’s products or operations timely and publicly

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

Offer a product which the proceeds go to an environmental or social cause

Ship products with least amount of packaging possible

Offer a selection of responsibly produced zero-waste products

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

Resell your used corrugated cardboard boxes.

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

Purchase energy-efficient portable AC units or fans

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

Encourage employee carpools

Significantly limit the amount of physical marketing materials you produce

Complete a consumption and waste audit to help identify and quantify the items your business acquires, uses, and discards

Use environmentally-friendly, non-toxic, bio-based cleaning products

Replace regular light bulbs with LED bulbs

Establish a paperless billing program for your customers

Work with vendors to minimize product packaging.

Use concentrated cleaning products

Buy electronics that are energy efficient, EPEAT, ROHS, etc.

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

Purchase home trash bin liners made from 100% bio-based or 50-100% recycled materials

Use an eco-friendly home pest control service that minimizes the use of toxic pesticides

Establish company-wide local community volunteer days and create a company-wide challenge to see who can volunteer in the community at a green event the most throughout the year

Conduct multiple quality checks on your products and/or services before distributing to consumers to ensure highest possible quality

Conduct investigations of ethical violations, and when substantiated hand out fair and reasonable consequences

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

Eliminate the use of plastic bags (paper bags, preferably made with minimum 40% post consumer waste, or BPI certified compostable bags are acceptable).

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

Stop using all single-use plastic kitchen utensils, plates, bowls, and cups

Use reusable bags instead of plastic bags when shopping

Purchase home paper towels and toilet paper made from 50-100% recycled materials

Administer company-wide employee training on sustainability efforts related to home offices and general life practices

Fairly compensate board members or their time and effort based on yearly total hours of meetings and expectations for engagement

Offer a plastic or paper bag collection and recycling program

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

Designate carpool, hybrid, and EV parking spaces that are in preferred areas of your parking lot (e.g. closer to the building entrance or covered)

Reduce junk mail by removing your organization’s name from national direct marketing databases

Eliminate the use of disposable batteries and switch entirely to rechargeable

Use reusable cleaning products such as towels and sponges, eliminating paper towels

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

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

Use virtual meeting platforms to replace travel when possible

Use packaging for food and other in-store packaging needs, such as for fragile items, made out of sustainable or recycled containers.

Use biodegradable or compostable food service supplies for wine and food tastings.

Donate old and unused merchandise to a local charity.

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

Eliminate all physical marketing materials

Use recycled office supplies

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

Require all business leaders to be trained in, maintain current knowledge of, and commit to complying with the company’s environmental, social and employee wellbeing policies and practices

Provide a trusted, impartial and empowered 3rd party for the remediation of significant conflicts arising between employees and the business/business leaders

Add shades/window covering throughout your home to reduce heat gain

Opt out of receiving home junk mail

Stop purchasing single-use plastic waterbottles. Install a water filter if necessary

Use a shared printer

Create a board that is diverse and inclusive, made up of members with differences in thought, perspective, cultural and geographical background, age, ethnicity, race, gender, knowledge & skills–representative of the community and stakeholders

Appoint a majority of board members that are independent from the company

Uphold your company’s responsibility to shareholders through shareholder meetings

Establish a clear governance and decision-making structure, including the composition of the board of directors, board committees, executives, and shareholders

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

Accept and evaluate employee’s feedback about violations of your corporate ethics and conduct policy

Create and implement an employee code of conduct

Create and enforce a whistleblowing policy

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

Establish and implement a shareholder rights policy

Designate an employee as community engagement leader or create a community engagement team

Offer durable reusable bags for a fee in place of single-use plastic or paper bags

Minimize air conditioning usage through natural ventilation by opening windows

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

Implement a quarterly donation drive or designated permanent donation space at store locations

Purchase trash liners made from 50-100% recycled materials

Reduce “vampire loads” by unplugging appliances when not in use

Offer environmentally friendly gift-wrapping options, such as recycled wrapping papers, tissue paper, bags, and boxes.

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

Donate used clothing and furniture

Document board meetings with minutes and final write-up/reports and distributed to all essential members

Implement a conflict of interest policy for your board of directors and senior management

Write and implement a policy and procedure for board member nominations and elections

Write and implement a policy for removing board members who are not fulfilling their duties

Communicate pricing and services transparently, authentically, and consistently to all customers

Disclose information about political contributions and lobbying activities

Use LED lights in displays

Donate seasonal or promotional displays, rather than discarding

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

Use natural odor elimination

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

Use an environmentally friendly display board instead of foam core board to post memos, schedules and other notices in a centralized area.

Eliminate the use of disposable batteries throughout your home and switch entirely to rechargeable