On Sept. 28, upper school science teachers Jeff Sutton and Kate Schafer, facility coordinator Janet Rohrer and Office of Communication Director Pam Dickinson attended an event hosted by the County of Santa Clara Green Business Program, which recognized organizations certified as Green Businesses by the Bay Area Green Business Program. About half of the nearly 100 businesses recognized were newly certified; the remainder had their certifications renewed.

Harker was certified as a Green Business in July, following a multiyear effort that included all four campuses. The many initiatives included expanding the use of recycled paper, altering the use and acquisition of food products, and using recycled oil in Harker transportation vehicles.

At the event, Dickinson and Schafer spoke about how the program factored into Harker’s long-term sustainability goals and the process of coordinating the efforts of many different departments.

“There were many possible directions we could have gone, but the certified Green Business Program provided a crucial framework for how we could best proceed,” said Schafer. “It let us set reasonable benchmarks for ourselves across a wide range of topics, some of which we knew little about.”