UnCommon Sense helps businesses save money & much more

Island Park News

Published: May 19, 2010

ISLAND PARK – Looking for a way to help your business go "green," and also to increase your bottom line? Yellowstone Business Partnership (YBP) is hosting a leadership program to help Greater Yellowstone businesses do just that, and Island Park businesses are invited to participate, along wth other area businesses.

UnCommon Sense is a sustainability leadership program in its fifth year, with a track record for helping businesses save money while contributing to their community’s social and environmental well-being. A combination of workshops in conjunction with hands-on work help businesses achieve sustainability goals. UnCommon Sense is designed to tackle the often overwhelming topic of sustainability, and offers group and individual support tailored to specific business needs.

“When we began the program, our company had started a few efforts around reducing energy and waste, but it was not a company-wide effort. Since then we have created a 'green team' and incorporated a Corporate Social Responsibility statement into our mission. The UnCommon Sense program allowed us to organize ourselves and make a real commitment to improving our operations…I am confident that we would not have been able to impact change as we have without the structure of the UnCommon Sense program,” says Jennifer Brannen, Marketing Manager for Silver Star Communications in Driggs, UnCommon Sense graduate.

Eastern Idaho businesses involved in the UnCommon Sense program include Creative Energies, Grand Targhee Resort, Harmony Design, NOLS Teton Valley office, Plan One Architects, and Silver Star Communications.

The application period is open through Monday, March 15. Just 20 businesses will be accepted into the next class which starts in April. To apply for UnCommon Sense or for more information please contact Heather Burdette at (406) 600-6617 or hburdette@yellowstonebusiness.org,

or visit yellowstonebusiness.org/our_programs/sustainability.

Yellowstone Business Partnership hosts an annual conference at Jackson Lake Lodge in Grand Teton National Park.  This year's theme is, "Re-Envisioning Winter: Making the Most of Greater Yellowstone’s Longest Season." Author Gary Ferguson is the conference's keynote speaker, and other speakers include Rob Van Kirk and Ruth Shea on the importance of the Yellowstone winter to water resources and trumpeter swans. For registration information, contact 406.522.7809 ; 888.583.8283; info@yellowstonebusiness.org .

The Yellowstone Business Partnership (YBP) is the only tri-state organization working to resolve the major cross-boundary challenges facing communities in the Yellowstone-Teton region. We believe that to achieve long-term profitability in this special place, businesses must fulfill their social and environmental responsibilities, and care for the region as a whole.

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