Some ventures in Santa Monica earn green business certificates in recognition of their eco-conscious practices. Owner Janabai Amsden's commitment to reduce the negative environmental effects of her small business earned the venture a green business certificate from Santa Monica last spring, one of 20 issued by the city in the last two years.

"As business owners, everything we create and how it gets into the universe -- how it is packaged, how we choose to put it out there -- is actually our personal responsibility," said Amsden, who also owns Euphoria Loves Rawvolution, a green-certified raw-foods cafe, with her husband, Matt. "Our responsibility is exponentially greater than an individual's because our impact is greater."

Los Angeles is trying to get its own green business certification program off the ground but has been hampered by the city's budget deficit.

"As much as people think that environmental causes are not business friendly, we are trying to prove that they are and that there is a market for environmentalism," Alarcon said.

"It's not as difficult as it seems, and the cost savings and the revenue increases from the marketing alone really will help it pay for itself," said Michael Farzam, who plans to replace two hotels, the Pacific Sands and the neighboring Travelodge, with a 164-room Travelodge to be built to qualify for certification from the U.S. Green Building Council under its LEED program, also known as the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System.

Consumers, meanwhile, want a reliable guide to green businesses. The demand from both sides is accelerating in part because of news such as last week's announcement by the Interior Department declaring the polar bear threatened because of the decline in Arctic sea ice.

This is just another way for someone to be on the take. I can just see the corruption already...paying off the green certificate guy, come on....enough is enough already

All other things being equal, I would rather patronize a business that i knew was "certified" green and was at least trying to make a difference than one that wasn't