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San Mateo County Green Business coordinator urges Daly City outreach after low local takeup
Summary
Bridal Mays of Environmental Innovations outlined services and county funding for the Green Business Network and said Daly City has only 25 of 406 county program participants, urging city partnerships and targeted outreach to boost signups.
Bridal Mays, San Mateo County’s Green Business Coordinator with Environmental Innovations, told the Daly City Small Business Commission on Oct. 10 that the county’s Green Business Network offers free technical assistance, recognition and small grants to help small firms reduce waste, energy use and pollution.
Mays said the program is designed for small businesses and is intended to give them on‑the‑ground support they typically cannot afford. "This program is designed for small businesses," she said, listing services including walkthroughs, a compliance checklist, marketing exposure and funding for upgrades like LED lighting and low‑flow aerators.
Why this matters: Mays said the county’s program reaches more than 400 businesses overall but that Daly City was notably underrepresented. "We had 406 businesses active in the program. Daly City only has 25 of the 406 businesses," she said, arguing that can be addressed by stronger city‑level promotion, local champions and bilingual outreach.
Mays outlined how the program works: businesses register, receive an on‑site walk‑through, complete a checklist and, once measures are met, receive certification, a window decal and inclusion in a green business directory. She described the program as holistic—covering energy, toxics, transportation, waste and water efficiency—and said the county holds funding pools on a first‑come, first‑served basis for upgrades.
On outreach, Mays said she often goes where she is "called" and that the county’s single coordinator for 20 cities relies on city offices, chambers and local champions to amplify the program. She offered concrete steps for Daly City: set informal local goals (for signups and certifications), include the program in city newsletters and partner with the chamber or councilmembers to make signups feel local.
Commissioners asked about targeting schools and equity outreach. Mays said there is a k‑12 checklist and that she has done equity outreach and materials in languages such as Mandarin and Cantonese; she also described outreach to veterans groups because she found veterans underrepresented in current participants.
The commission did not take a formal vote on the program but discussed options for promoting it locally, including co‑branded messaging and quarterly progress updates from the coordinator.
What’s next: Commissioners asked staff to consider modest outreach steps—sharing program materials in the city newsletter, identifying 2025 outreach goals and inviting the coordinator back with a brief progress report.
