BostInno | Boston Startup, Tech, Education and News

From the bike sharing systems to an environmentally friendly police station, Boston has established a variety of green initiatives to keep the city clean and its carbon footprint low.  However, the city does not act alone in its efforts to promote a “greener” lifestyle both in and out of the workplace. Practically Green, a Boston-based startup focused on socially responsible ventures, aims to provide its users with resources and recommendations, creating opportunities for those users to make green decisions and in turn, share with friends.

Before embarking on a newfound life in “greener” pastures, users on the Practically Green site will take a quick five-minute quiz that will spit out a green score (unfortunately mine was not that high).  The type of the questions you will encounter include: past history in recycling, opting for e-documents, and using reusable shopping bags regularly.

Once you have received a score you can start tracking your progress toward a greener lifestyle.  Practically Green has a pretty incredible digital library that will help you create a comprehensive action plan like the best way to lower your electricity bills or the process of installing a high-efficiency toilet.  Each page will have consumer reviews based on the reviewer’s personal experience with that project. Then, once the user chooses an activity to tackle, they can earn point in one of four categories: water, energy, health, and “stuff”.  The aim is for these points to be exchangeable for goods and services.

One of the fun and interactive parts of the company’s site is the ability to share your progress with friends.  As you graduated from one green step to another, show off to your buddies how you managed to clean up your life (literally and figuratively) in the recent past.  It’s all in good fun, but the bottom line is, these little efforts, when compounded, will make a serious difference.

This was apparent to the judges of the William James Foundation 8th annual socially responsible $100K business plan competition, who awarded Practically Green 1st place this past April for the company’s potential for financial and social impact on society. In addition to this award, Practically Green is playing an important role in the Mayor Menino’s initiative “A Better City” which aims to helping businesses make sustainable changes to meet 2020 climate reduction goals.

Currently living just outside the city, CEO and founder, Susan Hunt Stevens, has been living her startup before the company even existed by blogging about her personal green initiatives.

“I’m actually from the West Coast, but have lived in Boston and NY since college. I love it here and think it’s a great place to start a company, particularly one that is a blend of interactive technology and sustainability.  We have a strong clean tech and tech sector, great developers, and a great culture for entrepreneurs. But what also us is that Boston/New England is a very forward thinking area for sustainable living.  There are some great consumer “healthy green” companies in and around here like Seventh Generation, Preserve, Late July, BluHomes, Gazelle, and Green Mountain Coffee” said Susan, about why she chose Boston as the headquarters for her business.

Practically Green  is now an incredibly dynamic Boston-based community with real-world advice and game mechanics built in to make “going green” simply put, fun. The site is certainly worth checking out and if you are looking to lead a greener life, sign up and take the test.  See where you stand on the green ladder.