Dear SBN Members and Friends, 

Thanks to everyone who helped make 2011 a fantastic year for SBN.   

• The Second Boston Local Food Festival was another huge success with over 30,000 people enjoying the delicious local food and fun festivities.
• The nation's leader in environmental certification of local businesses, the Sustainable Business Leader Program, expanded to include Worcester, and has graduated close to 100 local independent businesses in greater Boston.  
• Local First networks in Cambridge, Somerville, and Worcester have continued to grow and thrive.
• New Local First Networks are emerging in Watertown and Brookline.   

A special thanks to everyone who participated in the annual SBN Holiday Party which helped SBN raise much needed funds.  

This year is looking to be another exciting year of growth and impact. We're particularly excited about two new programs explained in this newsletter--the Local Green Guide and the SBN Sustainability Leadership Summit.  We encourage you to participate in all of SBN's activities in 2012 and together we can help build a strong local economy that is green and fair.

Thank you for your support.
 
Laury Hammel   

Executive Director, SBN 

2011 Survey Results: A Decent Year for Independent Businesses -- a Great Year for Local Business Networks! 

 

The fifth annual post-holiday survey of independent businesses by Stacy Mitchell of the Institute for Local Self Reliance yielded powerful evidence that pro-local attitudes are growing and local business networks and similarly-modeled community organizations are yielding greater benefit than ever for their members.

 

The survey tallied responses from 1768 businesses, all independent and locally-owned, across 49 states. About half were retailers. Among the notable results:

• A larger share (61%) of respondents reported revenue growth in 2011 compared to 2010.
• Independent retailers enjoyed stronger holiday sales than the retail sector as a whole. While overall holiday sales were up 4.1% in 2011, respondents reported an average increase of 6.7%.
• More than three-quarters of businesses surveyed said that public awareness of the benefits of supporting local independent had increased in the last year.
• Independent businesses in communities with an active "buy indie/buy local" campaign run by a local business/citizen alliance saw revenues grow 7.2% in 2011, compared to 2.6% for those in areas without an alliance.  

Congratulations to all alliance leaders for this reinforcement of your great work!  Read the full ILSR report here. To learn more about the local first networks that SBN helped launch and supports, visit our website.

Local Fun at SBN's Tenth Holiday Party at WBUR!  

 

Over seventy people had a wonderful evening on December 6th at the Tenth Annual SBN Holiday Party and Auction at WBUR. Called a celebration of ALL Things Local, SBN Members had a great sampling of local food, local drinks, local radio, local businesses and local auction items. Once again former SBN Board member, Karen Masterson, treated guests to some delectable local fare from nourish.  

 

SBN Members were treated to an interview of Radio Boston Co-hosts Meghna Chakrabarti and Anthony Brooks by WBUR's Robin Young

  

Guests were privy to an interview by Robin Young from WBUR of Radio Boston Co-hosts Meghna Chakrabarti and Anthony Brooks. The co-hosts recounted their history in the industry and also discussed the focus of their show, Radio Boston. They spoke to the challenges of the economic downturn and the observations that they had made in the city. It was a fun and informational interview. The interview was followed by an exciting live auction led by expert auctioneer, Robin Young. A Tuscany bike tour and Celtics tickets were among some of the exciting items that were auctioned off.  

 

Meghna Chakrabarthy of Radio Boston with Robin Young of WBUR and Susan Labandibar and Laury Hammel of SBN

       

Many participants left this wonderful evening with some great gifts won at the live and silent auction. A big thank you to all of the local businesses who donated products and services to make this event a wonderful time that raised over $5,000 in support of SBN. A special thanks to Lauren Hefferen of Ciclismo Classico for donating the bike trip, and Robin Young and Johnny Miller for the Celtics tickets. Most importantly, thanks to all who attended and showed their support for SBN.

SBN's 12th ALLocal Dinner: A Conversation about Localizing Food

 

On January 23, 2012, SBN hosted its 12th ALLocal Dinner at former SBN Board member Karen Masterson's restaurant, nourish in Lexington center. Over fifty attendees were engaged in "A Conversation about Localizing Food" with inspiring speakers including nourish's Karen Masterson, Kip Kumler, founder of Turtle Creek Winery, and JD Kemp, founder of Crop Circle Kitchen and Organic Renaissance/Food Ex.

The evening began with pita bread and a perfectly spiced lentil dip, while guests ordered local beer and wine from the bar. Following a splendid squash soup, Karen talked to guests about the hard work that is involved and the importance of bringing local and healthy food to the table.  

 

Guests were then treated to nourish's Famous Meatloaf, Local fresh caught Pollack, or the Local Vegan Tempeh all cooked to melt in your mouth perfection and accompanied by fresh local beets and a crispy winter slaw, most of which was sourced from Tangerini's farm, whose owners were both present at the dinner!

Karen and her fabulous staff at nourish who keep it ALLocal everyday!

Kip Kumler, founder of Turtle Creek Winery located in Lincoln MA, captivated diners with the story of how he set up his winery and had to overcome some pretty tough challenges, including one of the worst winters in recent history!   

JD Kemp, founder of Crop Circle kitchen and Organic Renaissance

 

JD Kemp (left), a living legend in the local food movement in New England, took attendees on an inspiring journey through the inception of the Organic Renaissance/Food Ex describing the many obstacles that were overcome to make it a sustainable venture today. He also got the audience to think about the future of food and its distribution.   

 

The meal was concluded with a delicious warm apple crisp on a scrumptious oatmeal cookie, a perfect end to a wonderful and inspiring evening.   

 

Save the date for SBN's 13th ALLocal Dinner at Local 149 to be held on March 26th, 2012. Details to follow shortly!  

    

We're Close to a 100 Sustainable Business Leaders!      

 

We're happy to announce that the Sustainable Business Leader Program is three businesses away from certifying its 100th business. Additionally the first round of re-certifications have begun and so far 10 businesses certified in the first cohort have signed up to undergo an abridged SBLP. We will be working with these businesses to find ways that they can take their commitment to sustainability to the next level. 

 

The SBLP is currently recruiting businesses in Worcester and the Greater Boston area. If you know of a local business that you would like to see become 'greener', or a green business that should be formally recognized for their sustainability efforts , please send us an email at sblp@sbnboston.org

 

We wouldn't be able to do the work that we do everyday without the help of our awesome interns. For a list of internship opportunities at SBLP please visit: 

For more information on the SBLP please visit: www.sustainablebusinessleader.org

Small Business Sustainability 

"Consumers Want to Know: How Sustainable are Their Local Small Businesses?"

 

Rich Grogan, core faculty member in the Department of Management at Antioch University New England studies the expectations that consumers have of their local small businesses. Through his study Grogan indicates that "consumers think of employees at local businesses as their neighbors, friends and family, and they expect a "sustainable" business to take care of those employees."

 

Business owners in the Keene, NH area who Gorgan interviewed indicated that market differentiation was the main reason for implementing social and environmental initiatives and measuring and communicating these efforts. He also found that lack of resources- time and money, as well as knowledge and difficult landlords were some of the obstacles that businesses face in being more sustainable.

 

Based on his findings Grogan calls for a system that assists these small and medium sized businesses in making educated sustainability decisions and communicating them to their consumers. SBN's Sustainable Business Leader Program (SBLP) is a program that does just that! Through the SBLP's hands on technical assistance business owners are empowered to explore sustainability initiatives. Through the certification piece of the program they are then recognized for their efforts. 

 

To read the complete article about Rich Grogan's findings please visit: http://www.antiochne.edu/news/newsreleases/small_business.cfm   

To learn more about SBN's Sustainable Business Leader Program please visit http://www.sustainablebusinessleader.org 

SBN Launches Local Green Guide

 

SBN is excited to announce the soft launch of its new Local Green Guide, Massachusetts' premier Green Business Directory!

   

To view the directory please visit: http://www.localgreenguide.org

To find out how how your business can be listed on the website or for sponsorship opportunities please contact Adritha at adritha@sbnboston.org  

   

Thanks to Andy Pyman of Truly Good Design for all his hard work in making this a reality!