Sustainable Connections

Bellingham, Washington

Director: Michelle Long | 624 members

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, 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 shared leadership staff.

Today Sustainable Connections has grown to well over 600 local independent business members, a team of eight staff, an advisory board of local community and government leaders, a board of directors of 13 business owners, and an annual budget of $500,000.

Sustainable Connections is recognized as a model BALLE network. with strong programs in green building, renewable energy, food and farming, sustainable business development, and independent retail/Local First. With their Green Power Community Challenge, Bellingham has become the largest EPA-recognized green-powered community in the US. They host the annual Imagine This! Home and Landscape Tour of green homes and green landscaping (ten sites, with about 800 community members on the tour). Their food and farming fundraisers are the most fun around, with a harvest chase obstacle course for teams representing various community organizations.They put on Independents Week events every July as part of their Think Local First program, and last summer launched a new zero-waste workshop, teaching businesses how to go zero-waste, as part of their Sustainable Business Development program.

View a video on their work featuring executive director Michelle Long.

For more profiles of local BALLE networks, click on the links below:

Local First Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah

Sierra Business Council, Truckee, California

Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Sustainable Business Network of Portland, Oregon

Vest Pocket Business Coalition, Salt Lake City, Utah