VISION: Bethesda is a sustainable urban ecosystem that enhances green living, ensures environmental protection, and facilitates growth of responsible businesses.
MISSION: Bethesda Green works to address environmental challenges locally by creating a sustainable, green community, built collaboratively through citizen engagement, environmental education, government partnership and innovative business development.
Bethesda Green was founded in 2008 by Honest Tea founder, Seth Goldman, and Montgomery County Councilman George Leventhal as an innovative local initiative to encourage green living and sustainable business. The first big project of the organization was to install 36 recycling bins in downtown Bethesda, the organization has since grown to include several green living and green business programs.
The current programs include Be Green Living and Be Green Business.
Bethesda Green works to cultivate innovative “eco-entrepreneurs” and incubate green business development to ensure compatibility between economic development and environmental protection. We also advise existing local businesses through B-Corps certification on best practices for sound governance, support for workers, and sustainability.
The Be Green Innovation Lab includes both a business incubator and accelerator built on the premise of nurturing green and social impact start-ups to accelerate their success as companies with purpose. Participation in the Lab provides numerous tangible and intangible benefits from incubation services and non-equity-linked financial awards. Differentiators include program-embedded social and environmental impact benchmarking and improvement tools via our Be Green for B Corps Program, along with offering a strong, established community network at a dedicated address.
Be Green for B Corp provides participating companies with tools and Workshop Series to benchmark, express and improve their triple-bottom-line impact (people, profit, planet). Through this program, our region is encouraging the triple-bottom-line business philosophy, so that one day, companies thrive not only to be the best, but also to attract the best for workers, and improve communities and the environment.
Bethesda Green works to elevate community engagement and engage in programs that address environmental challenges through projects that enhance the quality of life for local residents. Part of this community-driven work includes an Environmental Leaders program to support environmental education, cultivating the next generation of visionary green leaders.
Be Green Projects represents our hands-on work to improve the community. This includes stormwater management, street-level community recycling, and improving access to green space, energy, and transportation.
Be Green Education is driven by our Environmental Leaders program, which enables high school seniors to have professional mentors guide them through their senior year environmental science projects, hopefully creating the next generation of environmental leaders and advocates.
2019 Accomplishments:
- Hosted 10 Environmental Leaders from Bethesda area public high schools and completed three unique student conservation projects;
- Co-sponsored 10 community events to support local agriculture, stream clean ups, native plantings, and sustainability endeavors;
- Participated in two official Montgomery County Climate Action Plan Workgroups;
- Facilitated the recycling of thousands of pounds of waste;
- Launched our Accelerator program for half a dozen exciting and impactful, sustainability-driven start-up businesses;
- Conducted 59 in-person workshops, mentoring sessions, and networking events for our cohort members and held an amazingly successful pitch event to present them to the Bethesda community (and potential investors, too!);
- Partnered with the Mentor Capital Network’s Sustainable Business Plan Collaboration Program to provide participating entrepreneurs with an opportunity to engage with industry professionals and fellow entrepreneurs from around the world;
- Provided financial support to some of our companies, including women- and minority-owned businesses to help ensure their success; and
- Continued to train business owners in how to become B Corp certified, showing the community their commitment to good governance, transparency, environmental standards, and worker protection.
