TO: Napa County Climate Action Committee
FROM: Brian D. Bordona, Director, Napa County Planning, Building & Environmental Services
REPORT BY: Ryan Melendez, Planner II, Sustainability
SUBJECT: Presentation from Linsey Gallagher and Rachel Miers on the partnership between Napa County and Visit Napa Valley to administer and promote the California Green Business Network Certification to businesses in Napa County
RECOMMENDATION
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PRESENTATION: Staff requests that the Climate Action Committee receive a presentation from Linsey Gallagher and Rachel Miers on the partnership between Napa County and Visit Napa Valley to administer and promote the California Green Business Network Certification to businesses in Napa County as well as the Green Hotels Certification Pilot Program.
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ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION: The proposed action is not a project as defined by 14 California
Code of Regulations 15378 (State CEQA Guidelines) and therefore CEQA is not applicable.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Visit Napa Valley is the destination management organization for Napa County. They promote the region as an attractive travel destination and enhance its public image as a dynamic place to visit, live, and work. Visit Napa Valley is partnering with Napa County staff to market and implement the California Green Business Network (CA GBN).
The CA GBN is led by a coalition of cities and counties in California to work with small-to-medium-sized businesses to create a vibrant green economy. Businesses begin by registering and completing information on their business on the GBN website. Once registered, business work with program coordinators (Napa County and Visit Napa Valley) to implement a comprehensive suite of measures to improve the sustainability of the business’ operations. The different measures are summarized in a checklist which includes actions to improve the processes of energy consumption, pollution prevention, solid waste monitoring and disposal, transportation, wastewater, water consumption, and community relations and benefits. Once a business successfully implements all the required actions (as shown on a completed checklist) staff from the County and Visit Napa Valley will conduct an audit in which compliance is verified and certify the business as a “Green Business.” Businesses are then allowed access to use the CA GBN online tool to create a company profile and let the public know who they are and be featured on the CA GBN website. There is no cost to businesses to sign up and become certified (other than any costs associated with implementing the required measures), and businesses located within the City of Napa can receive a $500 stipend for becoming a certified Green Business.
In 2024, Napa County partnered with Visit Napa Valley to market and implement the Green Business Network within the Napa region. Visit Napa Valley has also launched a Green Lodging Pilot Program which aims to certify eight (8) small-to-medium hotels in Napa County through the CA GBN. Rachel Miers, Principal Consultant from Farah Consulting, LLC and Linsey Gallagher, the President and CEO of Visit Napa Valley, will give a presentation about the partnership between Napa County and Visit Napa Valley about the Green Lodging Pilot Program.
Rachel Miers runs a boutique consulting firm, Farah Consulting, focusing on responsible tourism, innovation, and sustainability. Rachel is currently helping Visit Napa Valley’s launch destination stewardship initiatives across the Napa Valley. Over the past ten years, Rachel has worked at the intersection of travel, hospitality, and innovation, including launching, growing, and exiting a travel-tech startup based between the US and Portugal.
Prior to working in travel and technology, Rachel’s background includes extensive experience in public policy and workforce development. Rachel was the Director of Clean Energy Workforce Development Programming at Los Angeles Trade Technical College, the largest public trade school in the US, and worked in the Performance Management Division of the Los Angeles Mayor’s Office.
Rachel has a BA from UC Berkeley and a Master’s in Public Policy from UCLA and speaks Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese. Rachel volunteers as a legal translator for youth immigration asylum cases.
Linsey Gallagher is the president and CEO of Visit Napa Valley. She joined in 2019 after serving 10 years as Vice President, International Marketing for the California Wine Institute. She gained wine industry experience at E. & J. Gallo Winery, and prior to that she worked at NBC’s Today Show and General Electric’s GE Capital Services.
Gallagher earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Vermont and an MBA degree from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.