CERTIFICATIONS

Green Business Certification

Being a Certified Green Business is the clearest way to show your community and customers that you care about sustainability. It shows them that you are committed to taking action to conserve resources and prevent pollution in both the facility and operations. It means that your business complies with environmental regulations in the areas of waste, energy, water, pollution prevention, and air quality.

Benefits:

Save Money

Improve Employee Wellness

Enjoy a Marketing Edge Over the Competition

Receive Recognition by your local City or County

Rebates to Help with the Transition

California Green Business Network

small disadvantaged business cetrtification

The Federal Government award about 10% of all federal contract dollars, or roughly $50 billion in contracts, to Small Disadvantages Businesses. To qualify, your business must:

Be 51% or more owned and controlled by one or more disadvantaged persons

The disadvantaged person or persons must be socially disadvantaged and economically disadvantaged

The business must be small, according to the SBA’s size standards

Monterey Bay Apex Accelerator

LGBTQ+ Owned Business Certification (STATE)

The Supplier Clearinghouse certifies firms and publishes a directory for use by participating utility companies and the public. These activities are governed by General Order 156 of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and the Supplier Clearinghouse Eligibility Standards. The program provides certified MBE, WBE, DVBE, LGBTBE and PDBE firms the opportunity to participate in a wide range of business opportunities. 

The Supplier Clearinghouse

Minority-Owned Business Certification (State)

The Supplier Clearinghouse certifies firms and publishes a directory for use by participating utility companies and the public. These activities are governed by General Order 156 of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and the Supplier Clearinghouse Eligibility Standards. The program provides certified MBE, WBE, DVBE, LGBTBE and PDBE firms the opportunity to participate in a wide range of business opportunities. 

The Supplier Clearinghouse

Persons with Disabilities owned business certification (STAte)

The Supplier Clearinghouse certifies firms and publishes a directory for use by participating utility companies and the public. These activities are governed by General Order 156 of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and the Supplier Clearinghouse Eligibility Standards. The program provides certified MBE, WBE, DVBE, LGBTBE and PDBE firms the opportunity to participate in a wide range of business opportunities. 

The Supplier Clearinghouse

7(j) management and technical assistance

Authorized by the Small Business Act, SBA’s 7(j) Management and Technical Assistance program, or the 7(j) program, provides high-quality assistance to SBA-approved small businesses to help them successfully compete for federal, state, and local contracting opportunities as a prime or subcontractor. In 2019, the federal government exceeded their small business contracting goal (5%) for the seventh consecutive year, awarding a record breaking $132.9 billion in prime contracts to small businesses.

Businesses in the program receive training, executive education, and one-on-one consulting in a wide range of activities, and the opportunity to participate in courses in the following areas:

Accounting
Marketing
Strategic and operational planning
Financial analysis
Business development
Contract management
Compliance
Various business-related software

Monterey Bay Apex Accelerator

8(a) Business Development Certification (Federal)

The 8(a) program can be a valuable tool for experienced socially and economically disadvantaged small business owners, who have already been in business for at least two years or more, and are interested in expanding their footprint in the federal marketplace. The 8(a) program offers unique and valuable business assistance. The 8(a) certification does not guarantee contract awards but it is a dynamic tool to pursue and capture new opportunity from the government.

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hub zone certification (federal)

The government limits competition for certain contracts to businesses in historically underutilized business zones. It also gives preferential consideration to those businesses in full and open competition.

Joining the HUBZone program makes your business eligible to compete for the program’s set-aside contracts. HUBZone-certified businesses also get a 10% price evaluation preference in full and open contract competitions.

HUBZone-certified businesses can still compete for contract awards under other socio-economic programs they qualify for.

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Natural Resource Sales Assistance Program (Federal)

SBA uses small business set-asides to help them get a fair share of government property sales and leases.

Set-asides limit bidding on the products exclusively to small businesses first. That way, small businesses get a chance to bid with limited competition before the products are offered to other businesses in the open market.

Sometimes, agencies will divide materials into smaller parcels to make it easier for small businesses to afford.

The SBA also provides counseling and other assistance to small businesses on government sales and leasing.

The program covers five categories of federal resources:

Timber and related forest products
Strategic materials
Royalty oil
Leases involving rights to minerals, coal, oil, and gas
Surplus real and personal property

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SBA Mentor-Protégé program (Federal)

Protégés can get valuable business development help from their mentors in several areas, including:

Guidance on internal business management systems, accounting, marketing, manufacturing, and strategic planning
Financial assistance in the form of equity investments, loans, and bonding
Assistance navigating federal contract bidding, acquisition, and the federal procurement process
Education about international trade, strategic planning, and finding markets
Business development, including strategy and identifying contracting and partnership opportunities
General and administrative assistance, like human resource sharing or security clearance support
A mentor and its protégé can joint venture as a small business for any small business contract, provided the protégé individually qualifies as small. The joint venture may also pursue any type of set-aside contract for which the protégé qualifies, including contracts set aside for 8(a), service-disabled veteran-owned, women-owned, and HUBZone businesses. Visit the Joint Venture program page more information

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Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Certification (federal)

Getting certified by SBA as service-disabled veteran-owned (SDVOSB) makes your business eligible to compete for sole-source and set-aside contracts. At least 3% of all federal contracting dollars each year are set aside specifically for certified SDVOSBs. You can also compete for contracts under other qualifying socio-economic programs.

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Veteran-Owned Small Business Certification (federal)

Getting certified by SBA as veteran-owned (VOSB) makes your business eligible to compete for sole-source and set-aside contracts at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The VA sets aside at least 7% of its contracts each year specifically for certified VOSBs and SDVOSBs. You can also compete for contracts under other qualifying socio-economic programs.

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