Benson Mills Group Achieves Gold Level Green Business Certification

July 3, 2012 - PRLog -- HOUSTON – Georgia-based Benson Mills Group, LLC (BMG) is an award-winning food safety project management firm dedicated to nurturing the vision of foodservice professionals and business owners.  As a company that provides food safety training and commercial kitchen cleaning services, sustainability, waste reduction and the prevention of contamination and pollution are inherent components of its service offering.  BMG has demonstrated its commitment to enhancing customer support and upholding its mission by achieving the Green Business Bureau’s (GBB) Gold Level green business certification.
“Consciousness of the environmental impacts of business operations is becoming increasingly important,” says Terri R. Waller, BMG’s President and CEO.  “As a provider of both food safety training and facilities cleaning, it is important for our company to practice what we preach. “
BMG became a member of the GBB in 2011.  Waller says the convenience of GBB’s online tools and its reasonable pricing allowed BMG to achieve its green goals without interfering with normal business operations or being financially burdensome.
GBB’s two-fold mission of helping the environment and helping the businesses which it serves is parallel to BMG’s commitment to providing its customers with the tools needed to implement processes that are aligned with the strategic vision of their organizations and which have positive impacts on their organizations’ bottom lines, says Waller.    “When the visions of two organizations are so closely in sync with one another, a successful outcome is virtually inevitable,” she says.  
The GBB offers three levels of certification, Aware, Gold and Platinum.  To achieve Gold Level certification, BMG accrued 200 points by completing a menu of green initiatives.  Gold certification with GBB requires the implementation of a robust mix of practices that demonstrate BMG’s commitment to environmental responsibility.  
“By ‘going for gold by going green’ as we called it,” says Waller, “we understood that  making such an effort would show customers that exceeding the minimum is what BMG wants for them as well as itself.”  
Waller adds that attaining Gold level Certification involved making some very simple changes such as reducing paper use and waste by practicing double-sided printing and making the BMG office a smoke-free environment. The company realized cost saving on light bulbs, reductions in paper use, and water usage.  In sum, she says, “achieving Gold level certification was very much worthwhile. “
In addition, Waller says, GBB membership has prompted potential customers to take notice of BMG’s dedication to environmental sustainability while allowing the company to promote “going green” through its own testimonials.
“In terms of branding,” says Waller, “we believe that GBB membership will move us closer to being their first (and only) choice for food service organizations seeking food safety certification, consulting and facilities cleaning.”
The GBB promotes and educates businesses on the importance of sustainable operating practices through its national, third-party certification.  Combining a cutting-edge online platform with independent, third-party auditing, the GBB offers a robust accreditation that demonstrates to consumers that a business has committed to employing eco-friendly practices.  The GBB membership seal has become a recognized symbol that identifies an environmentally-responsible enterprise to consumers and other businesses alike.
For more information on the GBB program, please visit http://www.gbb.org.
For more information on the BMG and its services, please visit http:// www.bensonmillsgroup.com.