Over the past 20 years, the Chatham Environmental Forum (CEF) has addressed complex issues, such as air quality in the Savannah area and its potential impact on community cancer rates, and the long term protection of the Floridan aquifer as the area’s primary drinking water source. For each issue undertaken by the CEF, the final analysis has been a consensus product based on the best available science with recommended solutions that all sectors within the community could support.
Challenge
There are around 18,000 firms in Chatham County and 1,500 non-profits employing citizens and providing goods and services to customers inside and outside of county borders1. These 20,000 organizations consume resources to produce value for their customers, but smart organizations are finding ways to produce the same value at a lower cost by being smart with those resources. The most expansive study on consumer choice and the environment, National Geographic’s Greendex, also shows that each year American and Global consumers care more about the environmental impact of their purchases2. Businesses and Non-Profits can take part in making Chatham the “greenest county” by partnering with CEF in the JoIN ECO Partner Program.
1 2009 US Census Bureau Quick Facts, Guidestar Nonprofit Directory
2 Greendex 2010: Consumer Choice and the Environment. National Geographic. 2010.