Hawai‘i Green Business Program Hosts National Green Business Engagement Summit

The Hawai‘i Green Business Program (HGBP) ended 2024 by hosting the Green Business Engagement National Network (GBENN) Summit at the Ala Moana Hotel. The GBENN Summit brings together a consortium of unique local, statewide and national green business programs committed to serving businesses in environmental justice communities by strengthening dialogue, advancing collaborative opportunities and sharing best practice information to foster collaboration in the public and private sectors.

The Hawai‘i State Energy Office presented a keynote address on maintaining engagement over time and sustaining programs through economic and staffing challenges. Summit members discussed driving businesses toward electrification with presentations from the Illinois Green Business Program and the California Green Business Network.

The 2024 GBENN Summit concluded with an inspiring tour of the Hawai‘i Convention Center (HCC). As a participant in the HGBP since 2016, the HCC completed a significant infrastructure upgrade in October 2024 that underscores its commitment to sustainability, replacing five chillers with state-of-the-art energy-efficient chillers, strategically engineered to enhance system reliability and flexibility. This strategic investment is projected to deliver a 17 percent reduction in electrical costs, demonstrating the tangible financial and environmental benefits of energy-efficient technological improvements and serving as an impressive showcase of business and government leading by example.