CT Green Scene

Connecticut Passes B-Corp Legislation

By: Elizabeth Kim
Orginally posted: Stamford Advocate

Social entrepreneurs in Connecticut will soon have a way to merge good deeds with corporate-style capitalism.

The state legislature this week passed a bill that enables the establishment of benefit corporations. Also known as b-corps, such companies take on the mission of helping society or the environment while also carrying out the traditional corporate goal of maximizing profits.

The law, which will go into effect after it is signed in the fall, makes Connecticut the 26th state in the country to recognize b-corps as a corporate structure. Neighboring and nearby states like New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and New Jersey have all enacted b-corps legislation.

Among those who welcomed the news of the bill's passage on Monday was Bryan Nurnberger, the founder and president of Simply Smiles, a Norwalk-based nonprofit that sells fair-trade coffee to help indigenous coffee farmers in Oaxaca, Mexico.

30,000 meals

Upon establishing the coffee-selling arm of his business, he elected to incorporate the company in New York. To operate in Connecticut, he said he had to apply for a special exception from the state.

Nurnberger said he plans to transfer his incorporation to Connecticut as soon as the law takes hold.

"It's simplicity for us," he said, who spoke on the phone from an Indian reservation in South Dakota.

Simply Smiles started selling coffee in the fall of 2013. To date, its sales have resulted in 30,000 meals, he said.

Danbury business lawyer Hillel Goldman, who represents Nurnberger, said they'll likely be the first b-corp to incorporate in the state when the law becomes active in October.

"This idea is one that's really been pushed by entrepreneurs who want to make a difference," said Goldman, who testified in favor of the legislation for the Connecticut Bar Association's business section. "Unlike traditional corporations where the fiduciary duty of the officers and directors is to maximize shareholder profit, the fiduciary duty for officers and directors in a benefit corporation is to maximize the dollars going to the organization's social mission."

`Legacy preservation'

While it may not have been a trailblazer on b-corps, Connecticut is being touted as the first state to introduce of a so-called "legacy preservation" option. The clause gives b-corps that have been in business at least two years the choice of locking in their social mission in perpetuity.

2nd Annual Hyper-Local Craft Brew Fest June 14th

Friday and Saturday, June 14th and 15th

 6:00 PM-9:00 PM

$35.00 to Register

21 and Up

The Armory

Somerville, MA

This is an exciting opportunity to celebrate beverage producers who pull together local ingredients to make ciders, mead, artisan beverages, and brews. This event is a huge fundraiser for the Sustainable Business Network and all of New England is encouraged to join in the fun. In addition to unlimited 2 ounce tastes tests of the locally brewed and cultivated beverages, people are welcome to taste tests of locally produced food from local companies such as Taza Chocolates and Valicenti Organico. Local ingredients from cranberries to hops will be presented by experts in the beverage industry. Moreover, for the first time ever, there will be a presentation of a hyper-local home brew showcase that will celebrate home brewing and brewing with locally grown ingredients, an experience that will encourage local brewers in the New England region by showing them the resources that are available to them. This event runs in three different sessions that can be mixed and matched at will during registration. Any over the age of 21 is encouraged to register for what is sure to be an exciting and enlightening experience. 

An Overview of the Sessions

Session I: Hyper-Local Home Brew Showcase Night & Brewfest

Friday, June 14, 2013, 6:30 - 9:30pm

Session II: Hyper-Local Brewfest

Saturday, June 15, 2013, 3:00 - 6:00pm

Session III: Hyper-Local Brewfest

Saturday, June 15, 2013, 7:00 - 10:00pm

 

To register for the event and learn more information on the different sessions: http://hyperlocalbrew.eventbrite.com/

Save the Date! Riverfront Earth Day

                                                                             SAVE THE DATE!
Sunday, April 21st 2013
                                                                         1:00pm - 4:00p
Mortensen Riverfront Plaza, Hartford CT

This event will bring together families and communities from all over central Connecticut who are looking for answers on how to reduce their own carbon footprint.  It will be THE Earth Day event in downtown Hartford. Come enjoy speakers, vendors, non-profit environmental groups, along with street and folk artists.  We anticipate the participation of local schools from elementary to college.  It will be a fun, inspiring, and informational day for the whole family!

Common Good Market Makes Common Sense

by Heather Burns

Have you ever bought something just because it was a good deal? Over the years, I’ve been guilty of “retail therapy,” like buying discounted designer shoes that were a half size too small; plastic, disposable toys made in China because they were 4 for $1; and a new comforter (full of fire retardants) with each new season that fell apart within months.  While these “bargains” may have temporarily quelled my urge to consume, not only did they mean nothing to me 5 minutes after walking out of the store, they came attached to an enormous ecological price tag.

My awareness has grown over time and I've made progress toward becoming a more conscious shopper (mostlly by avoiding places like the mall altogether), but Rick and Elizabeth Conrad, co-founders of Common Good Market have a mantra: buy things made to last by people who live and work in your community. An online marketplace of artisan-crafted home goods sourced and assembled in New England, Common Good Market has a vision of connectivity that inspires.

Quality vs. Quantity

“When we focus on buying items based on quality, beauty and utility – we surround ourselves with things that serve our needs and that we treasure, value and pass on,” Conrad says. “I’ve been married for thirty years and like a lot of people in that situation, we’ve accumulated a lot of stuff that has or will end up in the waste stream. Instead, we can buy things made by people whose story we know and whose work we love.”

Conscious consumer advocates would argue that this type of “conscious consumerism”—that is understanding that value extends beyond price – is more personally rewarding and has far less negative impact on the environment than purchasing disposable or products that suffer from planned obsolescence.

Building a Living Economy

And it’s not just the environment that benefits from products like those featured by Common Good Market – the local economy is also positively impacted by purchasing locally-sourced, handmade or small batch manufactured goods. “When we choose to buy a table made by a local artisan using sustainably harvested woods, we will absolutely spend more money on that table than we would spend for a table at the chain furniture store. The table at the chain may look nice and may even be made from solid, sustainably harvested wood. But if the table is imported, then how did that purchase support our local workforce? How much of what we spent went back to support the people living and working in our own neighborhood,” says Conrad.

“Visit our site (www.commongoodmarket.com) and read artisan profiles about the lives, passion and dedication of the artisans we’ve come to know and love,” Conrad says.