Cucina Rustica, Sunset Chateau B&B and The Rose Tree Inn and Wine Tours of Sedona and just got certified as sustainable businesses at the Bronze/Conservationist level.

CUCINA RUSTICA: Yet another of Lisa Dahl’s restaurants just became Bronze certified, Mariposa Latin Inspired Grill being the first. Cucina Rustica was recently added to the list after upgrading older, inefficient equipment. Dahl Restaurant Group is implementing a scanning system to combine deliveries, thereby reducing transportation. Lisa has also been instrumental in expanding Verde Valley School Farm, buying fresh produce from the school which subsidizes food for Bountiful Kitchen healthy lunch program for school kids.

ROSE TREE INN: Noreen and Malachy Wienges bought the Rose Tree Inn in Uptown about a year ago. Since that time, they’ve replaced the roof with one that should last 50 years, turned off the irrigation (except in the hottest summer months) and switched all the lights to LEDs. They also got HE washers and new microwaves. New tenants get packets of Fair Trade coffee and are educated about recycling bins in the area. They quit giving out single-use water bottles and disposed of Round-Up and hundreds of pounds of unnecessary fertilizer. Based on all these improvements, the Rose Tree Inn earned Bronze but was just a point away from Silver.

A SUNSET CHATEAU: This is 25-room bed & breakfast run by Swiss-born Philippe Buillet and his family in West Sedona. Guests can enjoy beautiful red rock views poolside or from the salt-water Jacuzzi tub or swimming pool. The kiva-style fireplace is lit each evening and is a wonderful spot to enjoy the stars or a soak in the hot tub. They use an electric cart to get around and have reduced water use, in part by fixing leaks in their irrigation system. Guests savor Fair Trade coffee. They recycle batteries and electronics at Sedona Recycles.

WINE TOURS OF SEDONA: Jim Reich is passionate about wine and sustainability. In addition to exposing his clients to our amazing local wineries, he educates them about sustainable choices and recycles or composts all their waste from the tour. At his home office, he has a graywater system and he is hoping to create a sustainable community on the property he purchased.

For a complete list of certified businesses organized by organization type, go to this link.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Please favor businesses that make our community better.  ‘Vote with your wallet’ by looking for the Sustainable Business Certification on the Who’s Certified page. And if you like a business that isn’t certified, encourage them to see if they can qualify.

MORE ABOUT THE CERTIFICATION

The certification is a way to recognize and drive business toward companies that do the most for their employees, our community and the environment.

There are three levels of certification:

Conservationist (BRONZE): These organizations have reduced their negative impacts on the environment and improved the quality of life for employees and communities
Innovator (SILVER): These organizations have become producers of sustainable resources, products and energy and are actively influencing customers, suppliers and peers
Sustainable (GOLD): These organizations are fully sustainable, meeting globally accepted sustainability standards. They designed their business model around sustainable mission and share power and wealth with employees.

WHO IS THE SUSTAINABILITY ALLIANCE

The Sustainability Alliance is an inter-disciplinary coalition of non-profits seeking opportunities to make the Verde Valley sustainable.

What if the Verde Valley became a model of sustainability? We could expose our millions of visitors to practical solutions they could implement back home.

The Alliance has three main programs:

BUSINESS: The Sustainability Alliance is recognizing organizations through its Sustainable Business Certification and provides customized recommendations for improvements.

COMMUNITY: The Alliance provides integrated recommendations to local communities on sustainable solutions to problems including traffic, storm-water, and land use. They are also developing a set of indicators to measure the region’s progress toward sustainability.

EDUCATION: The Alliance offers an annual Sustainability in Schools Symposium for teachers and administrators. They’re also collaborating with ASU and NAU on related programs.

The Sustainability Alliance is a coalition of local non-profits each representing a different important community system (eg, energy/climate, water, food/hunger, waste recovery, etc.). They work across disciplines to find synergies.

Currently the core representatives are Cornucopia Community Resources (for food/hunger), Gardens for Humanity (food), Inspiration of Sedona (climate/energy), Keep Sedona Beautiful (nature-human interface, conservation), Oak Creek Watershed Council (water), Sedona Recycles (waste recovery) and the Verde River Basin Partnership (now part of Friends of the Verde Greenway) (water). The Alliance also has affiliates that are involved to a lesser degree or that represent a sub-system, including the City of Sedona (representing municipal services), Healthy World Sedona (diet) and the Sedona Chamber of Commerce (business and tourism strategy).

– Darcy Hitchcock,
Co-Founder, Sustainability Alliance

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