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

Replace water-intensive grass with regionally native, climate resilient ground coverings

Implement a comprehensive recycling program including education, proper sinage, and monitoring

Provide 10 weeks paid family leave policy accessible to all employees

Optimize your on-premise servers and business systems by ensuring the hardware is up-to-date and energy efficient

Plant native, regionally-friendly plants to minimize water use and impact on local habitat

After completing the energy audit/assessment, develop a comprehensive energy use and conservation plan

Meet if not exceed Federal and State regulations for your industry

Schedule regular maintenance on company vehicles to ensure each vehicle is operating as efficiently as possible to reduce emissions

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

Have a four-day work week

Choose a pest control service that minimizes the use of toxic pesticides

Install a programmable thermostat to automate your HVAC or A/C system

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

Ensure all windows are double pane, low-E, and energy efficient

Use a drip irrigation system for watering landscaping

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)

Construct a vegetable garden on roof, facility grounds, or a communtiy garden in close proximity to the office

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

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

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

Create and implement a human health and safety policy

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

Conduct a comprehensive water usage assessment/audit to pinpoint specific areas of water usage and waste

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

Ensure all windows and doors are properly installed, functioning, maintained, and weather-stripped, etc.

Undergo regular and complete check-ups and maintenance of your HVAC or A/C system

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

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

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

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

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

Apply window film to reduce excess solar heat in the building

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

Change your HVAC or A/C filters every six months or more frequently as is recommended by filter type

Regularly test your irrigation system to ensure proper configuration, optimized watering schedule, and eliminate overwatering and waste

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

Use a sustainable web hosting service

Use virtual meeting platforms to replace travel when possible

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

Add shades/window covering to reduce heat gain

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

Use a shared or centralized printer

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

Conduct regular cyber/data security checks

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 policy for preventing and addressing discrimination and harassment

Regularly disclose business practices, operations, and financial statements to shareholders and stakeholders

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

Have employee competitions for the most volunteer hours and provide an incentive for winning

Designate your office as a smoke-free working environment with outside smoking areas 25 feet away from building entry areas and common walkways

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

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

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

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