Bellingham Washington/ Sustainable Connections

Peak Moment 75: Michelle Long shows us how a highly successful local independent business network has transformed Bellingham, WA, while inspiring other communities. From an initial "Think Local First" program, they have expanded to business peer mentoring, and support for local food producers, sustainable buildings, and green energy. An astounding sixty percent of their community are not only aware of the "Think Local, Buy Local, Be Local" campaign but have changed buying habits as well.

Vision:
We envision a thriving, collaborative community in which local businesses are prosperous and contribute to a healthy environment and the well-being of all citizens.
Mission:
To be the local forum where businesses come together to transform and model an economy built on sustainable practices.

We work with local, independently owned businesses that have the autonomy to make any transformational change in their business that they can imagineŠ reexamining where we buy goods and services, how we consume energy, grow and distribute our food, build homes, and even, how we define success in business.

Core Competencies
As a non-profit network of local, independently owned Whatcom County businesses and supporters, we facilitate sustainable economic development by providing:
   ?       Education: Facilitating technical assistance for businesses and government that builds our community's capacity to participate in the opportunities of a sustainable economy
    ?       Connections: Connecting businesses to each other, and to the marketplace
        ?       Market Development: Engaging in promotion and market development that opens opportunities for sustainable economy businesses

Guiding Principles
      ?       Place-based: We align with the quote - "find your place in the world, dig in, and take responsibility from there."
      ?       We're all on a path: We meet businesses where they are, and help them make progress with specific, measurable solutions.
        ?       We lead by example: We say what we're for, not what we're against.
      ?       Humility: We believe in continuous learning and open minds.
     ?       Bias for action: There is not one solution, there are thousands, hundreds of thousands, so we do something well, then something else, then something else....
   ?       Make it a better party: People want to be happy.
        ?       Convene the right people: We work with decision makers. We also recognize that relationships are what best motivate people to take action.
      ?       Be solution oriented: We develop specific, practical solutions that are useful across multiple businesses.
      ?       Form powerful partnerships: we recognize that we are one part of the puzzle, and we honor and support powerful partnerships.
    ?       Cultivate a can-do attitude: Creative and positive delivery of our solution messages.
   ?       Measure results: We frequently ask our members, our participants, and the community whether we are having our intended impact and how to be better.
     ?       Create a ripple effect: Good ideas spread fast. We document what we do so that others can take advantage of what we are discovering.

Whatcom County has a long, rich history of community and business innovation from a wide variety of organizations and volunteer initiatives. Building on this momentum, in early 2002 a small group of local business owners surveyed other Whatcom business owners; they found demand for the idea of forming a network of place-based businesses that could support each other toward a shared vision of a sustainable local economy. In April 2002, Sustainable Connections signed up its first business member with early programs that focused on connecting values-aligned businesses, and taking individual steps - "pledges" - to improve the sustainability of member businesses. The approach was based on the principle of reciprocity. The goal was to support local business owners with their stewardship of our place, and in turn, ask our community to support them.

At almost the same time, Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE), was forming with a mission to catalyze, strengthen, and connect local business networks focused on building local living economies. Leaders from each group brought their ideas together. During the first two start-up years of both organizations, BALLE and Sustainable Connections operated independently out of the same Bellingham office with Michelle and Derek Long as shared leadership staff to both organizations.

Our members have led Bellingham in becoming the nation's top EPA-certified green power community (2008), a leader in green building, in fostering hundreds of new relationships between farmers and food-buyers, and in shifting the purchasing behavior of 3 in 5 households toward choosing independent retailers and services whenever possible.