VBSR Vermont Businesses for
Social Responsibility
 Vermont Businesses...Vermont Values
December 2011 
In This Issue
VBSR Marketplace
VBSR Bookshelf
VBSR Events
VBSR Public Policy
VBSR Intern Program
VBSR Local Matters
VBSR Member News
E-News Sponsor
Interrobang Design Collaborative

INTERESTED IN SPONSORING VBSR'S NEWSLETTER? E-mail info@vbsr.org
or call 802/862-8347 to secure a space today.
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VBSR Marketplace
an online business-to-business marketplace using trade dollars valued the same as cash

 

Member Offer
From
 Common Ground Center
Eco-Lodge Common Room meeting space available
100% Trade
Common Ground Center
~~~~~~~~~~
Member Request

From
Three Tomatoes Trattoria
We have a number of requests. We have 4 locations, please contact Marketplace Broker Amy Kirschner to arrange matching of requested items to location.
100% Trade
 Three Tomatoes Trattoria
To Activate Your Marketplace Account and start buying & selling with VBSR members, click here
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VBSR Bookshelf

 Folks, This Ain't Normal 

by Joel SalatinFolks, This Ain't Normal
 
VBSR Bookshelf
brought to you by
 Northshire Bookstore
Andrea CohenBringing in a Great New Year
The VBSR Board and Staff want to wish you great peace and prosperity in the new year ahead. Vermont showed incredible compassion and perseverance in response to Irene and we know that Vermont will continue to recover in that spirit. We are reminded that the formation and success of VBSR would only be possible in a great state such as Vermont. Our businesses are indeed the best and the brightest and serve as models of how commitment to the multiple bottom line is good business.

2012 brings some changes to the VBSR Board. We send a big "thank you" and fond farewell to Annie Viets (SIT Graduate Institute), Chris Morrow (Northshire Bookstore), Flip Brown (Business Culture Consultants), and David Sellers (Sellers & Company)--you all contributed greatly to VBSR's successes and your mark will be indelible. We are pleased to welcome the following new Board members: David Blittersdorf (AllEarth Renewables), David Epstein (TruexCullins Architecture and Interior Design), Stephen Morris (Green Living Journal and The Public Press), and Avram Patt (Washington Electric Co-op). We have an ambitious agenda for the year ahead and we appreciate in advance their contributions. 

Next week we will be at the Statehouse for the start of the Legislative Session. Your legislative team will be working hard to ensure the voice of socially responsible businesses is well represented. As you plan your work for 2012 please include a visit to the Statehouse (contact danielb@vbsr.org) and participation at VBSR events.

Sincerely, Andrea Cohen
VBSR Executive Director
VBSR Networking Events

  

January Networking Get-Together Hosted by the Vermont Community Foundation
Wednesday, January 18, 2012; 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Vermont Community Foundation, Three Court Street, Middlebury, VT
The Vermont Community Foundation is one of many organizations in the state working on Tropical Storm Irene recovery. Please visit www.vtfloodresponse.org and join us in January to learn more about these efforts, including available grants, grant awards, and useful resources.

February Networking Get-Together Hosted by hmc2 Advertising
Thursday, February 23, 2012; 5:30-7:30 p.m.
hmc2 Advertising, 65 Millet Street, Richmond, VT

April Networking Get-Together Co-Hosted by Sovernet Communications and the Vermont Foodbank
Tuesday, April 17, 2012; 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Sovernet Communications, 5 Canal Street, Bellows Falls, VT   

 

To sponsor a Get-Together, please contact Rita at ritab@vbsr.org.  

 

VBSR 2012 Spring Conference - SAVE THE DATE! 

Tuesday, May 15, 2012; 7:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

UVM Davis Center, Burlingon, VT 

Save the date, send a workshop proposal, sponsor the conference!

For more information, please visit the conference web page

 

For more information on VBSR's and VBSR members' events, please visit our events pages...
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VBSR Back in the Statehouse!
Next week, VBSR will be back in the Vermont Statehouse advocating for an agenda that we believe will make Vermont's business climate stronger and more competitive. These are some of the issues we plan to advocate for in 2012:
*    Rebuilding Vermont after Irene 
*    Health Care Reform 
*    Clean Energy and Conservation 
*    Tax Reform and the State Budget 
*    Corporations are not People 
For more detail on each issue, please visit the policy web page.

It's an ambitious agenda for a difficult legislative year. VBSR will need your help to ensure success at the Statehouse next year. If you believe you can help out by contacting lawmakers, rallying support, testifying before committees - please email me at danielb@vbsr.org. 
 
See you in January! 
-Daniel Barlow, Public Policy Manager
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Hire an Intern this Spring!
The VBSR VT Internship Program is gearing up for the Spring! We have helped over 90 businesses and more than 135 students connect for high quality paid internship opportunities. Now is the time to start thinking about hiring a spring intern!

It's easy to find an intern through the VBSR Internship Program. We can help you do a needs assessment, and write the position description. We advertise the position on our website, and via social media and then send it to our database of over 700 students and to 19 career services offices throughout the state. Finally, we will send you qualified applicants and assist with follow up with students throughout the application process. Contact Becky Cohen at beckyc@vbsr.org with questions or to get started!
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Local First Vermont Local Matters   
Tune in here for current news about Local First Vermont and other local economies features...

Home Sweet Home: The New American Localism
by Linton Weeks for NPR.org
You can talk about the globaLocalism on NPRl village, a mobile society and the World Wide Web all you want, but many in our country seem to be turning toward a New American Localism.

These days, we are local folks and our focus is local. We are doing everything locally: food, finance, news, charity. And maybe for good reasons.

"One bedrock thing that is going on," says Brad Edmondson, founder of ePodunk and former editor of American Demographics magazine, is that "because of aging and the recession, people aren't moving around as much."
Read more here...

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VBSR Member News
Ken Merritt, of Merritt & Merritt & Moulton, Receives Award
Ken MerrittAt the third annual B Corp Champions Retreat which was held recently at Independence Hall, Ken Merritt, Managing Director of Merritt & Merritt & Moulton received a B Corp Champion award for his work in assisting with the passage of the Vermont Benefit Corporation law which became effective on July 1, 2011.
Read more...

International Rowing Leader Concept2 Adds AllSun Solar Trackers
Concept2, a world leader in rowing machines and racing oars, knows a little something about energy. The company helps elite athletes race and train for high-level competition and helps people of all ages and abilities achieve fitness.  But the company is also focusing on its own energy use, recently almost doubling its on-site solar production. Concept2, based in Morrisville, Vermont, installed 4 AllSun Trackers in 2010, but originally wanted more.  After space constraints at their headquarters were relieved due to the expansion of municipal sewer to their facility, Concept2 recently installed an additional 3 solar trackers at their manufacturing headquarters. Manufactured in Williston, Vermont by AllEarth Renewables, the 7 pole-mounted AllSun solar trackers use innovative GPS and wireless technology to follow the sun throughout the day, producing up to 45 percent more energy than fixed roof mounted solar panels.
Read more...

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VBSR Mission
Our mission is to foster a business ethic in Vermont that recognizes the opportunity and responsibility of the business community to set a high standard for protecting the natural, human, and economic environments of our citizens.

We are committed to a multiple bottom line approach to business that values people, planet and profit.
 
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Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility
60 Lake Street, Suite 3G
Burlington, Vermont 05401
802/862-8347
www.vbsr.org
info@vbsr.org
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