Green Business
Boot Camp

About the Program

Local First’s Green Business Boot Camp, formerly called SCALE UP, is an award-winning program that offers a comprehensive planning series for locally-owned and operated businesses and nonprofits throughout the state.

Sponsored by the State of Arizona, each cohort meets for seven courses - once each week - to hear from experts, share and learn about cost-saving resources, and learn about unique opportunities for businesses to go from education and collaboration to planning, financing, benchmarking and implementation — all in one accessible package.

Photo credit: compostfoundation.org

Schedule for 2024 Green Business Boot Camp:

Verde Valley - In-person (7 sessions)

Cohort 5: May 15 - June 26, 2024 Wednesdays 5-6 p.m.
Cohort 6: Oct 2 - November 13, 2024 Wednesdays 5-6 p.m.

Statewide - Virtual (7 sessions)

Cohort 16: April 23 - June 4, 2024 Tuesdays 4-5 p.m.
Cohort 17: 9/10/24 - 10/22/24 Tuesdays 4-5:00 p.m.

Flagstaff - 2 In-person, 7 Virtual (9 sessions)

Cohort 1: 7 virtual statewide sessions in addition to 2 in-person sessions:

Wednesday, April 17, 3:30 – 5pm
Wednesday June 12, 3:30 – 5pm
Location: Moonshot (2201 N. Gemini Dr, Flagstaff, AZ 86001)

Apply

Schedule a Free Consultation

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Participant Projects

Business Benefits:

Rebuild with an emphasis on equity and sustainability during COVID 19. Retool your business plan and start on a new project to make your business more sustainable and resilient, attracting customers and engaging employees.

Learn from local sustainability experts about business-oriented climate, community, and cost-savings solutions.
Get one-on-one support for your planning and business needs to differentiate and strengthen your business model.

Join a community of businesses and nonprofits across Arizona area working to be more sustainable.

Access low-cost, short-term microloans to finance Green Business Boot Camp projects through the Green Community Fund, developed in partnership with the Community Investment Corporation.

Program Structure

01.
Begin

Join a Green Business Boot Camp cohort of 10-15 businesses with an initial sustainability project idea, whether general or specific.

02.
Meet

Actively participate in the entire seven-week series, which meets weekly on Tuesdays at 5 p.m. and includes approximately 2-3 hours of homework per week.

03.
Collect

Benchmark baseline energy and water use through ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager.

04.
Plan

Draft a sustainability project plan that leads to a projected 20% reduction in energy use, water consumption, waste generation, and/or transportation emissions.

05.
Improve

Incorporate social and community impact into the project, addressing equity, resiliency, and communication.

06.
Progress

Continue to follow up on project progress and receive support for a full year after Green Business Boot Camp completion, including quarterly group reunions.

Criteria

Local First Arizona member

Located in the greater the Verde Valley (Yavapai County), Tucson, or Greater Phoenix areas

Identify an initial Green Business Boot Camp project idea addressing sustainability & resiliency, whether general or specific.

Commitment to participate in the entire Green Business Boot Camp series and to follow up on project progress towards the 20% reduction.

Syllabus

Curriculum

Week 1

Orientation to Green Business Boot Camp

This session provides an overview of the Green Business Boot Camp, financing opportunities, benchmarking, equity and inclusion, and disaster planning.

Week 2

Water

This session provides an overview of how water works in Arizona, the energy-water nexus, rainwater harvesting, sustainable landscaping, and reclaimed water. It is expected businesses will come away with specific action ideas for addressing water consumption.

Week 3

Energy

This session provides an overview of how energy works in Arizona, renewables, decentralized energy, carbon emissions, building efficiency, electrification. It is expected businesses will come away with specific action ideas for addressing energy consumption.

Week 4

Waste

This session provides an overview of how waste works in Arizona, low waste practices, conducting waste audits, food purchasing, and sustainable procurement. It is expected businesses will come away with specific action ideas for addressing waste.

Week 5

Transportation

This session provides an overview of how transportation works in Arizona, air quality, public transportation, bike & pedestrian, employee commuting, EV charging, and fleet electrification. It is expected businesses will come away with specific action ideas for addressing transportation.

Week 6

Culture of Sustainability & Social Impact

This session provides an overview of employee and customer engagement, sustainability communication, and climate change. It is expected businesses will integrate techniques suggested in this class into their project plan, with some of the technical learnings from earlier weeks.

Week 7

Sustainability Projects

In this session, each participant will have 5-10 minutes to present their sustainability plans. We also describe, in detail, the exclusive benefits available to Green Business Boot Camp participants, and the follow-up year-long support schedule.

“This incredible program offers real solutions that are attainable to accomplish with the help of all the instructors and team leaders. Learning about energy, water, waste and transportation sustainable models and applying them to your business is remarkable. The ability to lessen our biological footprint, become a more circular economy as well as bringing in more social justice issues to the forefront of our community has never seemed achievable until I took this class. This goal oriented class focuses on your needs and all the leaders help you reach sustainable goals. I am not saying this well but I can work on this and get back to you. or feel free to reach back out to us because we really want to recommend it to everyone.”

— Libby Tobey, Pop-Cycle, Cohort 1
“This program lays out an excellent framework for developing an internal culture of sustainability and provides an abundance of information and support to suit any business or organization's needs. I would recommend SCALE UP to anyone who gives a damn about the planet and our community.”

Luc Goodhart, BRINK Media, Cohort 1
“It was a very worthwhile investment in our own education about sustainability and the steps with launching and managing our own new project. We were so happy to be part of this wonderful SCALE UP Project!”

— Mark Flanigan, Imago Dei MIddle School, Cohort 1
“This program is an amazing start in learning about how we consumers affect the earth. It was helpful to learn about changes we can make in both our home and business.”

— Randiesia Fletcher, Harris Herman Enterprises, Cohort 1
“SCALE UP provides a good roadmap for jumpstarting sustainability efforts at a business or organization.”

— Kevin Green, Sustainable Tucson, Cohort 1

Scale Up: 2018 Pilot.

The SCALE UP Phase One pilot ran between March 1 - June 30, 2018 and proved to be a successful platform for collaboration, education, project planning and budgetary savings. In April 2019, Local First Arizona was awarded the Tucson Electric Power Go Green Business Development Partner Award for our program.

SCALE UP: 2018 PILOT

Volunteer Opportunities

Interested in volunteering with Local First Arizona and the SCALE UP Program? Check out our volunteer opportunities page for updates and available opportunities.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

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