NORTH PORT — City commissioners, with one exception, directed staff on Friday to move toward an eventual goal of participating in Sarasota County’s pilot energy economic zone program.

An energy economic zone, or EEZ, would encourage environmentally friendly, or green, economic development in a designated area. Such a zone would include green businesses, those that use green products and services or are housed in energy-efficient buildings; and clean-technology businesses, those that provide products (like solar panels) or services that conserve energy or natural resources, and reduce pollution.