FAQ – Green Business Certification

Generally, accreditation is awarded on a case-by case basis and we will most likely ask you to complete the Green Business Certification checklist to grant your business certification. For the B-Corp certification, a business must have an above average score in the environmental category.  

Yes, the Quick Start Guide is available for download in pdf format and gives a step by step “walkthrough” through the path of a certification.  Green Business Certification staff is also available to meet with you or answer any questions you may have during the certification.

There are currently three different scorecards or questionnaires available for the certification tailored to the nature of the businesses.  This includes Office-Based, Fully Remote and Landscaping industries.  Office-based is for businesses that have an office space where employees regularly commute to, Fully Remote is for businesses where all employees work fully from home, and Landscaping is for businesses that perform a majority of their operations outside of an office environment, including garden centers and businesses that design, install and maintain outdoor areas.   

The scorecards or questionnaire platform follow a point based structure. As points are accrued, your business will move closer to achieving a higher recognition tier. The recognition tiers are as follows: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. You can initially certify at a given tier and then continue to implement sustainability actions and move to higher tiers in subsequent years.  

• Develop a sustainability mission statement for your business and define your company’s core commitments
• Establish a sustainability committee or green team to be the responsible for contact and action throughout the certification process. 
• Gather any environmental policy documents, green initiatives, energy or water efficiency metrics or surveys of environmental practices at your organization.

Payment is on a yearly rolling basis based on the day you made your first payment. Your certification fee is proportional to the size of your organization. Your organization will be placed into pricing brackets based on your full-time and part-time employee count. One full-time employee is equal to two part-time employees. More information on the pricing tiers can be found in the Quick Start Guide.

No, each location of your organization must be separately certified. Therefore, provide the count only factoring in the number of employee, part-time and full-time, at said location. The employee count pricing adheres to a ration of 2:1 for part-time to full-time employees. Remote workers associated with a location are factored into the count, even if they are not Montgomery County based. Additional discounts are applicable if your organization elects to certify multiple locations.  

No, your business’ point total is a sum of the points earned from green initiatives active at your business. Any non-completed initiatives do not count against your score. Additionally, certain limitations on implementing green initiatives resulting from being a tenant do not limit your ability to gain a higher recognition tier. Within the certification, there is ample opportunity to implement green initiatives and accrue points. 

The scheduling of the check-in meeting can be flexible. Generally, the intervals between progress check-ins should be 6-12 months.

After your business finishes the verification process, in your follow-up email a Bethesda Green staff member will ask for a biography of your organization.  We will add your bio and website address to the Green Business Directory. 

The certification is valid for 3 years from the date of awardence. You may also opt to receive a new certification upon reaching a new award tier. This would thereby reset the 3 year validity period. However, continual engagement and yearly check-in meetings are required.