The Nevada Business Environmental Program (BEP) hosted more than 50 participants from across the country for the first in-person National Small Business Environmental Assistance Program (SBEAP) annual training since 2019 on March 20-23. The conference was supported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), NV Energy, Nevada Division of Environmental Protection and the College of Business at the University of Nevada, Reno, among others.

The Nevada BEP, which provides environmental compliance, sustainability and energy advisory services to small and mid-sized businesses and local government programs across the state, is based in the College of Business and affiliated with the Nevada Small Business Development Center.

“What makes Nevada BEP unique is that we can act as a neutral third party and we understand the business case when we help businesses and government agencies navigate environmental regulations,” Christopher Lynch, director of Nevada BEP and vice-chair of SBEAP’s National Steering Committee, said. “Many of the other programs across the country are through a state environmental agency, and some business owners may be reluctant to call a state agency. I give a lot of credit to the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) for working with BEP to provide business outreach and advisory services since 1988.”

Participants arrived Monday evening to a networking dinner in Stateline, Nev. Tuesday opened with an update from the EPA Regional Administrator Martha Guzman and NDEP Deputy Administrator Jeffrey Kinder as well as welcoming remarks from Lynch and Gregory Mosier, the dean of the College of Business.

Marie Steele, vice president of Integrated Energy Services for NV Energy, highlighted efforts by NV Energy to engage with historically underserved communities. Derek Kauneckis with the Desert Research Institute talked about the Buen Aire Para Todos Project, which aims to promote air quality monitoring in East Las Vegas.

Tuesday concluded with a reception and gift exchange at BLU Nightclub in Bally’s. During the gift exchange, each participant brought a small gift representative of their state for someone else to open, a tradition that has not been possible since the training in 2019 due to COVID-19 restrictions.

At Wednesday’s awards program, Nevada BEP was awarded the 2023 SBEAP Excellence Award, acknowledging the efforts of the program to provide support for Nevada small businesses.

“It’s great to be back in person again, and it’s a great feeling to be recognized by our peers for the role that we’ve played in providing leadership for the national network and the assistance we provide businesses and government organizations across Nevada,” Lynch said.