green cities: Tampa & st. petersburg

New ideas push development of green policies

Story by Jen Hiatt | University of South Florida

When Timothy Freudo wanted to start a green business, he was surprised to learn that Tampa, unlike most metropolitan areas, did not offer any incentives or rebates.

“The city said, if you want to build a green building, we can give you fasttrack permitting for it, but that’s the only program we have,” Freudo of 3BL Consulting said. “I said, I just want to start a business, what if I’m not ready for a building?”

Working with Jack Bevilacqua of the Sustany Foundation, Freudo drafted a "Green Business Designation" program that supports and rewards local green businesses. Freudo and Bevilacqua proposed the plan to the city and it came into effect August 2009.

The voluntary program reviews a business against a list of criteria that evaluates the level of sustainability, including green policies and practices. The plan borrows from the likes of San Francisco, Austin, Texas, and Portland, Ore.'s green business designation plans, but tailors to the specific needs of businesses in Tampa Bay.

“I made sure it was easy enough that if you have no idea what green is, you can still follow the mandatory steps and have a blueprint for a sustainability plan,” Freudo explained.

Pinellas County also offers a program called the Green Business Partnership through its Extension office, which borrows heavily from Sarasota’s plan.  The partnership recognizes local businesses for their environmental stewardship and sustainable practices while encouraging conservation of resources, waste reduction, energy conservation and cost savings.

The checklist required for certification allows businesses to identify “barriers,” a practice Pinellas County Extension Agent James Stevenson says helps moderate the process.

“Sometimes just the nature of the business mean that you can’t check any of the boxes for green practices,” he said. “So we try to mitigate that and try to find other areas in the business operation that can be greener.”