Blog
America’s Hidden Need for Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework
The 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework (BIF) is an opportunity to begin to turn a century old built environment into a new one with a bold vision for the next economy that empowers the future of innovation that we have not even yet dreamed of - one that includes a significant part of the US population that could be the inspiration for much of that innovation.
The Circular Economy and Circularity: Unpacking Furniture and Beyond
ASBN hosted on Wednesday, June 2 at 1pm ET The Circular Economy and Circularity: Unpacking Furniture and Beyond, a panel discussion with L. Christina Cobb (UrbisEco) and Sustainability Consultant; Simonil Rustomji (mebl | Transforming Furniture), and Tone Søndergaard (Circular City Week New York and Danish Cleantech Hub).
Build It and They Will Come? Compost Infrastructure Challenges Circular Economy
Like an avalanche gaining speed, we in the compost industry began to see the interest in composting as a key part of the circular economy begin to build momentum in 2016-17. What was normally a handful of compost-related bills in state legislatures began to surge to a dozen, then dozens, as the traditional recycling industry faltered.
Lowering Drug Prices Protects Patients and Profits
Solving our nation’s problem of high prescription drug prices will protect patients and profits, a noble goal in line with the ethos of the American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC)!
Why Your Business Sustainability Depends on Empowering Voters:
A Look at Seventh Generation’s Voter Strategy
As the 2020 election nears, many responsible business leaders worry how voter turnout will impact the progress of our sustainability goals. Voter turnout appears to be crucial, as long-term sustainability in its broadest definition requires inclusivity to be viable. Companies committed to increasing sustainability are already engaged in meeting the life-supporting needs of all their stakeholders. But even the best companies can’t do it alone. Public policy must be working toward those same objectives.
ASBC National Conversation on Racism in America
Remarks by MaryAnne Howland
With her permission, we are sharing the opening remarks MaryAnne Howland gave at the launch of the American Sustainable Business Council’s (ASBC) National Conversation on Racism in America on June 10, 2020:
WIN: Governor Cuomo Signs Child Safe Products Act Into Law
Governor Cuomo signed the Child Safe Products Act (S.501-B Kaminsky / A. 6296-A Englebright) into law. The move marks the fulfillment of a decade-long campaign by a broad, diverse coalition of environmental health advocates, health-impacted groups, sustainable businesses, environmental justice leaders, health care providers, child care providers, parent groups and many others. The law will require manufacturers to disclose chemicals of concern in children’s products and restrict the most toxic, while authorizing the State to add chemicals to disclose and restrict by regulation. The bill passed 53-9 in the Senate and 100-23 in the Assembly on April 30, 2019 as part of a first-ever bicameral Earth Day package.
Full, Fair Elections: What’s in it for business?
High-road, sustainably-minded companies have a lot to contend with, including competitors who don’t live by the same standards. The best companies are also busy supporting environmental, justice, and human needs campaigns. So why should they make pushing for fair elections their top priority?
Because everything they value depends on it.
No hype. Every American company is affected to some degree by lawmakers’ decision-making, otherwise known as politics. Ask the coastal restaurants and shops how repeated flooding from climate change dampens profits. Or ask any company how deteriorated infrastructure impedes reliable supply lines or how metastasizing health care cost can cripple bottom lines.
Urgent Action Needed on NY’s Child Safe Products Act
The Child Safe Products Act (CSPA) is sitting on Governor Cuomo’s desk and we need your help to get it signed into law. The Governor has between now and February 7th to decide whether to sign or veto this bill, which has been a decade in the making.
ASBC Sustainable Business & Advocacy Summit: “Making Capitalism Work for All”
Plenary Sessions
1. Our Economic Future: Can Capitalism be
Saved?
Among the ranks of top CEOs, alarm is spreading about the future
of capitalism. These concerns are driven by rising income
inequality, the depth of the Great Recession, a sense that
capitalism excessively focuses on individual rather than
community success and tax cuts which boosted corporate profits
over more productive investments in Main Street. Others worry
about industry consolidation and regulations and laws that stifle
innovation and competition. A raft of anxieties exists side by
side with unprecedented wealth.
Making Capitalism Work For All Summit Overview
It’s not all bad in Washington D.C…Executive Director John Imes just attended the two-day American Sustainable Business & Advocacy Summit – Making Capitalism Work for All. The National Summit brings together a unique cross-section of thinkers and doers, including business leaders, activists, economists,
CAMPAIGN UPDATE: Business Support for the Climate Strikes
Our campaign to support the youth-led climate strikes was a great success. In total, over 200 businesses and business organizations signed to show their support. Not bad for a campaign that came together very quickly and was a completely new idea. Most important, it gives us a strong foundation for a much larger effort in the future.
September 20 Climate Demonstration Firsthand Accounts
ASBC vice president Ali-Reza Vahabzadeh joined the climate march in New York City. He says, “You could tell something big was happening in the City that day. From the moment I stepped onto the subway, I could feel the buzz of anticipation. When I got out at Brooklyn Bridge station, I was part of a great mass of people getting off trains, climbing up the stairs, all getting ready to have their voices heard. It wasn’t the usual jostling crowd, it was a gathering of people with a shared purpose.
White-Hat Lobbyist Fights the Good Fight
Business values stable conditions, but today’s economic, social and environmental conditions are neither stable nor sustainable. How do you make progress on a large scale when enormously powerful decision-makers block the way? That’s an urgent question.
The Big Opportunity Missed in Creating Innovation & Investments for People with Disabilities, with MaryAnne Howland
MaryAnne Howland is the Vice Chair of ASBI Board of Directors and is the Founder & CEO of Global Diversity Leadership Exchange, a forum designed to advance inclusive and global sustainability. Among the issues within the umbrella of diversity and inclusion, MaryAnne feels a deep passion for representing and providing solutions for the community of people with disabilities. As a mother of a son with cerebral palsy, she has an intimate understanding of the challenges and opportunities of living with a disability.
Walking the Talk: A CEO to CEO Interview
Founders of bambu®, Jeff Delkin and Rachel Speth, sit down with CEO of the American Sustainable Business Council, Jeffrey Hollender, to share their thoughts on being a sustainable business leader. They discuss and share engaging in policy efforts that defend the triple bottom line and the experiences and outcomes of having to say “no” when new business opportunities can compromise the larger mission and the organization’s commitment to sustainability.
How To Make Your 401(k) Green
Most investors don’t think twice about the individual companies nestled within the funds in their 401(k) plans. Almost universally, investors are inadvertently investing in fossil fuels, gun manufacturers, and even companies with histories of treating women & minority employee groups unfairly.
The concept of avoiding offensive companies and instead buying corporations aligned with investor values has been around for decades. It’s referred to as Sustainable, Responsible, & Impact (SRI) investing.