Environmental Sustainability Board backs 'Green Los Alamos' business certification and will forward recommendation to council

Abby Hayward, the county’s energy and water conservation coordinator, told the Environmental Sustainability Board on Nov. 20 that Green Los Alamos is a free, tiered self‑certification program designed to recognize businesses’ sustainability efforts and help them improve operations.

The program asks applicants to complete an online checklist across five focus areas — energy, water, waste, sustainable operations and transportation — and offers three recognition tiers. "Green Los Alamos recognizes our commercial community's commitment to stewardship," Hayward said, describing bronze, silver and gold thresholds and a verified site visit for top recognition. The form includes about 45 items (Hayward said roughly 24 are tenant‑applicable) and allows applicants to save progress and mark items they are "interested" in pursuing.

Hayward said the application will be reviewed by staff members who receive submissions by email and that the county will partner with the Los Alamos Commerce and Development Corporation and the Chamber of Commerce to promote the effort. She said pilot and outreach plans include presenting the initiative to the Board of Public Utilities on Dec. 10 and county council on Dec. 16, and aiming for a soft January launch after the holidays.

Board members’ questions focused on what incentives would accompany recognition and how the county could measure program impact. Hayward said staff can offer utility‑use tracking for participating businesses and provide building walkthroughs and referrals to funding sources or technical assistance; she cautioned that more specific incentives (for example, chamber discounts used in other cities) are still being explored. Hayward also said businesses may request recertification or pursue higher tiers at any time.

After discussion, the board adopted a motion to support the Green Los Alamos certification program and forward that recommendation to county council for consideration and inclusion in the council packet on Dec. 16. The board did not record a counted roll‑call vote in the transcript; the motion was moved by Joe Chandler (as recorded) and the chair indicated no objections before moving forward.

The next procedural steps are for staff to finalize the recognition packet and website content, coordinate launch messaging with partner organizations, and present the program at the scheduled Dec. 10 and Dec. 16 meetings.