Business Profile - Vermont Businesses For Social Responsibility

Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility (VBSR) organized itself in 1990 around the mission “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.”

Since then, nearly 700 for-profit and not-for profit organizations have come to share that mission. VBSR members employ an estimated 10 to 12 percent of the state’s workforce and account for more than $4 billion annually of the state’s economy, across a full range of business sectors. Collectively they demonstrate the value of pursuing a triple bottom line: profitability, quality of workplace, and protecting the natural and community environments.

“As far as we know,” says Spencer Putnam, the organization’s executive director, “we’re the largest organization of our type in the country.” VBSR’s goals, he says, “are to become an organization that the media, government, and public turn to for answers about what business thinks, and to be recognized as ‘the voice of business.’ We think Vermont is on the right course so we want to encourage vibrant local economies and protect the environment.”

The organization concentrates its energies on education, public policy, and workplace quality. On the education side, VBSR hosts a spring and a fall conference each year, one in northern and one in southern Vermont, featuring local business leaders and nationally recognized industry experts. Presenters and participants exchange insights and tools for developing socially responsible business practices. These conferences draw 100 to 300 people per event and are vigorous networking sessions. The 2007 spring conference will be held in Burlington on May 17.

Each year, at a dinner associated with the spring conference, VBSR conveys the Terry Ehrich Award to an individual, a small company, and a large company. Established in 2003, the Award honors one of VBSR’s original founders, Terry Ehrich, former owner of Hemmings Motor News. “He was felt to personify the best ideals of VBSR in environmental, workplace, public policy, and community commitment,” Putnam explains. Candidates for the Award are nominated by VBSR members and selected by the board.

Between conferences, VBSR members host get-togethers around the state, usually after work hours, involving food, more networking, a short educational presentation by the host, and usually a tour of the host’s facility. These “mini conferences” attract 25 to 80 attendees, varying with location. The schedule for 2007 get-togethers is under development.

VBSR also co-sponsors programs with complementary organizations; for example, the recent “Greening Up Your Bottom Line” conference was hosted in conjunction with the Vermont Business Environmental Partnership (Vermont Small Business Development Center and Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation). “We think of ourselves as a learning and sharing organization more than a teaching one,” says Putnam. “And it’s always been our intention to reach beyond our members.”

Since inception, VBSR has sought to harness the collective power of business to influence social progress. As the organization describes in its Website, it gives Vermont businesses a voice in Montpelier, advocating “positive change and resisting exploitation of our people, our state, and our planet” as well as “fostering a work environment and economic climate that enable every worker to earn a fair income safely, to contribute his or her labor to a high-quality product or service, and to work and live with dignity and respect.”

VBSR holds public policy forums around the state for members to express and debate their policy priorities. In addition, says Putnam, “we have a full-time lobbyist in Montpelier during the legislative session, as well as monthly public policy committee meetings and workshops at our conferences to keep our members engaged in the public policy arena.” A summary of the 2006 forums is being prepared and will be posted on the VBSR Website.

VBSR members include some of the largest and best-known Vermont enterprises, such as Ben & Jerry’s, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Hubbardton Forge, Cabot Creamery, King Arthur Flour, and Vermont Country Store. The rest of the member body is composed of financial institutions, lawyers and accountants, insurance companies, publishers, alternative energy companies, utilities, printing firms, manufacturers, designers and marketers, software and hardware providers, ski areas, telecommunications companies, and myriad nonprofits and institutions of higher education. The largest member base, as well as VBSR’s headquarters, is centered in Burlington.

The organization welcomes new members in any field. Annual dues are $175 for a small business (defined as realizing less than $500,000 annual revenue) and $400 for a large business (realizing greater than $500,000 revenue). There’s also an introductory level of $100 per year for new companies in their first three years of existence, who are eligible to continue at that rate for two years. Membership benefits include, in addition to educational programs, advocacy, and networking opportunities, a referral service that helps connect members with the media, consumers, and each other; member-to-member product and service discounts; and a job listing page on VBSR’s Website.

VBSR publishes both print and electronic newsletters, as well as The Livable Jobs Toolkit, which Putnam describes as “a handbook for companies to raise the economic well-being of employees while staying profitable.” Print copies of the latest edition will be available in 2007, and it will be posted on the Website. Also new in early 2007 will be a revamped Website with improved interactive features that will let people directly sign up for VBSR events, as well as offer greater resources about social responsibility.

VBSR is staffed by Putnam, executive director; Rita Bevacco, program manager; Jon Harris, member services coordinator; Andrea Cohen, public policy coordinator, and Liz Blocker, financial and information specialist. A 17-person board helps guide the organization during their staggered three-year terms. More details are available at http://www.vbsr.org.