The Wheaton Sustainable Innovation Zone is offering a series of business and sustainability workshops for Wheaton business leaders and entrepreneurs. The workshops will guide participants through some fundamental business training and sustainability certifications, related to marketing, funding, and greening their practices. Our goal is to help local businesses position themselves for growth, impact, and profit in a green economy. The Green Economy approach provides an economic perspective on sustainable development with a focus on engaging the private sector to invest in green activities and infrastructure, while supporting fair employment practices and green job skills.

The series includes 4 workshops on the following topics:

Funding Opportunities | Tuesday, May 9th, 12pm-1:30pm (in-person)
In this session we’ll discuss a range of funding sources for small businesses and entrepreneurs, including grants, loans, and programs.

Getting Green Certified | Thursday, May 11th, 11am – 12:30pm (online)
This session will focus on certifications businesses can receive to identify them as green businesses. We’ll include information on Montgomery County Green Business Certification and B Corp Certification.

Learn from Green Entrepreneurs | Tuesday, May 16th, 12pm – 1:30pm (in-person)
In this session, participants will hear from 2 local businesses on how they’ve adopted green or sustainable practices into their business models.

Marketing Your Story | Thursday, May 18th, 12pm-1:30pm (online)
This session will focus on marketing tips and tricks for small businesses, including potential platforms and tools. We’ll also discuss how sustainable and ESG practices are marketed by other businesses.

In-person events will be held at Worksource Montgomery Wheaton, 11510 Georgia Ave, Wheaton-Glenmont, MD 20902. The meeting room will be on the 3rd floor. For online events, you will receive a calendar invite with the zoom link attached.

This series is free and open to all Montgomery County businesses. No industry or sector specificity. Please reach out to info@wsizmd.org with any questions.