The American Independent Business Association (AMIBA) is moving through an exciting transformative phase that expands our evolving mission of supporting the growth and development of small, local, and independent businesses led by diverse and inclusive entrepreneurs in every state and sector.
We recently changed our signature promotional campaigns from Shop Indie Local to Choose Indie Local. This change reflects that what began as a single holiday campaign has grown to include nine campaigns throughout the year. This wide diversity of programs gives our members, affiliates, and partners a wide variety of choices for campaigns that fit their communities.
Our newest campaign is Choose Indie Sustainable, which we believe will greatly benefit Indie Local businesses everywhere. This multifaceted campaign encourages Indie Locals to adopt green practices. These changes not only mitigate climate change and preserve our precious planet but save Indie Local businesses money and enhance the value proposition they offer their community. These green practices benefit our customers, our business, our community, and our planet — a Win-Win-Win-Win!
Choose Indie Sustainable also offers you at no charge a time-tested Sustainable Assessment Form (SAF) created by the Sustainable Business Network of MA in 2008. We invite you to find a Sustainable Champion in your business who can spend approximately one-two hours answering these questions to get a baseline of where your company is — it’s an excellent way to start. Check it out here.
This March, we will focus on green business practices in the following four key areas:
- Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
- Waste and Harmful Toxic Reduction
- Local Procurement/Purchasing
- Water Reduction and Watershed Protection
We will help you incorporate a few green business practices in each of the four above areas that may make sense for your business or members’ businesses. The intention is to make it as easy and money-saving as possible. The menu of options for each category is clear, they are all time-tested and work, and each practice will make a difference.
Even if you don’t own the building you do business in, there are ways to encourage your property owner to join in the fun and save money. As James Clear says in his best-selling book, Atomic Habits, “tiny changes can produce remarkable results,” especially when independent and local businesses work together to do what we can!
We would love to hear about the green practices you have incorporated into your business so we can feature and celebrate them in our emails/newsletters. Please send your updates to Jen Risley. If you have any questions about how and why to incorporate these green business practices, please contact Rachel Wencek at Wencekrm@gmail.com.