Green Chamber launches in LV

There's a lot of green in Las Vegas, and we're not talking about the cash flying in and out of casinos.

The local Green Chamber of Commerce launched on Aug. 1 to build a coalition of local businesses that either trade in ecofriendly products or focus on making their operations more environmentally sensitive.

It's the first expansion branch for the San Francisco-based Green Chamber of Commerce, which opened in 2007. Las Vegas landed the newest chapter after research told the group that Southern Nevada housed as many as 1,500 green businesses that could qualify for membership, said Greg St. Martin, president of the local outpost.

"There definitely is a customer base for all these businesses," St. Martin said. "We're seeing more and more businesses that are making green products or even just taking steps to go green."

The Green Chamber isn't the first area networking group to concentrate on environmentally friendly businesses. Southern Nevada has loads of smaller networking groups emphasizing issues ranging from energy-efficient construction to promoting green retrofits for local homes and businesses.

And then there's the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce and its Green Initiative, which highlights best environmental practices, promotes green events and offers resources for companies looking to improve their environmental practices. The chamber's Green Roots program outlines a four-step process guiding members through ecofriendly operational tweaks both small and major.

St. Martin said he applauds the Las Vegas chamber for its Green Initiative, but he balked at the group's affiliation with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which he said fights some green laws. Plus, he sees a market for an association larger than those existing networking clusters, yet more targeted than the Las Vegas chamber. The Green Chamber's objectives: promoting members' products and services, supporting the development of sustainable business practices and advocating for green public policies.

The Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce didn't respond to a request for comment by press time. But at least one Green Chamber member also belongs to the Las Vegas chamber, and he said the city has room for each group.

"I think the two chambers complement each other," said Rob Dorinson, area director of recycling-business development for Evergreen Recycling, which merged with waste company Republic Services earlier this month and joined the chamber as a board member. "The Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce has programs encompassing green efforts, and I give them credit for that, because many chambers do not have green committees that reach out in that way. But this is a little more targeted and specific. We'll continue to be members of both. It's the normal course of our business to reach out and be a resource for the community."

Dorinson said he expects the Green Chamber to promote economic development in concert with other local business groups, and to serve as a key source of community information on topics such as recycling.

Other local Green Chamber board members include Mandalay Bay, exhibit giant Freeman, professional-services firm Ernst & Young, SH Architecture and Bank of Nevada. Those companies don't all emphasize green services at their core, St. Martin said, but they've made major efforts to be environmentally sensitive, whether through a paperless office, intensive recycling programs or other measures.

But some studies show consumers have grown skeptical of the motives of companies with green programs. A 2009 report from research company Havas Media in Paris noted that 64 percent of U.S. respondents to a company survey saw green campaigns as mere marketing tools.

St. Martin said his group attempts to ferret out such "greenwashing." The chamber visits businesses and conducts in-person interviews to vet companies for their ecoconsciouness.

So far, the chamber has signed up 20 business members, well below the 50 members St. Martin targeted for the end of August. He attributed the smaller-than-expected numbers to the time of year -- many business owners and managers vacation in August -- and to caution.

"It's wait-and-see. A lot of people have e-mailed me saying they would like to come to a mixer or two before they join, and see what we're about," St. Martin said. "Even though the numbers are not where I'd like them to be right now, we're doing well. With everyone I've talked to, the one thing I'm hearing is, 'It's about time.'"

The chamber plans to hold its first event, a members-only welcome party, on Sept. 21 at a venue to be determined. Its first public event -- a social mixer with a speaker, is scheduled to happen in October.

The group's annual dues range from $150 for companies with up to nine employees to $1,000 for businesses with 50 or more workers.

Contact reporter Jennifer Robison at jrobison@
reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4512.