Trying to figure out how to break into the world of green business? The Sustainable Business Network of Greater Boston has the resources, events, and programs that will push you in the right direction.
To start with, the Network’s membership directory, freely available to the public, is a valuable resource for identifying the green business movers and shakers in the Boston area. It includes both businesses and other organizations involved in green business development.
To many people the events are the real attraction of industry networks. Bringing together those that are currently doing things in green business and those interested in getting in on the action, the Green Business Network hosts and promotes events with a variety of topics.
For example, the SBN is co-hosting a fantastic event titled “Feeding Ourselves, Feeding the World.” The event features sustainable development authors, business leaders, and professors from Boston College all talking about what interests them in the industry of sustainable food sourcing. This particular event takes place on October 29th. More information is available here.
Finally, the Sustainable Business Network of Boston offers programs such as the Sustainable Business Leadership Program. The SBLP provides technical assistance that is practical for local business leaders looking to implement more sustainable practices into their organizations.
So if you are in the Boston area and are interested in green business, the Sustainable Business Network of Greater Boston is a fantastic resource for learning more about what is already happening.
Let’s start measuring it. You can read a nice synopsis of the report here or download the full document in pdf form here.
So what now? To be honest, I’m not exactly sure. I think we have to wait and see how the idea actually gets implemented, or even if it does. I expect France will be the first to publish reports that include the new measurement, though I’m not sure when that will happen. The key is for the measurement to prove it’s worth. I’m excited to see what kind of analysis we can draw from the first published reports.
“The Vermont Fresh Network encourages farmers, food producers and chefs to work directly with each other to build partnerships. Building these regional connections contributes to stronger local communities and their economies.”
Buying local produce can be difficult. Determining whether or not all the ingredients in a particular product actually came from where the product was produced is next to impossible. Check out one man’s attempt. The Vermont Fresh Network aims to change that. They remove the difficulty from the consumer and build the decision to purchase local food into the supply chain of restaurants and grocers around Vermont.
This reduces food distributors (middlemen) who take huge cuts out of a food producers margin. Many of these Vermont farmers were barely scraping by. Additional profits by reducing distribution costs is the break many of them needed to stay afloat.
In addition, direct farm to consumer sales in a small region like Vermont dramatically reduces the amount of imported products needed as the prices can finally be competitive. With reduced imported products come reduced transportation and all the costs associated with it such as truck emissions and road usage.
Regional food networks that support direct farmer to consumer / restaurant interaction benefit local economies substantially. Do you know of other regional food networks like the Vermont Fresh Network? Let us know.
who, what, where, when, why?
This site exists so that I (Peter Oliver) may write about and document the things that I have stumbled across, learned, thought, actively researched, or elsewise found meaningful. more...