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November - In This Issue:
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March 5
Local Specialty Crop & Local Food Trade Show
@ Northeastern University
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Dear Members and Friends,
Last Thursday night was a glorious confluence of two inspiring events! The
Fourth Annual MA Sustainable Business of the Year Award Dinner
honored seven sustainable businesses who are changing the world for the better every day. At the same time we celebrated
SBN's Thirtieth Year of changing the way business does business. As the first trade association of businesses committed to the triple bottom line of supporting the needs of all stakeholders, SBN has seen the business landscape change dramatically for the better.
The seven businesses honored in 2018 represent success of SBN's mission and call attention to the growing ecosystem of businesses that are working to create a strong economy that is local, green, and fair. We invite you to look for ways that you can support all local and independent businesses during the upcoming holiday season and always!
We wish you a happy Thanksgiving and suggest keeping in mind the importance of supporting our Native American sisters and brothers.
With gratitude,
Laury Hammel
Executive Director
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Seven Companies Win the 2018
Sustainable Business of the Year Award!
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On November 15, SBN honored seven outstanding
businesses for their extraordinary contributions to their customers, staff, environment, and community! Even with the heaviest November snow Boston has seen in many years, there was an excellent turnout for this fun and meaningful event.
WBUR's Robin Young added depth and fun to the festive evening.
Niaz Dorry, the Executive Director of the Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance (NAMA)
and the National Family Farm Coalition (NFFC)
opened up the evening with a presentation connecting the work of NAMA and SBN and our shared mission with the ten-year history of working together. Niaz highlighted the positive impact the Boston Local Food Festival had on seafood sales policies in the City of Boston and how our collaboration has made a difference.
The night was filled with passionate stories about the extraordinary business ventures that these award-winning businesses started in Eastern, Central, and Western MA. Each of the seven businesses were introduced by a SBN Board or staff member and they were recognized for their efforts to run a business that is local, green, and fair.
The delicious and nutritious dinner was catered by one of the award winners--Fresh Food Generation. The always popular Silent Auction once again featured terrific products and services from many fine local establishments. Robin completed the program by auctioning off two fantastic seats at a Celtics game.
We offer our deep appreciation for the Award Winners, the sponsors, all participants, the Silent Auction contributors, the SBN Board and staff, and emcee Robin Young. We are already planning for our Fifth MA Sustainable Business of the Year Awards with some new and exciting innovations in November 2019.
Below is a list of this year's award winners as well as the award-winners from previous year's Sustainable Business of the Year Awards.
Please join us in congratulating the 2018 Massachusetts
Sustainable Business Award Winners!
Sustainable Budding Small Business | Eastern MA
SBN Board member, Karen Spiller (right) gives award to Fresh Food Generation leaders
Sustainable Seasoned Small Business | Eastern MA
SBN Board Member, Myrna Greenfield (right) gives award to CERO team
Sustainable Seasoned Small Business | Eastern MA
SBN Local Food Manager, Lexie Raczka (right) gives award to Mei Mei team
Sustainable Mid-Sized Business | Eastern MA
SBN founder Laury Hammel (center) gives award to City Fresh Food founders Sheldon and Glynn Lloyd
Sustainable MA Large Business
SBN Founder Laury Hammel (right) gives award to Market Basket team
Sustainable Small Business | Central MA
SBN Local Food Manager, Lexie Raczka (right) gives award to Joan Walker
Sustainable Small Business | Western MA
SBN Board member, Nicola Williams gives award to Garth Shaneyfelt
SBN Board member Ed Dugger shares the profound impact of SBN's 30 years of changing the way that business does business
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SBN Celebrates Thirty Years of Building an Economy that Is Local, Green, and Fair
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SBN was founded on September 29, 1988 at the Longfellow Health Club at Natick, MA and is the first trade association of businesses committed to changing the world for the better and socially responsible business practices. In 1988, the idea that businesses could and should make a positive impact on our community and our planet was a radical and, at best, an eccentric idea. However, a group of innovative pioneering business leaders felt there was a wave of change that we could ride and grow. The results of those 30 years have been remarkable and along with many other business organizations that followed SBN's formation, the standards for acceptable business practices have been transformed in ways unthought of in 1988.
The Sustainable Business Awards Dinner was a perfect time to acknowledge and recognize the 30-year tradition of being a leader in sustainable and socially responsible business. SBN Board Member, Ed Dugger, spoke about the transformative role SBN played in the landscape and culture of how business should be conducted. He introduced SBN founder, Laury Hammel, who shared a little about how it felt to be running a sustainable business back in the eighties and how different things are now--in so many positive ways. Laury also brought the agenda from that first meeting in 1988 along with a brochure and a brochure featuring the first environmental and green audit for small businesses. He is looking forward to the 50th anniversary and hoping that many of the participants will make that historic event in 2038.
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SBN is working with a team of Northeastern University students on a social media campaign to
highlight our members and the work that we do. As a part of the campaign we are creating "SBN Snapshots," our own version of
Humans of New York, where we will be highlighting members of
SBN and featuring who they are, information on the businesses they represent, and why they are members of
SBN.
We are currently seeking SBN Members in and around Boston who are interested in being featured in the campaign. Not only is this campaign a way for us to
highlight our members, but it is a great PR opportunity for you. Once the posts have been shared on our social media accounts and website you are welcome to post them as well.
Participation in the project includes a 30-45 minute interview with one or a few of the Northeastern students, having your photograph taken, and having some sort video footage taken of the interview. Our goals is to have students conduct the interviews in your place of work so that we can not only
highlight you, but also your business.
For more information or to express interest in participating please contact Lexie,
lexie@sbnmass.org.
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SBN is Seeking for a Marketing &
Program Coordinator!
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SBN is currently
seeking a Marketing and Program Coordinator to help SBN expand its role in supporting a "local, green, and fair economy." This role includes marketing and promoting SBN's work and programs, such as the Local Food Program, the Sustainable Business Leader Program, and more. The ideal candidate will be an entrepreneurial, strategic thinker, self-starter and motivated with a passion for sustainability, entrepreneurship, and the local food system. Successful candidates will be resourceful self-starters and team players that thrive in dynamic and fast-paced work environments with multiple priorities, and enjoy taking on new challenges. Click here for the full job description.
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Registration Open for the Local Specialty Crop &
Local Food Trade Show!
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The Sustainable Business Network of Massachusetts (SBN) is offering our 8th Local Food Trade Show. The 2019 Local Food Trade Show is designed to facilitate connections and stimulate business relationships between producers and wholesale buyers of local food, with a focus on specialty crop food products in Massachusetts.
Local Specialty Crop Trade Show
Exhibitors will include New England based farmers, produce distributors and local specialty crop producers (products made with 50% or more specialty crops also qualify). Please view the USDA definition of specialty crops
here.
Crops must be produced in the U.S. or a U.S. territory. This Trade Show is sponsored by the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources. Exhibition booths are
free
for specialty crop farmers and other specialty crop producers.
Local Food Trade Show
This trade show is open to all non-specialty crop food producers including meat and dairy farms, fisheries, baked goods and other added value producers. Exhibition booths are $150.00. *$25 Discount for SBN Members
Who should attend?
Any wholesale buyers, who are interested in purchasing Massachusetts or New England-produced food items. These buyers can be supermarkets, co-ops, restaurants, hotels, institutions, schools, food processors in search of ingredients, distributors, or anyone else interested in local purchasing options.
*This event is intended for commercial buyers, not individual consumers.*
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Local Action, Global Commitments
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When: November 29
Where: Democracy Brewing
President Trump's decision to remove the U.S. from the Paris Agreement and rollback Obama-era climate policies signals that the federal government is unwilling to lead international efforts to promote clean energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
In this void, businesses and legislative leaders are stepping up to act on climate, and in doing so, are creating local economic and job growth. In light of this, CABA is hosting a member business reception ahead of our Executive Director, Michael Green's trip to this year's UN Climate Talks in Katowice, Poland.
Be one of the local businesses making a global impact.
Refreshments will be provided.
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Join us at the Massachusetts Farm & Sea to School Conference on December 6th!
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On December 6, 2018 Mass. Farm to School will hold its 5th statewide conference, theMassachusetts Farm & Sea to School Conference. This year's theme is Setting the Table: Communities Creating Change. The conference seeks to amplify traditionally underrepresented voices in the Massachusetts food system and identify strategies and resources for promoting racial equity and social justice as we grow the farm & sea to school movement. Learn about policy efforts and community organizing, local procurement, sustaining farm to school programs, school gardens, and more. Please visit www.massfarmtoschool.org/conference for more information.
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Carbon Pricing Winning Issue in Mass.
Legislative Races
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The importance of state legislative races is often lost in the hype surrounding national midterm elections. Even when focused on, it can be hard to determine the policies that play a defining role in legislative elections at the state level. As a policy, carbon pricing has largely overcome this apathy, emerging as a winning issue among those running in competitive and open districts across Massachusetts today.
In a year where Democrats were expected to increase control in the state legislature, these first-year lawmakers will shape the direction of climate policy for at least the next decade.
Near universal consensus formed among these newcomers around the need for state leadership on climate policy, a theme even incumbents tapped into. We talked to a number of these victorious Representatives and Senators about why they supported carbon pricing during the campaign, and their support for the policy in the net session. Read More
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Sustainable Living with Sustainable Products
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From Tech Networks: At Tech Networks of Boston, we take sustainability seriously. As a member of both the
Climate Action Business Association
and the
Sustainable Business Network of Massachusetts,
we make it our business to put planet before profit. We also are proud to be a Certified B Corporation, which means that we undergo a rigorous certification process every three years where we prove that we are operating in a sustainable and responsible manner. We were honored to be selected as a
2018 Best for the World Honoree
by B Lab this past year.
While all of this goes to show Tech Networks' commitment to sustainability, what we are really proud of is how passionate our employees are about taking the practices they learn in the office and bringing them home. Trevor, one of our Service Desk Technicians, is always asking questions and looking for ways to generate less waste, "I've learned more in the last few months about recycling and refuse than ever. Most of us know we are trashing our planet, but this information gives us a way to do something about it! They don't teach you this in school." With that in mind, we've put together an easy guide to help bring sustainability home with you!
It is easier than you think to bring sustainable practices and products into your home. In my household, we have committed to thinking carefully about the purchase of disposable products and have tried looking for more sustainable solutions. For example, a few months ago we ran out of Ziploc bags and instead of adding more to our shopping list, we searched for multi-use bags to replace them. Changing the products you use steadily over time allows you to make a huge impact without paying to replace everything up front.
To learn more about general sustainability practices, watch the video to get some quick tips! Once you're ready to start applying these tips, keep reading to find some of my favorite sustainable products to use at home.
Read More
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Sustainable Business Network of Massachusetts
