Partnerships goal is to reduce and prevent litter in local areas
BATON ROUGE, La. (June 6, 2023) — The Baton Rouge Area Chamber (BRAC) today joined the Clean BIZ Partnership, a new program created by Keep Louisiana Beautiful (KLB) aimed at reducing and preventing litter, and is asking area businesses to share in the responsibility of addressing the state’s litter problem.
KLB, in cooperation with the Louisiana Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (LACCE), is asking Chambers across Louisiana to join the Clean BIZ Partnership and recruit businesses in their area to participate as a Clean BIZ Partner. As part of the new campaign, KLB is providing supplies, recognition and branded marketing toolkits to participating Chambers and enrolled businesses to display in their place of business. As a partner, a business pledges to adopt daily best practices for reducing and preventing litter such as cleaning parking bays, placing trash receptacles at a storefront, and maintaining a clean dumpster area. The program was created to address a recommendation made from the Litter Abatement and Beautification Task Force created by Governor Edwards and chaired by Lt. Governor Nungesser.
“A clean Capital Region is good for business — by doing our part and keeping our businesses litter free, we are giving a great first impression to customers and visitors while positively impacting our state’s economic development efforts,” said Trent Bondy, BRAC Quality of Place Council chairman and director of compliance at LUBA Workers Comp. “I encourage all businesses, BRAC investors or not, to engage in this effort, a collective approach is how we will move the needle on a more beautiful Baton Rouge.”
According to KLB Executive Director Susan Russell, a recent litter public attitude survey conducted in Louisiana showed that 89% of those polled stated they believe litter negatively impacts businesses by decreasing revenues.
“Litter is a problem that affects the health and vitality of all communities in Louisiana,” said Russell. “Street flooding, property values, tourism, our state’s image, the environment and our businesses are all impacted by litter — it’s a responsibility that must be shared by all of us, including the business community, to make meaningful change and keep our communities litter free.”
“Enhancing our region’s livability, one of BRAC’s key five-year strategic plan goals, is increasingly important to boosting the region’s attractiveness to existing and prospective talent,” said Caila Miceli, BRAC quality of place research and project manager. “Litter is one of the most easily fixable issues in our community that we can address that contributes to an area’s livability. Through joint efforts, like this Clean BIZ partnership, we can make significant progress on this issue together.”
Businesses can sign up to be a Clean BIZ Partner at bit.ly/CleanBIZPartnershipApplication. For more information about the program, visit KeepLouisianaBeautiful.org/CleanBiz.
About the Baton Rouge Area Chamber
The Baton Rouge Area Chamber (BRAC) is an aggressively ambitious regional economic development organization with a bias for action. BRAC seeks to push Baton Rouge beyond the status quo, unleash its potential, and support a vibrant business community that believes the finish line does not exist. BRAC seeks to accelerate economic opportunity in the Baton Rouge Area, for everyone, through BRING IT! Baton Rouge, its five-year, regional strategic plan. Learn more about BRAC at brac.org.
About Keep Louisiana Beautiful
Keep Louisiana Beautiful is an anti‐litter and community improvement non-profit organization focused on achieving a clean and beautiful Louisiana through education, enforcement, public awareness, and community engagement. Keep Louisiana Beautiful is affiliated with Keep America Beautiful and is comprised of a statewide network of 40 Community Affiliates and seven University Affiliates. Learn more at keeplouisianabeautiful.org.
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