VBSR 2007 Spring Conference Program

Food for Thought… and Action

Terry Ehrich Awards Dinner, Wednesday May 16th, 2007
5:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Lake & College Building, Burlington VT

Full Day Conference, Thursday May 17th, 2007
8:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Champlain College, Burlington VT

FEATURED SPEAKERS

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Frances Moore Lappé
Founder
Small Planet Institute
Author of Democracy's Edge

Sharon Earhart
Executive Director
Powell, Wyoming Chamber of Commerce

Terry Ehrich Awards Dinner

Fourth Annual Terry Ehrich Award Dinner (including Small and Large Business of the Year Awards)
For Excellence in Socially Responsible Business
Wednesday Evening, May 16th, 2007

Local, Farm-Fresh dinner provided by Sugarsnap

Lake & College Building
60 Lake Street
Burlington, VT

5:00 PM Reception
6:30 PM Dinner
7:00 PM Awards Presentation

Full Day Conference Schedule

Thursday, May 17th, 2007
Champlain College
Burlington, VT

Exhibits All Day and Silent Auction until 3:00 PM in the Student Life Center, 2nd Floor

8:00 - 8:30 AM

Registration & Reception

Light breakfast provided by Onion River Co-op/City Market

8:30 - 9:40 AM

Breakfast Keynote Address: Frances Moore Lappé

Founder, Small Planet Institute

Power is Not a Four-Letter Word: Rethinking Our Capacity to Create the World We Want

The idea of regular citizens engaged in problem-solving has been at the heart of Frances Moore Lappé's mission for over 30 years. The activist, advocate, and author has been on an unstoppable course since she wrote her first book, Diet for a Small Planet, in 1971. The book's premise, that humans have more than enough food to feed everyone on the planet, extends beyond simply the subject of food itself. Lappé believes that "hunger is not caused by a scarcity of food, but by a scarcity of democracy," and sees food as "a uniquely powerful entry point for understanding and action." For Frankie, as she is known by many, this translates to citizens in action—ordinary people connecting in community to create their own democracy.

10:00 - 11:15 AM

Concurrent Workshops--Session A

1. Raising Capital for Your Business
Carolyn Cooke, Isis
Ben Kaufman, Mophie
Charlie Kireker, FreshTracks Capital
Eli Moulton, Merritt & Merritt & Moulton, Attorneys at Law
Moderator: Melinda Moulton, Main Street Landing
When you decide the time is right for your business to grow, it may also be time to seek out sources of equity capital to fuel your growth. How can you find equity capital and position your business to be successful raising capital? What are the upsides and downsides of procuring funding? When you find an investor, how can you maintain your commitment to socially responsible principles? This interactive session will offer a detailed view and answer your questions about financing options, growth hurdles, legal ramifications, and stepping stones.

2. Digital Printing and Environmentally Sound Practices
Martin Feldman, Light-Works, Inc.
Jonathan Hull, Hull Printing
Tom Moreau, Chittenden Solid Waste District
We live in a visual society. Signs and images are everywhere, and in business their use is prolific. Marketing graphics play a big role in businesses for retail point-of-purchase, trade shows, exhibits, and events. But when the event is over, the campaign is complete, and the content is outdated, the graphics become part of the ever-increasing and often hazardous waste stream. How can we as responsible businesses make better choices? Is the digital printing industry ready for environmentally sound practices? The answer is a resounding yes, and in this presentation we will learn the issues and uncover the solutions.

3. The Intersection of Civics and Business
Rick Moulton, KeyStone Productions
Current and former elected officials
It starts small-you get involved in a specific event. Then you testify at the Legislature, then you volunteer to be on a committee, and the next thing you know, you're running for office. It's all about service, learning, and engagement, and VBSR members are getting involved every day. Vermont's small size means YOU can have an outsize impact. Join Rick Moulton, local activist in Huntington, and other speakers to share ideas about making connections between business and civic life.

4. Innovative Office Environments: Design Trends for the SR Workplace
Gregor Barnum, Seventh Generation
Jan Blittersdorf, NRG Systems
Melissa Desota, Steelcase
Bill Maclay, William Maclay Architects
Designing workspaces for today's dynamic business environment requires exploration of recent trends and longstanding questions. Are open or closed offices better, or are there more productive options? How can design and planning help create more productive, satisfied, and inspired employees and teams? How can effective design help your business feel connected and collaborative as it grows? Panelists will give an overview of local and national developments, and discuss their real world experience in recent innovative office projects. Participants are encouraged to bring questions and challenges from their own workplaces to spark active discussion.

5. Local First Vermont
Stephanie Lahar, Stephanie Lahar and Associates
Chris Morrow, Northshire Bookstore
Liz Schlegel, Spike Advertising
Local First Vermont is a group of Vermonters committed to supporting Vermont's locally-owned, independent businesses. Our vision is a robust and sustainable economy fueling the vibrant communities, built on the cornerstone value and practice of thinking, "Local First." Meet Chris Morrow, of the Northshire Bookstore, and other founding members of this new statewide group to hear about the ways LFVT is helping educate Vermonters about the impact their purchasing habits can have on the state's economy.

6. Nuts & Bolts on Paying Fair Wages and Supporting Livable Jobs
Emma Mulvaney-Stanak, Vermont Livable Wage Campaign
Meredith O'Neill, Onion River Co-op/City Market
Spencer Putnam, formerly of VBSR
VBSR's 2006 Livable Jobs Toolkit will be the focus of this interactive workshop. The 2007 livable wage (LW) figures and how to utilize the Toolkit will be explained, plus how LW figures are calculated, how employers can pay a livable wage while remaining profitable, and how employers can adopt beneficial policies from inexpensive to more costly ones. Through hands-on activities, you will learn how to rethink your current business budgets and policies to help strengthen your jobs and benefits. Burlington's City Market will be presented as a "real life" case study of a company's experience of implementing livable jobs.

7. It's a Brave New World: Corporate Responsibility Will Never be the Same Again
Jeffrey Hollender, Seventh Generation
In the past two years the world and specifically the idea and practice of corporate responsibility have changed in ways many of us don't fully realize or understand. What are these changes, how will they affect us and how do we need to adjust our thinking and strategy to adjust to these changes? Jeffrey Hollender of Seventh Generation will report from the field on global warming, Wal-Mart, and the intersections of responsibility and profitability.

8. Intentional Growth: How to Succeed With Integrity
Victor Morrison, American Flatbread Company
Janice Shade and Judith Joyce, Close to Utopia
Explore the concept of Intentional Growth-defined as the appropriate means to achieving a company's vision without compromising its values, culture or integrity; growth that is anticipated and managed in accordance with the scope and scale of a company's current and future capabilities. The session includes a brief introduction of concepts and models, a case study of American Flatbread Company presented by president Victor Morrison, and Q&A time for sharing stories and ideas.

11:35 - 1:05 PM

Networking Lunch with support provided by: Vermont Fresh Network and

Lunch Keynote Address: Sharon Earhart

Executive Director, Powell, Wyoming Chamber of Commerce

1:25 - 2:40 PM

Concurrent Workshops--Session B

9. Bringing a Community Department Store to Saranac Lake, NY
Gail Brill, Saranac Lake Community Store committee
Sharon Earhart, Powell, Wyoming Chamber of Commerce
Melinda Little, Saranac Lake Community Store
Interested in hearing more about the successes and challenges of starting a community-owned retail store? As the name implies, these stores are owned by community members, and are designed by residents to meet specific local shopping needs at fair prices. The stores complement other businesses to create a diverse and thriving local economy while maintaining the community's unique character. Building on Sharon Earhart's lunchtime keynote address, Sharon and a board member from the Saranac Lake Community Store will talk about how Saranac Lake residents have made steady progress towards opening their own store.

10. Planning the Future of Your Business: Where Are You Today and Where Do You Want to Go?
sponsored by Community & Economic Development Office (CEDO)
Rocki-Lee DeWitt, University of Vermont, School of Business
Allison Hooper, Vermont Butter & Cheese Company
Dann Van Der Vliet, Vermont Family Business Initiative, UVM
What are your company's founders thinking about now? What should they be thinking about over the next 5-10 years to allow for a smooth transition of leadership and ownership? Dann Van Der Vliet, of UVM's Family Business Initiative, will work with other planning experts to answer your questions and outline some important steps to consider and answer questions about the purpose and process of succession planning. Business sustainability is inextricably linked to continuity and sound planning; how sustainable will your business be after you exit?

11. A Healthy Diet of Local Media
Marselis Parsons, WCAX
Cathy Resmer, Seven Days
Shay Totten, Vermont Guardian
Moderator: Erik Filkorn, Spike Advertising
The changing media landscape is leading many nationally owned news organizations to abandon the models that have sustained them, often at the expense of local coverage. What opportunities and challenges do these changes present for enterprising locally owned media and what does it all mean to businesses in Vermont? Public relations expert Erik Filkorn will lead a diverse panel of journalists to help us sort it all out.

12. Roundtable for CEOs Only
Moderator: Don Mayer, Small Dog Electronics
Being at the helm of a socially responsible business presents unique challenges. As the leader of your business, how do you handle diverse political expression in your workplace? What are the advantages and disadvantages of creating employee manuals? What issues arise in managing multiple locations? You are invited to take part with other CEOs in this confidential session to explore these and other questions. Take advantage of this "safe" setting, and come away with fresh insights from your peers.

13. The Hard Choices in the Food Business
sponsored by Community & Economic Development Office (CEDO)
Randy George, Red Hen Bakery
Linda Hagen, Hunger Mountain Coop
Jen Moffroid, American Flatbread
Moderator: Paul Ralston, Vermont Coffee Company
What kind of purchasing decisions are food companies faced with? What about socially responsible companies? How do you decide about sourcing, packaging, distribution, marketing in an SR way, when you are competing with larger companies? Join us for a conversation about the difficult choices that sometimes have to be made, the process for making values-based purchasing decisions, and the ways these companies handle the impact of these purchasing decisions and the effect of higher costs.

14. Ownership and Social Responsibility: Whom Do We Serve?
sponsored by Community & Economic Development Office (CEDO)
Yvette Jarreau, Eileen Fisher
Cindy Turcot, Gardener's Supply Company
Ginny Vanderslice, Praxis Consulting Group
A common view of business is that it exists exclusively to serve shareholders' financial interests, whereas non-profit organizations exist to serve their beneficiaries-individuals and/or communities. An increasing number of companies are turning to employee ownership, because the nature of stock ownership, shared with employees, is intimately linked with their core commitments to serving their customers, their local communities, and their environment. This interactive session uses several case studies to explore ownership, both through Employee Stock Ownership Plans and worker coops, and also as a way of framing the long-term commitment of business organizations to balancing profitability and broader social responsibility commitments.

15. Making Money: Increasing Business Through a Vermont Currency
Amy Kirschner, formerly of Burlington Currency Project
Will Raap, Gardener's Supply Company
Ann Zuccardy, Vermont Shortbread Company
Growing out of the experience of Burlington Currency Project and the Burlington Time Bank, Vermont Sustainable Exchange (VSE) is a new company focused on creating homegrown economic opportunities for Vermont businesses. VSE supports an online electronic trading system which will allow companies to develop their own capital for expansion and new opportunities through low-cost credit, increase sales in Vermont by streamlining interactions with local vendors and customers, and reduce their environmental footprint by making buying locally easier. Participants will examine how VSE can help VBSR companies measure and increase their member-to-member business.

16. Swimming Against the Tide
Chuck Lacy, Barred Rock Fund
Paul Millman, Chroma Technology
Jim Pratt, Cabot Creamery, and Chair of the Vermont Chamber of Commerce
Moderator: Mary Fillmore, Changing Work
How do you deal with trade organizations or other business groups that provide technical support, networking, education and or assistance and also have lobbying efforts to which you are opposed? VBSR members and other local business leaders will share their stories of being the "voice in the wilderness" - how do you make your voice heard when everyone disagrees with you?

2:40 - 3:00 PM

Snack provided by Healthy Living

Last Chance to Bid on the Silent Auction!

3:00 - 4:15 PM

Concurrent Workshops--Session C

17. The Business Case for a Workplace Volunteerism Program
Michael Dupee, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters
David Jones, University of Vermont
Over one million non-profit organizations in the U.S. rely on volunteer workers who, together, represent the equivalent of over nine million full-time employees. Simultaneously each year, hundreds of thousands of employees are encouraged by their companies to engage in community service. In 2006, the Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Foundation teamed up with David Jones, of the University of Vermont, to develop a more rigorous understanding of the benefits of employee volunteerism programs to participating employees and their employers. Learn about how investing in a volunteerism program can provide significant returns to a company and its employees, and get best practice recommendations for designing and managing a volunteerism program.

18. Dissension Within! Now How Do We Develop a Ground-Breaking Public Policy?
Paul Burns, Vermont Public Interest Research Group
Andrea Cohen, VBSR Public Policy Coordinator
Pat Heffernan, Chair, VBSR Public Policy Committee
Rep. Robert Dostis, Chair, House Natural Resources Committee
Sen. Ginny Lyons, Chair, Senate Natural Resource Commitee
Beth Sachs, Vermont Energy Investment Corp.
People with shared values can disagree, passionately. Join us for lively conversation as we discuss the challenges of creating forward-thinking public policy before turning our attention to the status of energy and climate change policy in the legislature today. Then we'll move on as a group to develop revolutionary new strategies to forward VBSR's mission-to advance a business ethic that values multiple bottom lines-economic, social and environmental.

19. Preparing Your Business for Oil and Natural Gas Scarcity
Hilton H. Dier III, Renewable Energy Design
Kelsy Raap, Carbon Neutral Vermont
Today's fossil fuels supply and demand situation requires businesses to think differently about energy use. In this session, panelists will address probable scenarios for the timing and magnitude of oil and gas shortfalls, the linkage with global warming, and business's spheres of influence in energy use. How can we reduce demand, increase renewable supply, and influence others? Using informational handouts, participants will discuss how they can begin to create a new energy strategy, including reducing or offsetting their ecological/carbon footprint while saving money.

20. Greening the Firm: Some Long-Range Visions and Attainable Realities
Steve Avery, Vermont State Employees Credit Union
Chad Cliburn, Vermont Business Environmental Partnership
Tom Hengelsberg, Truex Cullins & Partners Architects
Brian Woods, VSECU Board of Directors
In 2006 two VBSR members, the Vermont State Employees Credit Union and Truex Cullins & Partners Architects, each made conscious decisions to "green up" their businesses-to operate more sustainably both in their own office environments and in their work. In this session you'll hear about each company's process and experiences, as they considered how best to prioritize their environmental impacts and develop strategies to minimize those impacts. You'll also participate in an interactive, hands-on exercise to help you gain practical experience and prepare you to achieve similar results in your own company.

21. Engaging With Conflict in the Workplace
Kathleen Moore and Ginny Sassaman, Master's candidates at Woodbury College
This workshop is an invitation to view conflict as an opportunity to be curious, courageous, and creative. Ginny and Kathleen offer a space that is both nurturing and challenging, giving participants a chance to explore the possibilies for personal and organizational growth that arise when conflict occurs. Workshop participants will have a chance to try out simple but powerful mindsets and tools that can help move through the sometimes uncomfortable parts of conflict-and into the place that offers the possibility of discovery, balance, and new insight.

4:15 - 5:30 PM

Post-Conference Party!

Networking Reception hosted by AXA Advisors, Local First VT, Cabot Creamery, Vermont Smoke and Cure, and Magic Hat Brewery

Directions and Accommodations

The conference will be held in the Student Life Center at 262 South Willard Street on the campus of Champlain College in Burlington. From I-89, take exit 14W and proceed on Route 2 west (becomes Main Street) over the hill toward downtown Burlington. Turn left onto South Willard St. (Route 7). The Student Life Center is located just south of Maple Street. Overnight accommodations are available in Cushing Hall on campus at the rate of $50/single and $45 per person/double per night.

Save money, fuel, and carbon emissions by carpooling to VBSR’s Spring Conference. VBSR member Vermont RideShare can coordinate a carpool ride for you to the conference (Please Note: you must register for the conference in order to coordinate with Rideshare).

For more information, contact VBSR at (802) 862-8347 or email .