A handful of Cascadia companies are among the top 50 eco-friendly businesses in the U.S., according to Inc. magazine. The subjective list, called the Green 50, is a play on the magazine's annual ranking of 500 top startups.
A few caught my eye:
Burgerville, a Vancouver, Wash., fast-food chain, shoots for near-sustainability. It buys all its beef from a natural coop, powers its restaurants with wind power and started a program to turn cooking oil into bidiesel.
Ryzex Group of Bellingham recycles bar-code scanners and other electronic equipment. It expects revenue of $75 million this year.
Collins Companies of Portland among the first timber companies to seek certification from the Forest Stewardship Council, an organization that vouches for the long-term viability of forests.
Teragren of Bainbridge Island, Wash., uses sustainably grown bamboo for floors and furniture. Fast-growing bamboo supposedly has less impact that other kinds of wood. The compay is trying to market it for building materials such as trusses that have traditionally belonged to softwood.
Prometheus Energy of Seattle developed a process to capture and purify methane gas, and turn it into liquefied natural gas to power buses. The company taps landfills to power buses in nearby communities.