Day 1 -  Driving Impact: Business as a Force for Democratic Resilience

The conference opened with a grounding session led by Diné activist and artist Pat McCabe, followed by an inspiring keynote from Paul Rice, founder of Fair Trade USA, on how business can be a powerful force for good. Attendees explored topics including clean water policy, impactful hiring, and Tribal-business partnerships, and wrapped up the day with global insights from Martin Baxter of ISEP.

Day 2 - Policy and Advocacy: Rewriting the Rules for an Inclusive Economy

Dr. Michelle Chatman led a mindful grounding session, followed by an engaging conversation between Jamie Ager and Ahmed Baba on grassroots economic resilience and civic engagement. Breakouts covered green momentum in purple states, safer chemicals, circular economies, and strategies for demystifying advocacy—culminating in a closing discussion with Saru Jayaraman, President of One Fair Wage.

Day 3 - Purpose in Practice: Building Community Power and Collective Action

The final day featured a powerhouse opening keynote featuring nine women executives from U.S. Impact Investing Alliance, B Lab U.S. & Canada, Forum for the Future, Ceres, Inc., Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP), Democracy Forward, ReSurge, and ASBN. It was a highlight of the conference for all who attended!

We spent time networking and attending breakout panels on topics such as regenerative food systems, tools for community

Group photo from the Boston event.

A big thank you to everyone who hosted or attended local in-person networking events during the Business, Policy & Purpose: The Business of Democracy conference! From watch parties to live discussions, it was fantastic to see communities nationwide coming together to talk about democracy and sustainability. We're excited to keep building momentum and driving change, locally and nationally.

We continued the Networking momentum virtually as well, with networking opportunities on each of the three days of the virtual conference. Attendees, speakers, and the ASBN team came together each day to collaborate and discuss businesses and their role in uplifting democracy across industry, size, and geography.

We’re excited to partner with the American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA) for Shop Indie Local Week from Nov 28 to Dec 2, 2025. At ASBN we are featuring members who contribute to the mission of supporting local economies and the stakeholder economy.

This campaign encourages us to shop small and make a big impact in our communities.

Tell your Representative to oppose any pesticide riders in the Farm Bill

We are asking House Members of Congress to sign on to a ‘Dear Colleague’ letter, led by Representatives McGovern, Raskin, and Jayapal, opposing pesticide riders and defending local authority to protect communities.

Protect Business: Tell Congress to Keep Government Open

Shutdowns don’t just expose weak points in government; they expose how deeply integrated the public and private sectors actually are. From transportation to agriculture to innovation financing, the federal government is a business partner, customer, regulator, lender, and safety net.

Date: November 12th at 11:15 am CT

Join ASBN’s Executive Director, Camilla Taylor, on November 12th at 11:15 am CT as she shares opportunities to shape and support green business. This session offers a look at the current landscape of sustainability in business in the United States. ASBN will provide a review of current and key policy priorities, as well as legislative trends, that impact business sustainability today. Learn how ASBN is mobilizing businesses to advocate for a just and regenerative economy and discover actionable opportunities for your organization to engage with national efforts to drive policy change and ensure sustainable business is here to stay.

See all of our upcoming events, including our upcoming member networking event, The ASBN Exchange, on the ASBN Events page of our website.

Look out for an email later in the month with more detailed information about upcoming events!

Planet Forward | 16 years of impact: Alumni share how Planet Forward launched their careers | October 28, 2025 | We’re proud to see ASBN's own Terrius Harris, a Planet Forward alum, leading the charge for Indigenous partnerships and inclusive economic solutions. As Director of Indigenous Partnerships and Inclusive Economy, he exemplifies how Planet Forward alumni use storytelling to drive collaboration, sustainability, and equity—values that align with ASBN’s mission for a more inclusive, sustainable economy.

CounterPunch | Missing Labor Data, Squeezing the Economy | October 24, 2025 | Explore how missing federal labor data is creating economic instability, particularly for small businesses. ASBN’s Camilla Taylor emphasizes the impact of unreliable data on market volatility, as small businesses face reduced consumer spending. Read more on how this uncertainty is squeezing the economy.

Our state-affiliate, the New Jersey Sustainable Business Network (NJSBN), is one of more than 35 environmental, community, faith, business, and advocacy organizations advocating for Power Play NJ. Power Play NJ is a bold plan to power New Jersey with 100 percent clean energy,

make clean energy faster and cheaper by cutting red tape, and make Big Tech and private utilities pay their fair share.

Please take a few minutes to watch the launch video that features Rebecca Lubot, Ph.D., M.Sc., executive director of NJSBN, and check out the Action Network link.

Dr. Ellonda L. Williams is an Equity-driven Community Relations Operator, Inclusion Artist & Strategic Organizational Leader. She serves as Senior Director of Community and co-Lead Executive at B Lab U.S. & Canada; one of six global partners of the B Lab Global Network that foster and mobilize a growing community of people and businesses working towards a more fair and inclusive economy in the United States and Canada.

We’re excited to announce Fairtrade America as a new Industry Affiliate member of our ASBN community!

Fairtrade America works to rebalance trade, making it a system rooted in partnership and mutual respect rather than exploitation. It's about businesses, shoppers, farmers and workers all working together to provide fairer pay and more resilient communities for the people behind our food. Fairtrade America is the U.S. branch of Fairtrade International, the global organization that sets and upholds Fairtrade standards worldwide.

A non-profit 501(c)3 organization, with more than 30 years of experience working for fair trading practices in more than 60 countries across the globe, Fairtrade America is the most recognized ethical label in the world.