NORTHPORT, NEW YORK, -- YellowPagesGoesGreen.org (“YPGG”), a telephone directory at the forefront of the environmentally-conscious “Green” movement, has announced official certification by Green America® as meeting their high standards for social and environmental impact, a distinction that falls in line with YPGG’s steadfast dedication to business practices that highlight nature, sustainability, and the common good.

An innovator in digital business and telephone directory listings and an advocate for staunch environmentalism, YellowPagesGoesGreen.org is a cutting-edge website that delivers over 28.5 million up-to-the-minute Yellow Page listings and over 200 million White page listings throughout the United States. In addition, YPGG is a pioneer in the national phone book “opt-out” movement that seeks to abolish obsolete print telephone directories that are not only out-of-date by the time they land on doorsteps, but find themselves clogging landfills by the millions shortly thereafter.

One reason consumers are turning away from print directories in favor of online ones such as YellowPagesGoesGreen.org is to help reduce man’s destructive footprint on the environment. The degree that society consumes and destroys forests in the name of paper consumption is alarming, especially when the amount of wood and paper thrown away each year is enough to heat 50 million homes for 20 years.

Green America is a national, 501(c) not-for-profit membership organization founded in 1982 whose mission is to harness economic power—the strength of consumers, investors, businesses, and the marketplace—to create a socially just and environmentally sustainable society. Green America® works for a world where all people have enough, where all communities are healthy and safe, and where the bounty of the Earth is preserved for all the generations to come.

Green America's Green Business Certification came about from a dedication of the organization to harness the economic power of consumers, investors and businesses to address vital social issues and environmental sustainability, helping businesses and people sharing the same “green” ideology to forge everlasting bonds in the marketplace. YPGG has successfully earned Green America's Green Business Certification, and as a result, proudly displays the Great America Seal for the entire world to see.

Among the aspects of a business that qualify it for Green America's Green Business Certification are a "values-driven" attitude of actively striving to promote positive social change; running their operation in an environmentally responsible manner in all aspects; adhere to practices that benefit workers, customers, communities, and the environment; and maintaining transparency in their dealings via continuous record-keeping and tracking of progress. By holding these ideals as paramount in running their business, consumers can feel confident that any business – such as Yellow Pages Goes Green®– that proudly displays the Great America Seal is a business that shares their values of supporting workers, their communities, and the environment.

According to Michael Keegan, Owner and CEO of Yellow Pages Directory Inc., the parent company of YellowPagesGoesGreen.org, this certification on the part of Green America’s National Green Pages is a humble acknowledgment of YPGG’s passionate adherence to vital environmental and social issues that are the driving force behind every business decision they make.

“Yellow Pages Directory Inc. and YellowPagesGoesGreen.org are honored to be awarded with Green America's Green Business Certification,” he said. “For years, the name of Green America has been synonymous with all-American environmental and social values, and this is a standard that Yellow Pages Goes Green®seeks to measure up to at all times and all aspects of the business. We will display our Great America Seal at all times so that the consumer will know that we too are advocates for a better, brighter tomorrow.”

Yellow Pages Directory Inc., owner of both YellowPagesGoesGreen.org and PaperlessPetition.org, offers an environmentally-friendly Web-based alternative to paper telephone directories while providing a simple and convenient mechanism for customers to opt out from the receipt of printed yellow books. Both web sites have been instrumental in promoting opt-out awareness across the United States over the past several years, and allowing users to reduce their own environmental footprints in the process. Yellow Pages Directory Inc. has also taken steps to reduce its own impact on the environment through the use of the most up-to-date and energy-efficient web-hosting services available.

Reprints from environmental or news and media agencies is encouraged.