BERC was established in 1993 as a one-stop, non-regulatory permit assistance center to help Sacramento County businesses understand and comply with federal, state and local environmental regulations. BERC's services to the community include:
Free and confidential environmental and non-environmental compliance consultations to businesses including possibilities for minimizing or avoiding adverse impacts of environmental regulation
Business advocate services such as ombudsman / facilitation activities and acting as a liaison with regulatory agencies to advocate within government for effective environmental regulation
Educational outreach through the creation of technical fact sheets, guidance documents, seminars and workshops
Promotion of pollution prevention practices at businesses
Coordination of an annual Sacramento Sustainable Business Awards Events
Administration of programs that benefit the environment while also improving quality of life such as the Brownfields and Sacramento Sustainable Business Programs
FEMA offers a Ready Business Web site devoted to providing tools to businesses to assist them in creating a plan that addresses many natural disasters, including floods. Ready Business offers a 5-step process for businesses to develop a preparedness program , including: program management, planning, implementation, testing and exercises and program improvement.