URBANA – Four more businesses have been certified as "green" businesses by the Illinois Green Business Association, the association announced Wednesday.

Newly certified are: Marcy McAnally State Farm Insurance, Champaign; Common Ground Food Co-Op, Urbana; Body n' Sole, Savoy; and Boltini Lounge, Champaign.

They join previously certified businesses Ippatsu Salon, B. Lime, That's Rentertainment and the International Society of Arboriculture.

Among green practices the newly certified firms use:

– The McAnally agency replaced paper towels in the office with cloth towels, installed an aerator on faucets to cut down on water use and uses carpet with recycled content.

– The food co-op started a bag-sharing program in which customers can leave a bag or take a bag in an effort to cut waste.

– Body n' Sole installed ceiling fans to reduce energy use and cut costs. It also developed a shoe recycling program in which shoes are either sent to developing countries for reuse or ground up for use in playground surfaces.

– Boltini Lounge uses recycled furniture, and the staff uses the back of old menus to take orders. It also uses cloth towels in the women's restroom.

At a fund-raising event at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, Cassie Carroll, the association's executive director, said that while most businesses certified so far have been either offices or retail stores, she expects future certified firms to include dental, health care, automotive and entertainment-related businesses.

In addition to operating in Champaign-Urbana and Bloomington-Normal, the association is working with groups in Quincy, Galesburg and Rockford, she said.