The next Launch NOLA Green Business Academy will begin in Fall 2021. The exact date is not yet determined but will be communicated to all applicants as soon as it is set.

The entire 12-week course and hands-on apprenticeship training costs only $150. We also offer payment plans to help ensure that the price is not a barrier to businesses when they apply.

The Green Business Academy is broken into two sections, focusing first on your business, then learning about green infrastructure and how to use it to expand your business.

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During the business portion, business owners build (or rebuild) the foundation of their business to ensure that the business is resilient, sustainable, and ready to grow. Through this portion, participants explore and apply lessons in marketing, new product/service development, sales, accounting and finance, legal structures and tax, as well as creating a plan for the future.

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During the Green Infrastructure portion, business owners learn both the theory of sustainable green infrastructure within the context of our city, as well as the practical "how-to" side of green infrastructure. By the end of this portion, participants leave with a core understanding of how and why green infrastructure works, the benefits it provides to homeowners and communities, and know how to evaluate a residential property and design and install basic green infrastructure interventions to alleviate runoff and flooding (including french drains, bioswales, permeable pavers, rain gardens, native plants and trees, dry wells, and more).

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Participants will learn how to incorporate these new skills and tools into their business in order to grow and expand their business in the Green Infrastructure industry.

Green Infrastructure (GI) is a term used for man-made landscaping and construction installations that mimic the effects of nature. At it's most basic, it's landscaping and hardscaping that reduces flooding.

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The NRDC defines GI s follows:

Green infrastructure encompasses a variety of water management practices, such as vegetated rooftops, roadside plantings, absorbent gardens, and other measures that capture, filter, and reduce stormwater. In doing so, it cuts down on the amount of flooding and reduces the polluted runoff that reaches sewers, streams, rivers, lakes, and oceans. Green infrastructure captures the rain where it falls. It mimics natural hydrological processes and uses natural elements such as soil and plants to turn rainfall into a resource instead of a waste. It also increases the quality and quantity of local water supplies and provides myriad other environmental, economic, and health benefits—often in nature-starved urban areas. 

As flooding across New Orleans continues to be a hazard, businesses, residents, and the local government are all beginning to look to Green Infrastructure as a leading solution to flooding and runoff. Over the past several years, the city alone has invested over $10 million into installing Green Infrastructure through projects like the Lafitte Greenway and Gentilly CAP. Meanwhile, nonprofits like the Front Yard Initiative have encouraged businesses and homeowners to invest in green infrastructure. 

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Simply put, the demand for Green Infrastructure is growing, but there are only a few local companies who know how to do the work to install and maintain GI.

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Additionally, because of it's specialized nature, GI installations and maintenance are priced higher than regular landscaping and lawn maintenance. 

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By incorporating GI into your business, you can position yourself to upsell existing clients through new GI revenue streams, get higher-paying jobs, and win new contracts as demand grows.

To learn more about Launch NOLA Green, contact the Program Director, Kayti Chung-Williams.

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Email: Kayti@LaunchNOLA.org

Phone: 504.564.7739