American Sustainable Business Council Announces National Business Meeting to Advance Sustainable Capitalism

Media Release

“Making Capitalism Work for All” Sustainable Business & Advocacy Summit,

December 10 – 11, 2019, Washington, DC

Washington, DC – Our economy and nation are at a crossroads, with too many Americans being left out or left behind, our environment in peril, and our democratic institutions in jeopardy. That’s according to the American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC) and the rationale for “Making Capitalism Work for All,” the sustainable business and advocacy summit being held December 10–11, 2019, in Washington, D.C.  

“We are convening key business and policy leaders to address the fundamental questions about the future of our economy and our country,” said Jeffrey Hollender, CEO of ASBC and Founder of Seventh Generation. “America is heading for an inflection point on what kind of capitalist system we want. Many business leaders see the need for systemic reform and also understand that coordinated, collective action is the only way to achieve it. ASBC is hosting this conversation so that together we can successfully address the seemingly intractable and fundamental problems of climate change, income inequality, fair taxation, our crumbling infrastructure and more.” 

The summit will bring together key stakeholders from the broad ecosystem of organizations, economists, activists, elected officials and business leaders who are already working to transform the U.S. economy into one that is socially just, environmentally sound and equitably prosperous. 

Participating with ASBC are dozens of influential businesses, business organizations and think tanks that are working to reinvent and humanize capitalism, including The Business Roundtable, B Lab, Common Future, Patriotic Millionaires, Conscious Capitalism, Niskanen Center, Economic Policy Institute, Ben & Jerry’s, EILEEN FISHER, Trillium Asset Management, Seventh Generation, Wallace Global Fund, Bipartisan Policy Center, National Urban League and Stand Up Republic.  

According to Richard Eidlin, ASBC Co-founder and Summit Director, “At the summit, business leaders and thought leaders will explore how the growing movement for sustainable capitalism can work with government to correct the imbalances in the market that discourage healthy, broad-based success. This summit will provide critical answers to the vital questions about how to move toward an economy that prioritizes people and the planet as well as profits. 

 “Starting at the summit, we plan to develop a series of collective impact projects to constructively influence the policy and political debate in 2020. Our goal is to uncover the systemic reforms required for capitalism to work for all, including introducing new policy, accelerating the broader purpose of business into action and improving how the media covers the rapidly emerging sustainable capitalism movement,“ said Eidlin.  

Speakers include the Founder of B Lab, Jay Cohen Gilbert; Business Roundtable’s EVP of Policy Kristen Silverberg; Former Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Labor and Senior Strategy Advisor for Fiscal Note, Chris Lu; President of the Economic Policy Institute, Thea Mei Lee; Founder of Seventh Generation and Co-founder & CEO of ASBC, Jeffrey Hollender; Rodney Foxworth, Executive Director, Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE); Kelly Vlahakis-Hanks President & CEO, Earth Friendly Products; John Hocevar, Oceans Campaign Director, Greenpeace USA; Evan McMullin, Co-founder, Stand Up Republic; Clint Odom, Executive Director and Senior VP for Policy & Advocacy, National Urban League; Bill Parks, Founder and President, Northwest River Supplies and Founding Director, SalesFactor.org; Adrienne Schweer, Bipartisan Policy Center fellow and former Chief of Protocol, the Pentagon, U.S. Dept. of Defense; Anas “Andy” Shallal, Founder, Busboys and Poets; Andy Stern, Co-founder, Workers Benefit Fund and President Emeritus, SEIU; Dr. Maya Rockeymoore, Founder, President, and CEO, Global Policy Solutions; Quill Robinson, Legislative Director, American Conservation Coalition; Hugh Welsh, President, DSM North America; Martin H. Wolf Director of Sustainability & Authenticity, Seventh Generation; and Nancy Jacobson, Founder, No Labels. More speakers are being added.