Adelante Empresas educates small businesses about benefits of ‘going green’

By Ivonne Rivero, El Hispanic News

Photo by Efua Osam-Cue

Hillsboro, OR — Over 25 Latino small business owners learned about the importance of recycling to save money and resources during a seminar Sept. 18 at the Virginia Garcia Clinic in Hillsboro. The seminar was presented by Adelante Empresas, the business training arm of Adelante Mujeres, with the participation of a host of government, business, energy, and regional stakeholders. The event was held in Spanish and directed towards the growing number of Latino small business in the area.

The seminar covered issues of sustainability, both ecological and financial, “green marketing” tactics, and the benefits of “Going Green” — a process of certification and awards. Speakers focused on recycling for various types of businesses, preventing and managing waste generation, and limiting the use of toxic substances in the workplace, with special focus given to the growing number of small cleaning businesses in the area.

Ali Brown, of Adelante Empresas, spoke about the “triple benefit” or the interconnection of financially and ecologically sustainable businesses and their benefits to communities. Eduardo Corona, a business trainer at Adelante Empresas, shared that reducing the cost of packaging can benefit a business’s bottom line, and help reduce pollution generation. He added that marketing a “green business” can generate new and increased sales.

Efua Osam-Cue, a recycling educator with Washington County, shared the importance and benefits of recycling at the enterprise level. Debra Taevs, deputy director at the Pacific Northwest Pollution Prevention Resource Center (PPRC), said the region is creating enough waste every day to fill the entire Pioneer Courthouse Square. She is currently working with auto mechanics and landscapers through her organization’s EcoBiz program.

Other speakers represented the Hillsboro Chamber of Commerce, Portland General Electric, and the Energy Trust of Oregon.

For more information, visit www.adelantemujeres.org.

Este artículo también está disponible en / This post is also available in: Spanish

Related posts:

Adelante Mujeres: Empowering the heart of the community Proposed Latino market seen as a path for small businesses to grow

Short URL: http://www.elhispanicnews.com/?p=4625

Posted by julie on Sep 25 2012. Filed under Education, Local. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry