While we hope for continued beautiful weather this fall in Maryland, the hurricanes that have wracked Texas and Florida remind us that there are a number of things we can do to prepare and protect business property and avoid potential environmental impacts like chemical and oil spills created by high water and winds.  Here are a few numbers to know:

Maryland Emergency Management Administration:  See these Preparedness Resources for Businesses

MDE Emergency Response:   MDE staff are on call 24/7 to ensure that environmental emergencies are promptly addressed.  (866) 633-4686 (866-MDE-GOTO)

Local Emergency Planning Committees: Familiarize yourself with your local committee, which is comprised of citizens, businesses and government representatives. See list of County Contacts. 

Laura Armstrong                                                                                                               Maryland Green Registry Coordinator

Rapid Response at your service!

Maryland Green Registry members have a number of places to turn to for assistance in identifying and implementing new sustainable practices. You can post your questions to the Registry's LinkedIn group or national Listservs, reach out to a Registry mentor, explore the Tips and Resources pages, or take advantage of a variety of state and federal assistance programs.  

For internet searches, however, save yourself some time by completing the Environmental Sustainability Resource Center's  Rapid Response form. Experienced engineers will research your question and get back to you with checklists, case studies, vendor information and technical solutions. This is a free, federally funded service available to all Maryland businesses and organizations so take advantage of it!

Updating your Maryland Green Registry member profile

When updating your profile, we encourage you to look at the 20 checklist topics on the application form to see if there are any you can add to your profile. Note that a few wording changes have been made to the form to help capture all the work members are doing.

Annual Environmental Goals: Clarified to include greenhouse gas reduction plans and goals, while the specific measures (energy, waste, transportation, etc.) will continue to go under those specific check boxes.

Employee Commute/Customer Travel: Expanded to include measures that reduce customer miles traveled as well as employee commute miles.

Green Building: Expanded to encourage members to share whether they own or rent facilities certified by Green Globes, Living Building Challenge, and IgCC, as well as LEED.

Updating your online profile: E-mail green.registry@maryland.gov for your current profile, and then just e-mail it back with your edits.

Host an LED Pop-Up Shop

Maryland Green Registry members have been busy taking advantage of the EmPower Maryland rebates to upgrade lighting and other equipment, but have your employees also been taking advantage of the instant rebates to upgrade to LEDs at home?  

An easy way to raise awareness of these rebates and engage your employees is to schedule a "Bright Way to Save" event. The exhibit is fully staffed and offers a variety of LEDs at bargain basement prices. As a bonus, you'll receive a report on the kWh reduced through the day's sales (which we hope you'll share in your Registry member profile!).  

To participate, your business must be located in the BGE service area and have a minimum of 200 employees. If you don't meet those requirements, perhaps your green team can still help get the word out to let employees know that the in-store instant rebates make Maryland a great place to shop for LEDs.

To schedule the LED Pop Up Store, contact nick.johnson@techniart.com, 732-529-6588