GreeNWAy Chamber Program Continues to Strengthen Roots

Due to the vigilance of the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce, an increasingly popular program called the GreeNWAy Initiative is providing sustainable expertise to area businesses.

The new effort launched in February with the support of University of Arkansas and city officials. The Chamber would like to see the program spread to sister chambers across Arkansas.

So far 16 Fayetteville businesses have joined, and about 70 others have inquired. Officials hope to soon add their first Springdale-based member.

Membership is based on employee counts with fees ranging from $50 to $700.The largest current participant by employees is Pinnacle Foods.

Aside from exposure as a green business, companies obtain the assistance of an audit team that tracks energy usage via utility bills. Attendance at quarterly training sessions is also required.

“We’re very happy with growth so far,” said Curtis Northcutt, chamber coordinator for the GreeNWAy Initiative. “Green and sustainable is the hot topic these days. If you can market yourself as a true green business and actually have some validity behind that, you can see an increase in business.”