An affiliate of the WMEP.
September Newsletter Content
  • 2019 Sustainable Business Awards
  • Conference Corner
  • Sponsorship
  • Keynote Speaker Feature
  • Green Masters Program
  • 21st Century Pathways
  • Sustainability Events
  • Focus on Energy Pop-Up
  • Inspiration Corner
  • In the News
September 2019
Greetings!

The last quarter of the year is here and for us, there's a priority on programming. Here are some important dates to be aware of.


This month we have opened our annual conference sponsorship, a great way to showcase your sustainability work or get in front of the sustainable business community in Wisconsin. We are also looking for a conference mug sponsor this year. Are you interested in getting your business name in the hands of all conference attendees? Literally, these are the mugs we use for hot tea and coffee all day of the conference.

Last month we announced that our 2019 Sustainable Business Awards are OPEN and we are sill taking nominations for your Sustainable Leader , Sustainable Product and Sustainable Process . Nominate today!

I hope to see you at an upcoming event or in December at the conference!
Conference Corner
Sponsorship

Being a sponsor is a great way to get your name out in the sustainability community.
Our conference audience consists of business leaders and sustainability professionals from the region. Sponsorship levels range from $500 - $10,000 with benefits such as logo displays, a feature in our newsletter, tickets to the conference and more! Visit this link to view all the benefits available.

MUG SPONSOR OPPORTUNITY
We are seeking a business to sponsor our staple ceramic mugs.

Get your company name into the hands of all conference attendees. Sponsorship of the mugs includes your company's logo as on a medallion on the mug, three tickets to the conference, logo placement on conference materials, verbal recognition and more!

Deadline for mug sponsor is Sept. 30
To register as a sponsor, visit the registration site. When asked your registration type , use the drop-down to select " sponsor. " The following page will display your sponsorship options.
Keynote Speaker Feature
Allison Alt — Executive Director, Social Impact 360

Allison Alt is a non-profit advocate, policy professional and attorney with more than 10 years of experience creating social impact in partnership with all sectors. She began creating organizations to solve social issues at age 16. At Generations United, she built coalitions nationwide. She joined Year Up NCR in the startup phase and helped it grow 50 percent.

Alt is a Forbes 2018 Fellow, 40 Under 40 in Leadership and Public Service in Washington, DC, and a past service award winner under President Bush. She is now the Executive Director of Social Impact 360 , the only youth-led movement for business for good. SI360 trains the next generation to create businesses that solve social issues and create social impact in corporate America.

Alision will be our afternoon keynote address. Her talk will focus on the missing link for businesses and how greater profit and purpose actually starts with employee sustainability training & solutions. She will dive into topics illustrating common misconceptions about the younger generation in the workforce and what they truly want, talk about how employers can meet their employee needs, their companies needs and societies needs simultaneously and give examples of businesses successfully orchestrating these complexities.

To learn more about Alt's background and areas of expertise, view bio here. Click on the video interview button below to watch a 25-minute interview with The Atlantic, in which Alt speaks about the next generation of business leaders.

If you want to see her speak in person, make sure to click the register button to sign up for the conference! Conference prices go up on Oct 1.
The Green Masters Program is open until October 31, 2019. It is always FREE for new businesses. Returning businesses pay $100 in September and $250 in October.

The Green Masters Program:
  • Builds a strong foundation for your sustainability programming by assessing where you are today
  • Is a comprehensive list of actions you could apply in your operations
  • Gives credentials that certify your business as taking sustainability actions
  • Provides your company with recognition for your sustainability efforts
The deadline to register for 21st Century Pathways is October 4. Program is set to kick off on October 10.

Don't miss this great opportunity to build a comprehensive, customized plan designed to overcome your sustainability challenges and integrate sustainability into your business.

The program cost has been reduced to $2,500 per business because of a grant from The Water Council. To learn more about what actions your company needs to be taking, check out our blog post by clicking on the button below.
Sustainability Events

Women in Sustainability Social
Sept 18 | 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. | Milwaukee
Join Women in Sustainability for an evening of casual networking and further exploration into the green infrastructure scene in Milwaukee!

We will meet at the Iron Horse Hotel and learn about how the Brix Apartments hybrid rooftop system works hard with other neighboring stormwater friendly properties, like Coakley Brothers, to mitigate stormwater runoff in our urban Milwaukee environment.

Anthropocene: The Human Epoch
Sept 25 | 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. | Madison
This film is part of the Tales from Planet Earth film series which links the work of scholars and community organizations, that are fighting for the environment, in the form of narrative.

Anthropocene: The Human Epoch documents the profound impact that humans have had on the planet. Scientists argue that the Holocene Epoch gave way to the Anthropocene Epoch due to the changes the earth has endured at the hands of mankind.

This is a FREE event hosted at the Marquee Theater at Union South


Building the Business Case for Renewable Energy

Sept 30 | 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. | Madison
Now is the time for renewable energy and the business case has never been better. This event is designed to demonstrate the options, benefits, and details of how businesses are adding renewable energy to their operations. Showcasing businesses that have installed renewable energy projects, each speaker will share the story of why and how they determined their project, the design process, how it was built, how they got internal alignment and how they made the financing work.

Following the speakers session, we invite you to an exhibit area to talk with experts to get your questions answered!

Leveraging the Green Masters Program; Assessing Sustainability to Improve Your Bottom Line

Oct 29 | 11:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. | Neenah
The Green Masters Program helps translate sustainability success into business success and gives you a way to organize and share information. Whether your business has a sustainability program or not, The Green Masters Program helps advance your organization forward in your sustainability thinking and programming.

In this workshop your will:
  • Learn why sustainability is necessary in today’s market
  • Understand the benefits of using the Green Masters Program as a tool
  • Dive into how to collect and organize information to answer the questions in the Green Masters application
  • Know how to use the program as a tool to advance sustainability in your business
  • Get a glimpse of how to put the recognition piece to best use

If you are interested in growing your businesses' sustainability programming, learning about the GMP, getting credentials for sustainability and or recognition for sustainable practices, click the button below to sign up for or learn more about this event.

Role of Sustainability in Financial & Investment Decision Making

Oct 29 | 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. | Neenah
Sustainability is as much a part of your financial decisions as it is your operational decisions. While some CFOs have integrated principles of sustainability into their work, still too many don’t realize the connection between sustainability and economic and financial issues .

Topics that will be discussed as they relate to sustainability include:
  • Accounting and the rise of Sustainable Accounting Standards Board (SASB) standards
  • Banking options and choices
  • Investment decisions
  • Employee benefit packages
  • Updating financial and investment policies 

This workshop is designed for CFOs, accountants, human resource professionals responsible for employee benefit packages and investment officers.


Climate Fast Forward Conference

Nov 8 | Monona Terrace | Madison
The Wisconsin Academy and partners are bringing together the state's best strategic thinkers on climate change for a working conference designed to "fast forward" solutions for a more sustainable Wisconsin and world. Climate Fast Forward is a different kind of conference, one that leverages collaboration and crowd-sourcing in the pursuit of ready-to-go solutions for carbon reduction and climate resilience.

Join a projected 300 leaders from a variety of sectors—government, tribal nations, advocacy, the sciences, business, utilities, and arts and culture, as well as citizens from all walks of life—to develop key recommendations for how Wisconsin can become a clean energy leader with a practical plan to deal with climate change. 

**early bird pricing ends on Oct. 11th
Focus on Energy Pop-up
Looking for a fun way to engage your employees with energy efficiency? The FOCUS ON ENERGY® program sponsors Pop-Up Retail Events at large employers’ places of business*. Your employees will leave the event with a greater understanding of their home energy use, including ways to save energy and money. Over 50 employers throughout Wisconsin have brought this great event to their employees -- to do the same, all you need is a date to host and an area at your facility for the booth. 

*Target minimum of 200 employees

Inspiration Corner
UN Global Compact
The United Nations Global Compact is the world's largest corporate sustainability initiative, and they are focusing on empowering businesses and companies to become more sustainable. They layout a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that help guide the way towards a more sustainable future.

As a part of their Making Global Goals Local Business campaign, the United Nations Global Compact is recognizing young professionals that are working towards a sustainable future. This year's SDG Pioneers will be recognized at the UN General Assembly in New York this month. If you believe you meet the qualifications of an SDG Pioneer, be sure to apply for next years' program for more information.
In the News
 Tony Evers appoints Melissa Hughes as the new chief executive officer of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation due to her success in growing small businesses.

Source: Journal Sentinel

"Thirty-two companies signed the G7 Fashion Pact to help reduce global warming, replenish the planet's biodiversity, and curtail the dumping of plastics in the world's oceans."

Source: Fortune
Researchers have found that companies that are transparent with their supply chain gain the trust of consumers and have even experienced increased sales among certain types of consumers.

Source: MIT Management Sloan School