First Breakout Session (choose one)

Business Planning for Sustainability

Description: Learn about a process to create a plan that reflects your goals for the year and then gives you the tools to use that plan throughout the year to focus your energy and decisions.   Discuss how to create a plan that considers how the triple bottom line (people, planet, profit) comes into play in your business.  Talk with a business owner that uses this process; learn from his experience about the benefits and challenges.

Speakers:

Elizabeth Guman, Learning & Vision Partners

Elizabeth Guman specializes in assisting organizations in translating values, vision and purpose into strategic business results.  Her company, Learning & Vision Partners, meets a unique niche of leadership development and strategic planning for small to medium sized businesses.  LVP's offerings include open-enrollment leadership workshops, strategic planning clinics and customized retreats, programs and projects.  Elizabeth believes that business organizations can be major agents of change and that learning is a critical element to that happening.

Terry Brett, Kimberton Whole Foods

Terry Brett is the owner of Kimberton Whole Foods.  KWF began as the Seven Stars Farm Store, the retail arm of the Seven Stars Farm Cooperative, a 400-acre biodynamic/organic dairy farm.  Terry and his life partner, Patricia, opened the farm store in 1986.  Terry also oversaw the product development and the sales and marketing of the Seven Stars Organic Yogurt, a nationally distributed made-on-the-farm yogurt.  The farm store moved into the village of Kimberton in 1994.  A second store opened in Downingtown in 2003.  KWF is committed to its roots of promoting organic foods with a primary mission of supporting small organic farming operations.

Extreme Makeover:  Practical Green Strategies for Your Home and Office

Description: Green building strategies aren't just for new buildings.  This presentation will explore practical ways that homeowners and small business owners can give their existing properties a 'green make-over.' The presenters will discuss issues related to 'Renovations & Retrofits' as well as ongoing 'Operations & Maintenance.'  The session will include a case study of 'Rag Flats', a sustainable urban in-fill project located on the sitesite of a former rag factory in the Fishtown section of Philadelphia.

Moderator:

Jennifer Rezeli, Re:Vision Architecture

Jennifer Rezeli is co-founder of Re:Vision Architecture, a planning, architecture and consulting firm committed to re-visioning and restoring the balance between natural and built environments. Building on ten years of experience as a community and environmental planner, Jenn brings a collaborative spirit that is evident when she's planning projects, running community design charrettes or securing financial resources for projects.  In her free time, Jenn can be found obsessing over her garden.

Presenters:

Bill Craig, Re:Vision Architecture

Bill Craig is an environmentalist and an architect at Re:Vision  Architecture.  Previously with Susan Maxman & Partners Architects, he has worked on various sustainable design projects for the last four years.  His particular interests include energy conservation and mechanical systems.  Bill belongs to several environmental advocacy and land conservation groups such as the Pinelands Preservation Alliance.  He recently acquired a diesel car that will run on either biodiesel fuel or straight vegetable oil.

Tim McDonald, Onion Flats, LLC

In 1997, Tim co-founded Onion Flats LLC, a development/design/build firm, currently working on Rag Flats, a sustainable garden community in Fishtown, Philadelphia.  In that same year, Tim also founded FAARM, Philadelphia's first non-profit dedicated solely to the exhibition of architecture and it's related arts.  Tim has also been actively involved in the Northern Liberties Neighbors Association since 1999 as a member of the Zoning Committee and the Urban Design and Development Committee.

Speaking Our Vision:  How to describe a local living economy to your friends and neighbors

Description:

What do we mean by a 'living' economy?  How is this a positive alternative to the existing corporate global economy?  Why is 'local' important?  What is the history of the movement?  Why is creating local living economies important to our future?  How can everyone participate in building local living economies?

Speakers:

Judy Wicks is owner and founder of Philadelphia's 22-year-old White Dog Cafe, and is a national leader in the local, living economies movement.  She is co-founder and co-chair of both the national Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE), and the local Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia (SBN). She is also president of the White Dog Cafe Foundation, dedicated to building a local living economy in the Philadelphia region.

Dale Hendricks has been growing and propagating plants professionally since 1975. After 5 years running a greenhouse range in Kennett Square, Pa and acting as perennial program manager, he left to co-found North Creek Nurseries, Inc. in Landenberg, Southern Chester County, Pa with business partner Steve Castorani.  He is co-chair of the Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia.

Spirituality and Business

Through short presentations and dialog, this session will explore a range of themes including:

understanding self-interest

attracting abundance

harmony and disharmony in the workplace

living with your commitment to the triple bottom line

how a spirited corporate culture enhances the bottom line

how your personal spark affects your profession and what to do about it

Speakers:

David Schwerin, Ph.D. is author of Conscious Capitalism (1998) and Conscious Globalism:What's wrong with the world and how to fix it (2005). Conscious Capitalism has been translated into Portuguese and Chinese and is in its second printing in China. President of D J Investment Advisors for over 30 years and Chairman of the Pathwork Press, David has lectured throughout the U. S. and China. He serves on the board of several non-profit organizations and can be reached at www.consciousthinking.com <http://www.consciousthinking.com> .

Joni Carley, D.Min.

Wisdom at Work - Coaching/Consulting; ~Speaking & Teaching: Chestnut Hill College, George Washington U., Drexel U., personal development seminars; ~Philanthropy: Council of New Jersey Grantmakers Board, Delaware Valley Grantmakers Board member; ~Radio host & producer: SPIRITED LIFE, on SuccessTalk.com,  WORKING TOGETHER, an international children's radio show on a United Nations station; ~American Coordinator: Seventh Generation Peace Conference in Moscow ~Doctor of Ministry: Reinvention of Work; CoachU graduate  ~Studied with spiritual teachers and healers worldwide.

Second Breakout Session (Choose one)

Fair Trade Products

Description: What does Fair Trade really mean and why does it matter?  Find out how the fair trade label connects to fostersing equitable and sustainable production and trade.  Hear from four entrepreneurs who have built their businesses around Fair Trade principles.

Moderated by:

Leanne Krueger-Braneky, SBN Director

Speakers:

Uta and Thomas Noller founded Fonseka Coffee, Philadelphia's smallest coffee roaster, a company dedicated to bringing customers the finest Arabica coffees available.  Fonseca was created in 1986 as "Fonseca Medical Aid" for the purpose of providing medical and material aid to the people of Central America.  From the very beginning, the idea was to help people in third world countries first by purchasing their product, and then by returning the proceeds from the sale of coffee in the form of much needed medical supplies.  Fonseca was successful in raising enough funds to build a small hospital in San Rafael del Sur, Nicaragua, in 1988.  All income for Fonseca Medical Aid has come from the sale of coffee by Fonseca Coffee.  More recently, Fonseca Medical Aid has provided medications for the treatment of AIDS patients in Cuba.

Joe Cesa, Joe Coffee Bar

Chef Joe Cesa's earliest culinary memory is in his Italian Grandmother's Philadelphia kitchen, watching her make pasta, marinara, and bread.  The same staples are made occasionally in his own kitchen today. Among his experiences, Joe was chef-owner of Caffe Metro Restaurant; gourmet food buyer for Fante's, Philadelphia's culinary landmark in the Italian Market; Chef for MANNA, Philadelphia's AIDS-meal providing meal source for people living with AIDSkitchen, Director of Food Service at The Renfrew Center, a healthcare institution for women with eating disorders.  As owner of Joe Coffee Bar, Philadelphia's first fair -trade coffee house at 1100 Walnut Street, he tries to bring his varied experiences together to create a healthy, socially-aware alternative to the corporate coffee industry, and uses superb locally grown and/or produced food and products.

John Doyle, Jubilee Chocolates

John Doyle and Kira Baker are the founding partners of John and Kira's Jubilee Chocolates, a socially conscious line of handcrafted chocolate.  Doyle and Baker founded the company in 2000, initially testing and tasting in their West Philadelphia apartment.  He had left an investment-banking firm in New Yourk to chase his altruistic inclinations and salve his entrepreneurial itch. They decided to develop a unique product, one that would promote - of 'promoting a different way to do business.'  They settled on the Jubilee name because it denotes celebration, rejoicing and the sharing of plenty throughout society.  Since then, Jubilee chocolates have graced the cover of Gourmet magazine and been named their favorite chocolates.

Yonas Kebede, Kaffa Crossing

Kaffa Crossing is a family-owned and operated cafe. The person behind the cafe idea and its distinct Fair Trade philosophy is Yonas Kebede, a long time West Philadelphia resident of Ethiopian decent.  Yonas always has dreamt of becoming a social entrepreneur. Following a visit to his country of origin, Ethiopia, two years ago, he was struck by the immense poverty sustained by the people. More than half of the people in Ethiopia live on less than a $1 a day - less than a cup of coffee at Starbucks. He set to work on his 'mission of a life time' by converting a vacant convenience store into a bright, warm cafe. For more than a year, with hardly any capital he and his family worked weekends and evenings after work to complete the renovation of the cafe.  Kaffa Crossing opened July 2004.

Powering your Business - Choices for Sustainable Energy

Description: Most of us take our energy for granted - we flip the light switch and it's there.  But your business can't be truly sustainable until you've made energy choices that reflect your business values. In this interactive session, meet the experts who can tell you how to buy cleaner electricity, how you can generate your own, and how you can reduce what you use.

Presenters

Nadia Adawi, Director of  Operations, the Energy Cooperative, a supplier of 100% renewable electricity for your home or business

Mike Fischer, Account Manager, Community Energy, which leads the market in the development of wind-generated power

George Hoguet, Director of Mid-Atlantic Operations, NativeEnergy, which builds new waste-to-energy projects on Pennsylvania family dairy farms

Liz Robinson, Executive Director, Energy Coordinating Agency, a certified solar installer

Gary Sheehan, Principal, Mesa Environmental Sciences, a certified solar installer

Scott Wagner, Energy Coordinating Agency, helping businesses save energy

Sustainability Sells - Ways to get people to try Green Eggs and Ham

Description: The Sustainable Landscape Building Block is modeling itself after Sam-I-am of Dr. Seuss fame. We're tirelessly marketing through education the idea of sustainable site design in the hopes of convincing the skeptics that "green eggs and ham" are a delicacy to be savored. We believe that the market for sustainable design is beginning to boom as people realize that designing with nature can save resources including money and time. It is, in the words of the Seussian doubter, "so good, so good, you see!", that everyone will want to try it.

Speaker:

Tavis Dockwiller is a principal Landscape Architect with over fourteen years of experience in private practice. Her expertise encompasses master planning and site design for university campuses, environmental education centers, institutions and streetscapes.  In 1999, Ms. Dockwiller co-founded Rolf Sauer & Partners and practices landscape architecture within an ecological framework. Ms. Dockwiller is a visiting lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania.

RecycleBank: A Remarkable Innovation in Recycling

Description: RecycleBank: a proprietary technology and business model that records how much each household recycles and returns redeemable coupons as a financial reward.  This session features a progress report on a six-month Pilot program targeting 6,000 homes in Northwest Philadelphia.  The RecycleBank Pilot was launched in partnership with the City of Philadelphia and Blue Mountain Recycling. RecycleBank 'dollars' are redeemable at more than 100 retailers, including Starbucks, Coca Cola, ShopRite, FedEX-Kinkos, and Whole Foods.

Speaker:

Ron Gonen, co-founder and managing director of RecycleBank. Native to Philadelphia, Ron attended Germantown Academy, earning a BA degree from the University of Massachusetts and an MBA from Columbia University.  Among his many honors, he shares an Eugene Lang Entrepreneurial Initiative Fund award, which provideding seed capital for Recycle Bank.  Ron is a frequent speaker on the role of business in society and environmental policy, most recently at Columbia Business School, WXPN 88.5 and EarthRight.

Third Breakout Session (Choose One)

Environmental Justice 101

Description: This dynamic session will bring together a panel of speakers who are fighting environmental injustice on local, state and systemic levels. One goal of this session is to empower conference attendees to take action on environmental justice issues in their own communities.

Moderator:

John Smith, Assistant Director of SBN

Presenters:

Ayanna A. King is a native of Pittsburgh, PA. She was recently appointed the Director for the Office of Environmental Advocate for Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection. She is the founder of the Pittsburgh Transportation Equity Project. Co-author of chapter six in Highway Robbery: Transportation racism and equity to new routes.  Ayanna has thoroughly enjoyed working with various Pittsburgh communities for the past 16 years. She has also served on various boards and enjoys volunteering and giving back to the youth for our future. Ayanna has touched the lives of over 130 youth through mentoring projects.

Alice Wright Bailey, Environmental Advocate, PA Department of Environmental Protection. With 23 years of management, public/community relations, communications, and fundraising experience, Ms. Wright Bailey is particularly skilled in developing and maintaining effective relationships with community groups, officials and agencies at local, state and federal levels. Ms. Wright Bailey earned a reputation for bringing a people-centered, participative approach to problem solving and project implementation. Her professional affiliations include Society of Women Environmental Professionals, Maternity Care Coalition, and Jazz Peoples' Collective.  B.A., Business Administration, Eastern University, Delta Mu Delta.

Gail Conner is the founder and President of G&C Environmental and has more than 20 years of environmental experience, including regulatory compliance.  Ms. Conner's accomplishments have been recognized by various entities including JC Penney Company, Inc., the United States Commerce Department and the Chester County Chamber of Commerce.  Ms. Conner has found the balance between the private sector and government by designing and managing environmental projects that achieve regulatory compliance and responding to the business needs of clients.

Reverend Dr. Horace W. Strand, Founder/Pastor of Faith Temple Holy Church & Founder/Administrator of Faith Temple Christian School, is from Chester, PA.  After graduation from High School, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps, and while serving, he graduated from the Far-East Dependent School, Okinawa, Japan, studying psychology at the University of Maryland Far-East Division.  After being honorably discharged, he attended the Faith School of Theology in Charleston, Maine.  Majoring in Ministerial and Teaching, he graduated on the Deans List and received his Advance Teacher Certification, from E.T.T.A.  He was awarded the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Divinity, Jameson Christian College, Philadelphia, PA. Rev. Strand is an unspoken and noteworthy Environmental Activist for the city of Chester.

Designing Sustainable Products and Services, Creating principled, profitable business solutions

Description: There are several sustainable frameworks instructing businesses in what to do., Uunfortunately, they stop short in telling companies how to do it. After reviewing these corporate guidelines, this session will describe various steps a business can take to design sustainable products and services.  Concluding the session will be several case studies of companies uniting economic and environmental goals through sustainable design.

Speakers: Anthony Guido and Barent Roth, principals and founders of grow-design, the Philadelphia based industrial design firm dedicated to sustainable to restorative solutions, will present the material. After 23 years of combined teaching and 30 years of combined international design consulting experience, Anthony and Barent merged their academic and professional commitment to ecological design issues though the creation of their environmentally driven industrial design firm, grow-design. In the fall of 2003 grow-design was granted the Innovation Award for The Cradle to Cradle Design Challenge for E-Commerce Shipping Packaging and Logistics sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in partnership with McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry.

Local Sources of Capital for your Business

Description: We will introduce an array of presenters appropriate to the varied financing needs of SBN businesses and potential borrowers.

Presenting Organizations:

Murex Investments is a venture capital fund that focuses on investments in low-income communities. Murex Investments provides early-stage, growth and expansion capital for innovative companies that will drive the economic future of the Mid-Atlantic region. Murex includes the region's only SBA-licensed New Markets Venture Capital Company, focusing on companies located in economic development zones, research parks, and business incubators. Through our unique public/private partnerships, Murex portfolio companies are also able to access intensive professional consulting services at no charge.

Philadelphia Development Partnership

Established in 1989, Philadelphia Development Partnership (PDP) is a private, non-profit organization whose mission is to promote economic development in low-income neighborhoods in the greater Philadelphia region. The Philadelphia Development Partnership is the region's largest provider of micro enterprise development services. With offices in Philadelphia and Chester, PDP works with more than 400 entrepreneurs each year, the majority of whom are in the business start-up phase. Assistance is provided through a varied and customized array of loan products and business development services, including one-on-one technical assistance, business training and networking opportunities.

The Reinvestment Fund

The Reinvestment Fund, Inc., builds wealth and opportunity for low-wealth communities and low- and moderate-income individuals through the promotion of socially and environmentally responsible development. Capital is one of the principal tools used by TRF to build wealth and opportunity for low-wealth communities and low- and moderate-income individuals. Thanks to investments from individuals, banks, institutions, and the state and federal government, TRF provides financing for a variety of customers and products - affordable housing,  community facilities,  small businesses,  energy conservation businesses, and  private equity. OnAt December 31, 2004, TRF's total capital under management, including that of its affiliates, had increased to  $257.1 million.

Women's Opportunities Resource Center

The mission of the WORC is to promote social and economic self-sufficiency primarily for economically disadvantaged women and their families. WORC provides training, individual business assistance, job placement, and access to business and financial resources. WORC empowers its constituents through various self-help strategies including savings mobilization, a self-employment network, and access to its local, national and international affiliations. Additionally, WORC encourages community awareness and responsiveness concerning issues impacting economic equity and independence.

The Buy Local Philly Campaign

Description:  Buy Local Philly is an extraordinary opportunity for Philadelphia businesses and the broader SBN community.  The first campagin of its kind to be piloted in a large, East Coast city, Buy Local Philly is working to push the boundaries of what a "Buy Local" campaign can be.  Find out about "Local First" campaigns nationwide; what SBN has planned for a wider campaign launch next Fall; and how your business or organization can get involved.  The workshop will also feature a strategy and brainstorming session as we look to you for ideas on how to expand our work and build a vibrant, city-wide campaign.

Facilitator: Ben Wyskida, Design for Social Impact

Ben Wyskida is Outreach Director for Design for Social Impact, one of the nation's leading communications and design firms for nonprofits and socially-responsible businesses.  Design for Social Impact has shaped the message, look and strategy of campaigns nationwide, including the Buy Fresh, Buy Local Initiative and the Buy Local Philly campaign.  Before Design for Social Impact, Ben was Grassroots Coordinator at the Coalition for Smart Growth, a Washington DC organization working to build public support for smart growth and new urbanist development.