White Papers, Business Cases, Case Studies & Polling
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Making the Business Case

These reports contain clear and compelling business and economic benefits exist for our policy positions. In fact, most of our policy positions include ones that have been painted by others as bad for business. These documents can be used to help educate policymakers and others about how policies based on sustainable principles can be good for all stakeholders, including the planet.

The Business Case for Worker Ownership

Case Studies

These case studies illustrate how ASBC members and other businesses engage in practices that support the triple bottom line of people, planet, and profit. These companies have found ways to take the high road from a social and environmental standpoint, without undermining their growth and profitability — and in some cases making their business even more successful in conventional financial terms.

We hope these case studies provide inspiration and information to help your business to do well by doing good.

UncommonGoods: Strengthens Its Bottom Line with Good Workplace Policies
Naturepedic: Creating Safer Products, New Jobs and Business Opportunities, While Spurring Innovation
Catholic Healthcare West: Why Health Care Needs Federal Chemicals Reform
Business Case for Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) Tracking & Metrics – A Better Way Forward
EILEEN FISHER Takes the High Road on Pay and Medical Leave

Polling

ASBC regularly conducts polling of small business owners nationwide. In recent years polling has covered several policy areas:

Retirement
  • Small business owners believe that a lack of retirement security hurts business and the overall economy.  Even so, few small business owners offer a retirement plan, with cost being the primary impediment. Read the complete polling report.
Raising the Minimum Wage
  • The federal minimum wage was last increased five years ago, in July 2009, to $7.25 an hour. A striking 61% of small business employers nationwide support increasing it to $10.10. This finding is higher than reported in previous small business polling, indicating growing support for the increase. Read the complete poll report, produced with Business for a Fair Minimum Wage.
Immigration Reform
  • Most small business owners support a roadmap to citizenship for current immigrants including those already here. They prefer a path to citizenship over a program of temporary guest worker visas. Read or download the complete report.
Campaign Finance
  • Small business owners view the Citizens United decision as bad for small business. According to opinion polling released by the American Sustainable Business Council, Main Street Alliance and Small Business Majority, the poll also shows small business owners overwhelmingly believe corporations have been given too much freedom to spend money that directly influences political campaigns.  Read or download the complete report.
Access to Credit
  • Nine in ten (91%) small business owners support allowing community banks, cooperatives, and credit unions to more actively compete with commercial banks in servicing the financing needs of small business, two-thirds strongly. Support remained very high across party lines, with 87% Democratic (66% strongly), 89% Independent (65% strongly) and 92% Republican (68% strongly) small business owners in favor. Download the complete report.

White Papers

ASBC has released several reports which take an in-depth look into important sustainability issues:

A Simple Fix for a $17 Billion Corporate Tax Loophole
  • Many U.S. businesses and families struggle to pay both their own basic bills and taxes for our shared infrastructure and services—while numerous corporations dodge state and federal taxes by shifting U.S. earnings to subsidiaries in offshore tax havens. But states can recoup billions of dollars without help from Congress. A 2019 report, produced by ASBC, U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) Education Fund, Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), and SalesFactor.org, explains how state-level actions against tax dodging can make taxation fairer, empower broad-based prosperity and build a strong future. Read or download the complete report.
The High Road Workplace: Route to a Sustainable Economy
  • High-road businesses see things differently than others. They see their employees, the communities in which they operate, and the products and services they provide as equally vital to their financial success. These companies look beyond next quarter’s report and take a long-term view of their firms as vehicles to create significant, positive business and social impact. This report describes what it means to be a high-road business, why it matters, and how policy can help incentivize more businesses adopt high-road practices. Read or download the complete report.
True Cost of Externalities
  • An economy based on conventional accounting methods, not reflective of true costs, is unsustainable and inefficient. Cultivating a sustainable economy depends on constructive interplay between business and government, and on how each handles externalities within its own operating realms. The scope and shape of public economic policy is largely determined by prevailing business sector goals and strategies. Read or download the complete report.
Municipal Primer on Climate Investing
  • Municipalities have many opportunities to promote ambitious action and policies to help to avoid a climate crisis. One major opportunity is the use of pension funds and investments to advance clean energy investment and fossil fuel divestment. This report lays out options for city and pension fund managers to use their power as investors to accelerate the clean energy transition. Read or download the complete report.