Announcements

March 14, 2008

Building an Authentic Green Business? Register today!

At our Green Business Conference™, May 14-15 in Chicago get the answers to all your green business questions and make the connections you need to grow your green business. Dozens of speakers will join us to explore the enterprising side of green with workshops and keynotes on green marketing, sourcing, financing and reducing your carbon footprint.

Speakers include: Kevin Wall, CEO and Founder of Live Earth, Sara Snow, TV host of "Get Fresh with Sara;" Erin Ford from Organic Valley Family of Farms; Jason Graham-Nye of gDiapers; Jeffrey Harvey of Burgerville; Sadhu Johnston, Chicago’s Chief Environmental Officer; Bryan Welch of Ogden Publishing; Sharon Rowe founder of EcoBags; Chris Van Dyke founder of NAU and many more.

Visit www.coopamerica.biz to view the program and register» SPECIAL NOTE: Hotels book up quickly in Chicago so please make your hotel reservations ASAP.

The recent issue of Forbes Japan featured an article on the Green Business Conference. Reporter Asao Teshirogi attended the San Francisco conference in November.

Renew your Green Business Membership

“The value of my membership in Green America Green Business Network™ grows each day” —Tony K. at KVALE Good Natured Games

Your annual Green America Green Business Network membership renewal is in the mail. Don’t miss out on the year we celebrate 25 years together—and introduce more ways to grow your business!

Renew today »

Spring Green Festivals™

Seattle –
April 12-13, 2008

Chicago – May 17-18, 2008

Don’t miss out on the green experiences at the Seattle and Chicago Green Festivals! Bringing the best in green business—media exposure – and learning from legendary speakers.

Visit www.greenfestivals.org for program and speakers »

To exhibit, contact the sales team at 877-727-2179, or e-mail exhibit@greenfestivals.org »

Become a Green Festival partner/sponsoring organization »

The Green Festivals are a joint project of Global Exchange and Green America.

Join us on the Green Business Network™ Lounge

Social Networking comes to our green business community. Join us on the NEW Green Business Network Lounge where our members are actively conversing and creating discussion groups on marketing, sourcing and financing… you can also upload pictures and videos, access a calendar of events, and much more!

Green America’s Magazine Project Scores BIG!

Our Magazine Paper Project was successful in convincing three mainstream magazines to start using recycled paper. The Next American City will switch from 0% recycled to 30% post-consumer recycled and music magazines Snap and Decibel will shift from 0% to 100% recycled (with a minimum of 85% post-consumer recycled paper.)

This Project works with publishers, advertisers, suppliers, environmental organizations, and printers to ensure magazines are published in the most financially and environmentally sustainable manner. If the entire North American magazine business used just 30% post-consumer recycled paper, nearly 1.7 billion pounds of greenhouse gases would not be emitted into the atmosphere.

Learn more »

Green Business Leaders Can Help Stop Coal-Fired Plants

We need your help as business leaders! Banks are influenced by businesses and your voices have a real impact.

Green America is active in opposing coal-fired power plants and the institutions that finance them. In the last 3 years, Green America and our members opposed new coal plants nationwide, and 15 of these plants were cancelled. We have also encouraged four banks—Citigroup, Bank of America, Wachovia and Wells Fargo, to stop financing coal mining and coal-fired power plants and to shift their financing to renewables and energy efficiency instead.

We ask green business leaders to help tell banks to finance clean energy instead of coal.

Take action (it will take less than five minutes!) »
Select the "business" letter and we'll get it directly to decision makers at all four banks.

Vote for the Biggest Fossil Fools

Green America, in partnership with Energy Action Coalition and Rainforest Action Network, has assembled a slate of nominees for this year’s Fossil Fools Day Awards. These ‘fools’ – major corporations – are continuing to promote outdated, dirty technology that won’t help build a clean energy future.

Vote now »

Socially Responsible Investment Assets Top $2.71 Trillion

Socially responsible investment assets grew more than 18 percent between 2005 and 2007, compared to a 3 percent growth rate for all investment assets during the same period.

The newest edition of the Report on Socially Responsible Investing Trends in the United States, produced by Social Investment Forum and Green America, found that one of every nine dollars under professional management in the U.S. is tied to socially responsible investing. That's $2.71 trillion in total managed assets using a core SRI strategy. The group defines the three core socially responsible investing strategies as screening, shareholder advocacy and community investing. The report found that mutual funds, with $171.7 billion in total net assets, represent the largest share of socially and environmentally screened funds. Total screened funds rose to $201.8 billion in 2007 from $179 billion in 2005.

The bulk of SRI assets in 2007—more than $1.9 trillion —was from the socially screened accounts managed for institutional and high net worth investors. This represented a 28 percent increase from 2005, when this class of investors held $1.5 trillion in SRI assets.

Shareholder support for social or economic issues rose 57 percent from an average level of 9.8 percent in 2005 to 15.4 percent in 2007.

Community investing institutions held $25.8 billion in assets in 2007, a near 32 percent increase from 2005, when assets totaled $19.6 billion.

Green America is a sponsor of the report and Alisa Gravitz, Green America's Executive Director, is a member of the Trends Steering Committee. Staff also is involved in the writing and production of the report.