The New Orleans Chamber of Commerce has joined forces with Keep Louisiana Beautiful and the City of New Orleans Mayor’s Office of Nighttime Economy in an innovative partnership that combines business development with environmental stewardship. The Clean Biz Partnership, launched through a Keep Louisiana Beautiful Clean Biz Chamber Grant in 2024, represents a unique approach to supporting local hospitality businesses while beautifying the city’s commercial corridors.
The collaboration emerged from shared goals among the three organizations to support local businesses and to create cleaner, more welcoming commercial areas throughout New Orleans. According to Alexis Walker, membership and events manager at the New Orleans Chamber of Commerce, the three organizations joined forces to launch a membership drive focused on hospitality-related businesses in New Orleans.
Michael Ince, director of the Mayor’s Office of Nighttime Economy, explains that the partnership made sense given the nightlife and hospitality industry’s significant role in New Orleans’ economy. “The nightlife and hospitality industry is such a large portion of our local economy as well as being our identity—as a community that hosts others and has a good time doing it,” he says.
Each partner brings distinct strengths to the initiative. The New Orleans Chamber of Commerce leads the grant implementation, conducting outreach and offering complimentary one-year memberships to eligible hospitality businesses that join the Clean Biz Program. This provides new partners with valuable access to networking opportunities, business resources and promotional support through the Chamber’s extensive network of more than 1,300 members.
The Mayor’s Office of Nighttime Economy leverages its established relationships to identify and engage hospitality and service industry businesses across key entertainment corridors, including St. Claude Avenue, Magazine Street and Frenchmen Street. Their deep connections in high-traffic areas prove invaluable for connecting the right businesses with the Clean Biz Program.
Keep Louisiana Beautiful provides the program’s foundation through structure, branding, toolkits and funding. Their Clean Biz Program creates a framework that supports business participation while promoting cleaner, more attractive commercial spaces.
The Chamber’s participation in the Clean Biz Program began with the grant cycle on January 15, 2025 and runs through December 1, 2025. During this period, the Chamber has committed to recruiting at least 14 new businesses to the program while promoting the initiative through various channels including branded toolkits, website content, social media campaigns, pop-up banners and press outreach.
Two major events anchor the program: Clean Biz Day and a Love the Boot Week activity. The latter proved particularly successful, running as a statewide cleanup campaign from April 5-13, 2025. On April 9, the New Orleans Chamber partnered with Keep Louisiana Beautiful and the Mayor’s Office of Nighttime Economy for a Clean Biz event in the St. Claude neighborhood, where Chamber Ambassadors joined local businesses to clean up the area and demonstrate community pride.
The Mayor’s Office of Nighttime Economy has set ambitious goals for the future, including an annual target of 10 business sign-ups per year and hosting annual cleanup days for each entertainment corridor.
Participating businesses receive substantial value through the program. Keep Louisiana Beautiful provides comprehensive marketing toolkits, including pop-up banners for Chamber events, social media graphics and templates, press release materials, digital advertisements and printed marketing materials for participating businesses. Cleanup supplies such as litter grabbers, trash bags and gloves support hands-on community involvement.
The recognition component includes social media spotlights, branded storefront materials displaying Clean Biz status, and community visibility through Chamber-led cleanup and beautification projects. New businesses receive the added incentive of a complimentary first-year Chamber membership, specifically designed for companies not already part of the Chamber network.
Notable early participants include the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center and Executive Plaza, LLC, demonstrating the program’s appeal across different business sectors.
The initiative extends beyond individual business benefits to create broader community impact. Participating businesses commit to adopting litter prevention best practices, including regular litter pickup around their premises, placing trash receptacles at storefronts and maintaining clean dumpster areas. Some businesses, like Pepp’s Pub in the Marigny neighborhood, have embraced the spirit by hosting bi-weekly community cleanup events.
Walker emphasizes that the program aligns perfectly with the Chamber’s mission to support businesses through networking, education and advocacy while encouraging civic pride. “We’re really excited to bring the Clean Biz Program to New Orleans and help our local businesses shine both inside and out,” she says. “We’re looking forward to sharing our progress and celebrating the businesses that step up to help keep New Orleans clean and beautiful.”
