[Lapg] Bellingham Washington/ Sustainable Connections - Transforming a Community-video

[Wesley Roe and Santa Barbara Permaculture Network]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KprenYfqUbc&feature=related

peakmoment | September 06, 2007
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.
www.sustainableconnections.org
Category:

Sustainable Connections Bellingham Washington
What We Do, Values & History

http://sustainableconnections.org/news/video

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. 

Sustainable Connections is supporting a community 
of innovators in green building, sustainable 
agriculture, renewable energy, supporting 
independent businesses in town centers, and 
mentoring a new breed of entrepreneurs that have 
designed their business with a sustainable vision.

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.

History

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.

Today, 7.5 years later, Sustainable Connections 
has grown to 650+ local, independently owned 
business members, a team of twelve staff, an 
Advisory Board of local community and government 
leaders, a Board of Directors of business owners 
and community leaders, and an annual budget 
nearing $1m/year.

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.

  In 2009, The National Resources Defense Council 
named Bellingham the #1 small City in urban 
progress toward sustainability in the nation. 
BALLE, now headquartered next door to

Sustainable Connections has grown to 75 networks 
in North America with no sign of slowing down 
(Michelle Long is their executive director), and 
Sustainable Connections, one of BALLE's largest 
and most successful networks, is recognized as a 
model.
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