A green initiative of the Westchester County government and the local business community is looking to expand based on a half-million dollar grant from New York state announced last month.
The Westchester Green Business Challenge will get $540,000 as part of Gov. Andrew Cuomo”™s Regional Economic Development Council initiative, it was announced in December. As part of round four of the initiative, $709.2 million in grants and tax credit incentives were awarded.
- Reckson’s building at 360 Hamilton Ave. in White Plains was awarded gold certification in the U.S. Green Building Council”™s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program.
The Westchester Green Business Challenge includes 275 businesses, according to organizers. Officials said the grant will be used to expand the program over three years to include 125 more companies and certify 140 more members.
Marsha Gordon, president and CEO of The Business Council of Westchester, called the program “incredibly effective and forward-looking.” “The Westchester Green Business Challenge started out as a worthwhile concept a few years ago and has proven to be beneficial for local businesses and our environment,” she said. “We”™re so pleased with its success.”
Westchester, under former County Executive Andy Spano, released in 2008 a Westchester Action Plan for Climate Change and Global Warming with the stated goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent by this year and 80 percent by 2050. The county”™s baseline for measuring reductions is 2005, when total emissions for Westchester amounted to nearly 13 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalents.
The Green Business Challenge program was created by Dani Glaser of Green Team Spirit, Scott Fernqvist of the county government and Neil Cutler of Synergis – Zero Waste Group. It launched in 2009 and asked businesses to voluntarily do what New York City commercial businesses of more than 50,000 square feet were being required to do in terms of energy efficiency upgrades and audits.
Early last year, a Westchester Green Business certification program was unveiled. Through it companies can be certified as green businesses for three years. Certified businesses receive access to programs and networking events as well as access to an emissions inventory tool and assistance with green programs.
Organizers said the grant will be used to encourage businesses to reduce emissions, energy consumption, waste production, water use, transportation and land use. The funds will be put toward an interactive website, live educational and networking events, live training webinars and direct personal assistance from staff, according to the state’s grants announcement.
Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino said the funds would help the program moving forward. “By engaging businesses directly and providing the training and expertise necessary to run an efficient and sustainable organization, the WGBC is generating transformational benefits to the region”™s economic and environmental health,” he said in a statement.
The grants were administered through the Mid-Hudson Regional Economic Development Council, which also tagged $250,000 for a planning study into the development of a Sing Sing Historic Prison Museum and $500,000 for the restoration of 1.5 acres of the gardens at the Jay Heritage Center in Rye.
Ten regional councils were established in 2011 under Cuomo, he said in a statement, to jumpstart the economy and create jobs. He said it changed the approach of how the state can assist municipalities in boosting the economy.
“Four years ago we decided to take a different approach on economic development ”“ emphasizing cooperation and investing in local assets instead of continuing the state”™s old and ineffective top-down mentality,” Cuomo said when announcing the grants Dec. 11. “That”™s what the regional councils are all about, and today is proof that they are continuing to drive an economic renaissance in every region of the state. Each council presented bold ideas for how to create jobs and new opportunities in their communities, and I am proud to work with all of them to continue moving New York forward.”
This article has been updated to reflect that Dani Glaser, Scott Fernqvist and Neil Cutler created the Green Business Challenge program. A previous version did not include one of the creators.
