Date Approved

2017

Degree Type

Open Access Senior Honors Thesis

Department or School

Management

First Advisor

Lisa Barley

Second Advisor

Anushri Rawat

Abstract

Instilling a sense of community within businesses, the basis of our society, may strengthen community building and therefore our path towards sustainable communities. Thus, through a literature review, buyer behavior, green businesses, sustainable communities, and community building have been defined in order to further research regarding whether green businesses have a more significant impact on the well-being of a community. Additionally, six case studies of local Ypsilanti businesses were conducted through applying the Green America Green Business five-part criteria, sustainable community building criteria, and analogical reasoning to analyze whether a business could be classified as a green company and whether it contributed to extraordinary practices in community building.

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