Mobilizing business organizations and businesses for a vibrant, just, and sustainable economy
Weak demand — not regulation — restricts small business growth
A poll released today by American Sustainable Business Council, Main Street Alliance, and Small Business Majority showed that the vast majority of small business owners see weak demand as the primary challenge for their business right now. The most important things government can do to promote small business is to eliminate incentives for moving jobs overseas, cut taxes, and take steps to help restore consumer purchasing power. 78% of small employers support regulations that help small businesses compete on a level playing field with big business, and they favor certain regs involving health care costs and clean energy. (read the report and related op-ed)
Opinion Survey: Small Business Owner Opinions on Access to Credit and Proposals to Boost the Economy: January 26, 2012
Opinion polling released today shows 90 percent of small business owners believe lack of credit is a problem for their business, and they strongly support increasing the lending authority of community banks and credit unions. Small business owners also support investments now being debated in Congress that aim to strengthen the economy and create jobs. The poll, released by American Sustainable Business Council, Main Street Alliance and Small Business Majority, queried 500 randomly-selected small business owners across the U.S. (read the report)
Supreme Court Citizens United Decision Hurt Small Business, Say Owners
Two-thirds of American small business leaders believe the controversial U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Citizens United v. FEC case handed down two years ago hurts small companies. In fact, only nine percent of small business leaders thought the ruling positive, according to an independent national survey of 500 small business leaders released today by the American Sustainable Business Council, Main Street Alliance, and Small Business Majority. The survey also found that 88 percent of small business owners hold a negative view of the role money plays in politics, with 68 percent viewing it very negatively. (Read More)
Keystone XL Pipeline: A Big Oil Boondoggle
The Keystone XL pipeline is a boondoggle for Big Oil that does nothing for American jobs, environment or energy security. It’s a sneak attack on Americans’ wallets that will raise energy prices and food prices in the Midwest. This week the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, American Petroleum Institute, Business Roundtable, with spurious claims of job creation, threatened political retaliation if President Obama does not give the go-ahead. But the pipeline, which threatens the water supply for much of the Great Plains, and threatens to accelerate climate change, must be stopped. Read more
When the Market Rules, the Big Guy Wins
Ben Cohen, founder of Ben and Jerry’s Homemade Ice Cream, and co-founder of American Sustainable Business Council’s “Business for Democracy” initiative, makes an outstanding case for how regulation helps innovators and entrepreneurs. Cohen describes the early days of his ice cream business and how Haagen-Dazs, then owned by Pillsbury, muscled the food distribution companies to drop the Ben and Jerry’s brand. Says Cohen, “Letting the market determine the rules of the business world means there will be only one rule: The biggest guy with the deepest pockets wins.” Read the whole piece here at CNN.
New York’s Benefit Corporation Law Passes
The American Sustainable Business Council and B Lab are thrilled to announce the passage and signing of the New York State Benefit Corporation legislation. Continuing a national trend of strong bi-partisan support for benefit corporation legislation, the New York bill (S79-A and A4692-A), sponsored by Senators Daniel Squadron (D-25) and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-64) and co-sponsored by William Larkin (R, C-39), passed both houses of the New York legislature unanimously. This legislation is an important step forward to grow the New York state economy and create more jobs, while also providing greater social and environmental benefit.
Net Neutrality Holds, for Now
The Internet: Perhaps nothing in history has had more impact on business and society in such a short time. Citizens and business have have come to expect that the Net be open without gatekeepers who block traffic or impose tolls on legal content. This state of openness, which is so important for innovation, entrepreneurship, and freedom is known as “Net Neutrality.” Few people know that a handful of special interests and their political operatives are pulling out all the stops to end Net Neutrality and establish the same concentration and control that has limited other media & communications services including telephone service, movies, radio, TV, and the press. The debate came to a head earlier in November as the U.S. Senate narrowly defeated a measure that sought to end Net Neutrality. ASBC laid out the issues and helped the fight with an op ed that ran in The Hill, Sustainable Industries, and Triple Pundit.
KXL Pipeline Delay a Victory --– Now Let’s Cancel It for Good
On November 17, 2011 businesses across the nation urged the White House and State Department to conduct an honest, thorough assessment of the Keystone Pipeline. In a letter organized by the American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC), business owners and their supporters raised concerns about the potential economic and environmental consequences of the pipeline’s construction. Representatives from 350.org and Green America, which, among others, helped gather the letter’s 810 signatures, joined ASBC for its delivery to the White House. (Read More)
RAA: The End of Accountability As We Know It?
This week, the Coalition for Sensible Safeguards released a comprehensive analysis of the Regulatory Accountability Act; a proposal in Congress to gut the rule-making capability of federal agencies. The Act, known as RAA, is not linked to any specific issue or policy area, but is designed to delay and dilute rulemaking across the board, by raising additional cost-benefit hurdles, additional opportunities for procedural delays, and making rules far more vulnerable to judicial overrule. Among the many cost-saving and life-saving regulations that this would affect are the banning of lead from gasoline, E. coli bacteria in beef, and asbestos and other cancer-causing chemicals in homes and work places. (Read the blog post) (Read the report)
The Mattress Matters: Protect Babies from Toxic Chemicals While They Sleep
Toxic chemicals are everywhere in daily life; it is hard to get out of bed, get dressed, clean your house, or wash your body without encountering them. This report, jointly issued by Clean and Healthy New York, and the American Sustainable Business Council, provides an overview of the crib mattress market, to make it easier to choose the mattress that best fits a child’s need. Several innovative companies have developed comfortable and durable mattresses that contain only proven, safe materials; this shows that responsible business practices and sound regulations can create market opportunities and promote entrepreneurship. (Read Report)
California's Governor Brown Signs Legislation to Spur Creation of High Quality Jobs
Governor Brown signed Assembly Bill 361 today to spur the creation of high quality jobs in California through benefit corporations. The legislation, introduced by Assemblymember Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael), creates a new class of corporation in California called benefit corporations that are legally required to pursue the creation of a material positive impact on society and the environment, while meeting higher standards of accountability and transparency. Current law requires corporations to prioritize the financial interests of shareholder over the interests of workers, communities, and the environment. (Learn More)
Sustainable Businesses Applaud President’s Jobs Package
The American Sustainable Business Council congratulates President Obama for putting forth a bold and practical jobs proposal that will help rebuild the economy. The proposal’s focus on payroll tax cuts, unemployment benefits, and funding for public servants and infrastructure will put money in the pockets of small business owners and consumers. (Read More)
President Obama Appoints Richard Cordray to Lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
ASBC applauds the President’s commitment to a strong, independent CFPB and his recess appointment of Mr. Cordray, whose pro-consumer track record as Ohio Attorney General makes him an ideal candidate to serve as the CFPB’s first director. ASBC has supported the CFPB since its creation as part of the Dodd-Frank Act, seeing it as an important vehicle to limit irresponsible financial practices that led to the Banking and Mortgage crisis. With a director now in place, the CFPB can fully pursue its mandate to protect consumers and small businesses from a range of abusive practices. Please contact the White House to let them know you support the President’s decision.
Andrew Kassoy, Co-founder of B Lab, speaks of the role of the American Sustainable Business Council in building the kind of economy we need for America’s future. Listen to the Voices of ASBC
ASBC Meets with Secretary of Labor Solis
As part of Secretary Solis's broad strategy to engage business while working to aid the unemployed, on February 9 she and six members of her senior staff spoke with 35 representatives of ASBC representing partners, business supporters, and allies.
Secretary Solis noted this meeting as a part of her strategy to explore ideas that can benefit both unemployed workers as well as the business community, and our priority was to share innovative solutions that will transform our society while creating a sustainable economy. We focused on suggestions for how to overcome challenges facing our community of businesses as well as opportunities that if implemented could employ American workers and transform the economy.
Our team made numerous suggestions about changes to existing practices to better serve microenterprise, local, small, and sustainable businesses that the DOL staff promised to follow up on. Read more.
L to R, Ben Cohen, Jerry Greenfield (both of Ben & Jerry's), and Dal LaMagna (IceStone) are among the business leaders who gathered in Washington, D.C. on January 21, 2011 to sign the founding statement kicking off the Business for Democracy campaign.
On the one-year anniversary of the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission Supreme Court decision, ASBC helped launch the Business for Democracy campaign. Read full press release.
Is the US Chamber of Commerce right that American business is opposed to addressing climate change? ASBC doesn’t believe so. And we suspect neither do you. Please donate today to help build a strong voice for sustainable business! Read More
ASBC Praised in Washington Post
In her November 2, 2010 column in the Washington Post, "Chamber of Commerce Backlash," Katrina Vanden Heuvel, editor and publisher of the Nation, highlighted ASBC's work as representatives of "an enlightened business community."
Calling on Congress to Uphold the EPA's Powers to Regulate Carbon Emissions
The US Chamber of Commerce and Republican members of Congress are challenging the EPA in federal court to try and eliminate its ability to regulate carbon emissions. In response to this, nine of ASBC’s partner organizations sent a letter to all 535 members of Congress expressing its support for EPA’s power to regulate carbon emissions. As this authorization is due to go into effect in January 2011, it is crucial that the Congress oppose any measures that would undermine or postpone the ability of the EPA to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. Sign the petition and add your business voice to this important effort.
Investors Support
Toxic Chemical Reform
In partnership with the Investor Environmental Health Network, investors with $35 Billion in assets under management sent a letter to Congress urging support for reform of the Toxic Substance Control Act. Add your name to the growing list of business leaders who support this measure: Please sign the business leaders’ petition or investors' petition today.
Restoring Top Tax Rates Makes Sense for Small Business
Debate is raging now over whether to let the Bush tax cuts expire for high income earners. It makes good business sense to restore top tax rates to where they were between 1993 and 2000 during the longest economic expansion in US history. Business for Shared Prosperity explains in this short report how small business benefits from higher top rates. Please sign this petition to urge Congress to end the tax cuts at the top.
American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC) is a growing coalition of business networks committed to building a vibrant, just, and sustainable economy. The Council is dedicated to moving beyond the politics and practices of the past to identify the innovative solutions that will transform our economy and society. We are committed to ensuring that America's businesses and social enterprises will be a major driving force behind this transformation. Read more
A poll released today by American Sustainable Business Council, Main Street Alliance, and Small Business Majority showed that the vast majority of small business owners see weak demand as the primary challenge for their business right now. The most important things government can do to promote small business is to eliminate incentives for moving jobs overseas, cut taxes, and take steps to help restore consumer purchasing power. 78% of small employers support regulations that help small businesses compete on a level playing field with big business, and they favor certain regs involving health care costs and clean energy. (read the report and related op-ed)Opinion Survey: Small Business Owner Opinions on Access to Credit and Proposals to Boost the Economy: January 26, 2012
Opinion polling released today shows 90 percent of small business owners believe lack of credit is a problem for their business, and they strongly support increasing the lending authority of community banks and credit unions. Small business owners also support investments now being debated in Congress that aim to strengthen the economy and create jobs. The poll, released by American Sustainable Business Council, Main Street Alliance and Small Business Majority, queried 500 randomly-selected small business owners across the U.S. (read the report)Supreme Court Citizens United Decision Hurt Small Business, Say Owners
Two-thirds of American small business leaders believe the controversial U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Citizens United v. FEC case handed down two years ago hurts small companies. In fact, only nine percent of small business leaders thought the ruling positive, according to an independent national survey of 500 small business leaders released today by the American Sustainable Business Council, Main Street Alliance, and Small Business Majority. The survey also found that 88 percent of small business owners hold a negative view of the role money plays in politics, with 68 percent viewing it very negatively. (Read More)Keystone XL Pipeline: A Big Oil Boondoggle
The Keystone XL pipeline is a boondoggle for Big Oil that does nothing for American jobs, environment or energy security. It’s a sneak attack on Americans’ wallets that will raise energy prices and food prices in the Midwest. This week the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, American Petroleum Institute, Business Roundtable, with spurious claims of job creation, threatened political retaliation if President Obama does not give the go-ahead. But the pipeline, which threatens the water supply for much of the Great Plains, and threatens to accelerate climate change, must be stopped. Read more When the Market Rules, the Big Guy Wins
Ben Cohen, founder of Ben and Jerry’s Homemade Ice Cream, and co-founder of American Sustainable Business Council’s “Business for Democracy” initiative, makes an outstanding case for how regulation helps innovators and entrepreneurs. Cohen describes the early days of his ice cream business and how Haagen-Dazs, then owned by Pillsbury, muscled the food distribution companies to drop the Ben and Jerry’s brand. Says Cohen, “Letting the market determine the rules of the business world means there will be only one rule: The biggest guy with the deepest pockets wins.” Read the whole piece here at CNN.New York’s Benefit Corporation Law Passes
The American Sustainable Business Council and B Lab are thrilled to announce the passage and signing of the New York State Benefit Corporation legislation. Continuing a national trend of strong bi-partisan support for benefit corporation legislation, the New York bill (S79-A and A4692-A), sponsored by Senators Daniel Squadron (D-25) and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-64) and co-sponsored by William Larkin (R, C-39), passed both houses of the New York legislature unanimously. This legislation is an important step forward to grow the New York state economy and create more jobs, while also providing greater social and environmental benefit.Net Neutrality Holds, for Now
The Internet: Perhaps nothing in history has had more impact on business and society in such a short time. Citizens and business have have come to expect that the Net be open without gatekeepers who block traffic or impose tolls on legal content. This state of openness, which is so important for innovation, entrepreneurship, and freedom is known as “Net Neutrality.” Few people know that a handful of special interests and their political operatives are pulling out all the stops to end Net Neutrality and establish the same concentration and control that has limited other media & communications services including telephone service, movies, radio, TV, and the press. The debate came to a head earlier in November as the U.S. Senate narrowly defeated a measure that sought to end Net Neutrality. ASBC laid out the issues and helped the fight with an op ed that ran in The Hill, Sustainable Industries, and Triple Pundit.
KXL Pipeline Delay a Victory --– Now Let’s Cancel It for Good
On November 17, 2011 businesses across the nation urged the White House and State Department to conduct an honest, thorough assessment of the Keystone Pipeline. In a letter organized by the American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC), business owners and their supporters raised concerns about the potential economic and environmental consequences of the pipeline’s construction. Representatives from 350.org and Green America, which, among others, helped gather the letter’s 810 signatures, joined ASBC for its delivery to the White House. (Read More) RAA: The End of Accountability As We Know It?
This week, the Coalition for Sensible Safeguards released a comprehensive analysis of the Regulatory Accountability Act; a proposal in Congress to gut the rule-making capability of federal agencies. The Act, known as RAA, is not linked to any specific issue or policy area, but is designed to delay and dilute rulemaking across the board, by raising additional cost-benefit hurdles, additional opportunities for procedural delays, and making rules far more vulnerable to judicial overrule. Among the many cost-saving and life-saving regulations that this would affect are the banning of lead from gasoline, E. coli bacteria in beef, and asbestos and other cancer-causing chemicals in homes and work places. (Read the blog post) (Read the report)The Mattress Matters: Protect Babies from Toxic Chemicals While They Sleep
Toxic chemicals are everywhere in daily life; it is hard to get out of bed, get dressed, clean your house, or wash your body without encountering them. This report, jointly issued by Clean and Healthy New York, and the American Sustainable Business Council, provides an overview of the crib mattress market, to make it easier to choose the mattress that best fits a child’s need. Several innovative companies have developed comfortable and durable mattresses that contain only proven, safe materials; this shows that responsible business practices and sound regulations can create market opportunities and promote entrepreneurship. (Read Report)California's Governor Brown Signs Legislation to Spur Creation of High Quality Jobs
Governor Brown signed Assembly Bill 361 today to spur the creation of high quality jobs in California through benefit corporations. The legislation, introduced by Assemblymember Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael), creates a new class of corporation in California called benefit corporations that are legally required to pursue the creation of a material positive impact on society and the environment, while meeting higher standards of accountability and transparency. Current law requires corporations to prioritize the financial interests of shareholder over the interests of workers, communities, and the environment. (Learn More) Sustainable Businesses Applaud President’s Jobs Package
The American Sustainable Business Council congratulates President Obama for putting forth a bold and practical jobs proposal that will help rebuild the economy. The proposal’s focus on payroll tax cuts, unemployment benefits, and funding for public servants and infrastructure will put money in the pockets of small business owners and consumers. (Read More)President Obama Appoints Richard Cordray to Lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
ASBC applauds the President’s commitment to a strong, independent CFPB and his recess appointment of Mr. Cordray, whose pro-consumer track record as Ohio Attorney General makes him an ideal candidate to serve as the CFPB’s first director. ASBC has supported the CFPB since its creation as part of the Dodd-Frank Act, seeing it as an important vehicle to limit irresponsible financial practices that led to the Banking and Mortgage crisis. With a director now in place, the CFPB can fully pursue its mandate to protect consumers and small businesses from a range of abusive practices. Please contact the White House to let them know you support the President’s decision.Andrew Kassoy, Co-founder of B Lab, speaks of the role of the American Sustainable Business Council in building the kind of economy we need for America’s future. Listen to the Voices of ASBC
ASBC Meets with Secretary of Labor Solis
As part of Secretary Solis's broad strategy to engage business while working to aid the unemployed, on February 9 she and six members of her senior staff spoke with 35 representatives of ASBC representing partners, business supporters, and allies.
Secretary Solis noted this meeting as a part of her strategy to explore ideas that can benefit both unemployed workers as well as the business community, and our priority was to share innovative solutions that will transform our society while creating a sustainable economy. We focused on suggestions for how to overcome challenges facing our community of businesses as well as opportunities that if implemented could employ American workers and transform the economy.
Our team made numerous suggestions about changes to existing practices to better serve microenterprise, local, small, and sustainable businesses that the DOL staff promised to follow up on. Read more.
L to R, Ben Cohen, Jerry Greenfield (both of Ben & Jerry's), and Dal LaMagna (IceStone) are among the business leaders who gathered in Washington, D.C. on January 21, 2011 to sign the founding statement kicking off the Business for Democracy campaign.
On the one-year anniversary of the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission Supreme Court decision, ASBC helped launch the Business for Democracy campaign. Read full press release.
Is the US Chamber of Commerce right that American business is opposed to addressing climate change? ASBC doesn’t believe so. And we suspect neither do you. Please donate today to help build a strong voice for sustainable business! Read More
ASBC Praised in Washington Post
In her November 2, 2010 column in the Washington Post, "Chamber of Commerce Backlash," Katrina Vanden Heuvel, editor and publisher of the Nation, highlighted ASBC's work as representatives of "an enlightened business community."
Calling on Congress to Uphold the EPA's Powers to Regulate Carbon EmissionsThe US Chamber of Commerce and Republican members of Congress are challenging the EPA in federal court to try and eliminate its ability to regulate carbon emissions. In response to this, nine of ASBC’s partner organizations sent a letter to all 535 members of Congress expressing its support for EPA’s power to regulate carbon emissions. As this authorization is due to go into effect in January 2011, it is crucial that the Congress oppose any measures that would undermine or postpone the ability of the EPA to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. Sign the petition and add your business voice to this important effort.
Investors SupportToxic Chemical Reform
In partnership with the Investor Environmental Health Network, investors with $35 Billion in assets under management sent a letter to Congress urging support for reform of the Toxic Substance Control Act. Add your name to the growing list of business leaders who support this measure: Please sign the business leaders’ petition or investors' petition today.
Restoring Top Tax Rates Makes Sense for Small Business
Debate is raging now over whether to let the Bush tax cuts expire for high income earners. It makes good business sense to restore top tax rates to where they were between 1993 and 2000 during the longest economic expansion in US history. Business for Shared Prosperity explains in this short report how small business benefits from higher top rates. Please sign this petition to urge Congress to end the tax cuts at the top.
American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC) is a growing coalition of business networks committed to building a vibrant, just, and sustainable economy. The Council is dedicated to moving beyond the politics and practices of the past to identify the innovative solutions that will transform our economy and society. We are committed to ensuring that America's businesses and social enterprises will be a major driving force behind this transformation. Read more
Partners in the
American Sustainable Business Council
American Sustainable Business Council
- Association for Enterprise Opportunity
-
American Made Alliance
- B Lab
- Buffalo First
- Business Alliance for Local Living Economies
- Business for Shared Prosperity
- California Association for Microenterprise Opportunity
- Count Me In for Women's Economic Independence
- Evergreen Cooperatives
- Fair Trade Federation
- Fay-Penn Economic Development Council
-
Fayette County Chamber of Commerce
-
Food Trade Sustainability Leadership Association
- Foresight Sustainable Business Alliance
- Future 500
-
The Greater Connellsville Chamber of Commerce
- Green America
- Green Chamber of Commerce
- Green Parking Council
-
Integrated Healthcare Policy Consortium
- Investors’ Circle
- Local First Arizona
- Local First Chicago
-
Local First Ithaca
- Manhattan Chamber of Commerce
-
Mile High Business Alliance
-
National Cooperative Business Association
- National Latino Farmers & Ranchers Trade Association
-
New Mexico Green Chamber of Commerce
- New Voice of Business
-
Practice Greenhealth
- Progressive Business Leaders Network (PBLN)
- Responsible Wealth
- Small Business Minnesota
- Social Enterprise Alliance
- Social Venture Network
- South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce
- Sustainability Association of Hawaii
- Sustainable Business Alliance
- Texas Green Chamber of Commerce
- Think Local DC
- Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility (VBSR)
-
Voice for Oregon Innovation & Sustainability (VOIS)
- Wealth for the Common Good
-
World Business Academy
Business Supporters of the
American Sustainable Business Council
