Mayor Bowser Releases the 2022 Green Book, the District’s Small Business Enterprise Opportunity Guide

(Washington, DC) – Today, at the DC Chamber Annual Meeting, Mayor Muriel Bowser released the Fiscal Year 2022 Small Business Enterprise (SBE) Opportunity Guide, also known as the Green Book, and, for the first time ever, announced a spending goal of $1.1 billion. The Green Book assists SBEs in navigating the local government procurement process by providing an agency-by-agency overview of SBE spending availability. For the second year in a row, the Green Book will be online, searchable, and interactive.

“For two years in a row, the Green Book has helped DC Government spend a billion dollars with our small and local businesses,” said Mayor Muriel Bowser. “We reached this milestone because we were intentional about making it happen. We were intentional about keeping local dollars in DC. We were intentional about working with businesses that would train and hire DC residents. We were intentional about leveraging the procurement power of DC Government to give more DC residents a fair shot. That’s the power of the Green Book and that’s why it’s so important that our small businesses are looking at upcoming opportunities and finding ways to work with us.”

Mayor Bowser created the Green Book in 2015 (FY16), and that first edition had a spend goal of $317 million. In FY21, the Bowser Administration committed to spend $910 million with SBEs and exceeded that goal by spending more than $1 billion. FY21 is the very first time in District history that the preliminary SBE spend reached $1 billion. Last year, when FY21 Green Book was released, the FY20 preliminary spend was reported as $976 million; later, the final FY20 SBE closeout spend was confirmed at $1.064 billion. SBE is a certification category, which is part of the DC Government’s Certified Business Enterprise (CBE) program that gives certified businesses a preference when bidding on District Government contracts.

The Green Book website allows SBEs to search for opportunities in real time through an interactive dashboard. The site brings the Green Book to life with dynamic spending data that businesses can easily sort by District agency and by products or services. Through the website, District small and local businesses will be able to easily identify current opportunities and make informed connections with District agencies that will make it easier for entrepreneurs to start, grow, and maintain their businesses.

“DC is Open, and as the District continues to recover from the effects of COVID, our small and local businesses continue to show how resilient they can be in facing myriad challenges. Our government has been, and continues to be, there to support them at every step of the way,” said Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development John Falcicchio. “The 2022 Green Book represents our latest commitment to ensuring that our small businesses and the workers and communities they support continue to thrive throughout the District.”

“There are a billion reasons to be excited about this year’s Green Book release. Committing to spend over $1 billion with our SBEs is another way that Mayor Bowser is advancing a #FairShot budget by making sure that more money is spent with District businesses. This Administration is committed to advancing equity, creating generational wealth, and supporting pathways to the middle class and we do that by keeping more local dollars local year after year,” said DSLBD Director Kristi Whitfield. “At DSLBD, we remain laser focused on finding new and innovative ways to make sure that the District’s small business community is winning by connecting them with District agencies through the Green Book or through the many other programs we have developed to grow and strengthen small businesses in every ward.”

View the FY22 Green Book and spending goals online GreenBookDC.com.