Businesses going green with BEA

ROHNERT PARK — Turning to solar power, retrofitting energy systems, reducing water use, packaging with recycled materials, converting to alternative fuels — these are some of the ways businesses are going green in Sonoma County.

A growing number of local companies are joining the Business Environmental Alliance, a public-private partnership that honored 16 companies Friday for environmentally friendly practices.

More than 250 business and government leaders attended the alliance’s annual awards breakfast in Rohnert Park, more than five times the number at the inaugural event seven years ago.

Local businesses will play a critical role in efforts to reduce use of natural resources and the generation of greenhouse gases, said Sonoma County Supervisor Tim Smith, the keynote speaker.

“We are now confronted with no doubt what will be the world’s biggest challenge. It’s you folks, it’s not going to be the government, who make the changes,” he said. “If it doesn’t happen in Sonoma County, it’s not going to happen anywhere.”