With SBN’s 2025 Annual Meeting coming up on Thursday, February 6, the Triple Bottom Champion Award returns, recognizing a business within SBN’s network that embodies the triple-bottom-line approach of being mindful of people, the planet, and profit.
This year’s award winner will serve as SBN’s Triple Bottom Champion Ambassador, helping to amplify their commitment to sustainability and presenting next year’s award, will receive a complimentary year of free membership, access to Unit of Impact, a platform that helps businesses and organizations efficiently collect and organize their impact data, and a certificate during this year’s Annual Members Meeting.
Six outstanding local businesses are nominated for their positive environmental, social, and economic efforts over the last year. Voting is now open to the public through Monday, February 3. The winner will be announced towards the close of the Annual Members Meeting, and there’s still time to register for the event, so please find tickets here.
The Welcoming Center
The Welcoming Center is dedicated to supporting immigrants in their transition to life in the U.S. Through a holistic approach, the center empowers individuals by providing resources for career development, entrepreneurship, cultural integration, and essential skills training. This includes English language support and digital skills development, crucial for success in today’s economy. In addition to its social mission, the center is committed to adopting sustainable business practices and contributing to the local economy, aligning with the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) framework: People, Planet, and Profit.
By embracing the Triple Bottom Line approach, The Welcoming Center amplifies its impact by simultaneously supporting the social integration and empowerment of immigrants, promoting environmental sustainability, and ensuring financial viability. Through its focus on People, Planet, and Profit, the center not only helps immigrants build better lives but also contributes to the long-term sustainability of both the community and the environment. This comprehensive approach strengthens the social fabric, drives local economic growth, and fosters a more inclusive and responsible society for all.
Weavers Way Co-op
Weavers Way Co-op is a cooperatively owned food market open to the public. Thanks to the dedication of our members and neighbors throughout the years, a tiny buying club that began in Mt Airy in 1973 is now a multi-store co-op serving more than 13,000 member households at four stores located in Northwest Philadelphia and Ambler, PA. The Co-op also operates two urban farms and a seasonal Farm Market in Roxborough. Everyone is welcome to shop at the Co-op – membership is not required, but it has its perks!
As a not-for-profit cooperative, our organization can put people and planet before profit, focus on issues such as sustainability and community, and make an extra effort to leverage local, sustainable, and ethical food producers. The Co-op provides discounts to members who volunteer in our stores or in the community, and provides additional discounts to members who are in need. Co-op members help shape the Co-op through their initiatives, including environmental initiatives such as plastic reduction, a unique container refund program to reduce waste, and the promotion of zero and bulk waste shopping.
Greenline Access Capital
Greenline Access Capital, a loan fund (and emerging Community Development Financial Institution), is an organization founded in 2021, in the principle of providing equitable access to financial resiliency and wealth through entrepreneurship. They do this by leveling the playing field for the resources that are needed to thrive economically. That includes facilitating access to capital, capacity, connections, and conviction.
Greenline Access Capital aims to empower the Latino and immigrant community in Philadelphia by fostering sustainable business practices that drive economic growth, social equity, and environmental stewardship.
The Franklin Fountain
In Old City on Market Street, “Confectionery Row” includes The Franklin Fountain, Franklin Ice Cream Bar, Shane Confectionery and The Cacao Pod. All assembled within the same half block-these storefronts serve exceptional historic confectionery experiences. There’s an emphasis on quality, seasonality, local sourcing, ethics and dressed up fun. Sustainability starts with their mindset. Delivering top quality sweets requires high standards and expectations of excellence at every aspect of the guest experience. Since the pandemic in 2020, Franklin Fountain has reinvested into their people and properties on Market Street while expanding their menu and offerings. They have also expanded their reach into wholesale and corporate business at Shane Confectionery, launching their candy bar line, ice cream cakes, and refillable pints and soda syrups for home consumption. An expanded relocated Staff Lunch Room at Shane and improved Onsite Storage Space will improve operational flow with a focus on other sustainable aspects of our business-Facilities Management. The team at Franklin Fountain hope to start roasting their cacao beans within The Cacao Pod this year and offer select historic block tasting tours in collaboration with Historic Philadelphia. Sustainability looks different to each business each year, but change is the constant at Franklin Fountain as they adapt to their customers and their own various needs in the future.
Botanic Village
Born and raised in Philadelphia, founder Meagan Cook grew up planting with her Father. A small garden that became her first job and love for planting. They grew strawberries, eggplant, tomatoes, and her curiosity. Her Mother was a plant lover. A home enriched with house plants, clippings of foraged stems that she propagated in old mason jars. Her parent’s love would teach her that her mind is a garden that should grow wildly. The caretakers of an important seed they constantly watered: Meagan a wild flower embarking on life.
Over time, her infatuation for flowers and plants grew rapidly, inspiring her to share her creative talents and her love for flowers. Honoring everything she’s learned along the way would help her hound in a craft of combining textures, color, design, and love. Without much thought, just a feeling, Meagan started what is now Botanic Village, a local flower shop offering sustainable options for beautiful flower arrangements.
The Hart of Catering & Cafe
The Hart of Catering & Cafe is a Center City Philadelphia based catering company and cafe focusing on high-quality food and customer service. While running a highly successful catering company and cafe, the team also focuses on people. They are a recovery friendly employer and operate a side non-profit, Hart of Recovery, to help people from the beginning stages of their recovery to an independent drug and alcohol free lifestyle. Their cafe menu includes a Pay it Forward section where patrons can prepay for a meal for someone in need. From an environmental standpoint, Hart of Catering strives to use sustainable packaging for their delivery services on both the cafe and catering sides and strives to keep environmental sustainability at the forefront of their practice.
Again, voting is now open to the public through Monday, February 3. Cast your vote today!
