Since the 1988 formation of New England Businesses for Social Responsibility (NEBSR), many U.S. business leaders have organized local organizations in an effort to promote socially responsible business practices. Working in a steady and consistent manner, several locally-based business organizations throughout the country have been instrumental in promoting progressive business practices and raising the bar for business ethics. Today, such local organizations are recognized as playing a pivotal role in changing the world by transforming business.

Most of these local organizations have connected to one or both of two national sustainable business organizations Social Venture Network (SVN) and Business for Social Responsibility (BSR).

Social Venture Network (SVN) was founded in 1987.  It is a community of 400 principally North American  business founders, owners and leaders, private investors, social entrepreneurs, foundation officers and other key thinkers -- who share a commitment to building a just and sustainable world through business. SVN transforms the way the world does business by connecting, leveraging, and promoting a global community of leaders for a more just and sustainable economy.  SVN provides and supports a network for enterprise partnership, a community for members' spirituality and personal development, the improvement of business practices, and a platform for social action.

SVN promotes new models and leadership for socially and environmentally sustainable business in the 21st century, through initiatives, information services and forums that strengthen its community and empower its members to work together on behalf of their shared vision. SVN, members strive to improve their own performance of the "triple bottom line" -- for people, planet and profits.  But their organization is deliberately limited in scope and operation.  In particular it does not seek to coordinate local sustainable business networks. To learn more about SVN, visit www.svn.org

Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) is an organization of businesses founded by members of SVN and New England Businesses for Social Responsibility (NEBSR) in 1991. BSR has grown to be a global organization of member companies, largely corporate in form and large in size, seeking to sustain their commercial success in ways that demonstrate respect for ethical values, people, communities, and the environment.  Representing many sectors and geographies, BSR companies account for nearly US $2 trillion in annual sales. BSR's website, www.bsr.org, has become a leading online global resource for corporate social responsibility.  It features in-depth articles, interviews, descriptions of leadership practices and sustainable products, and related world news. BSR has emphasized improving the business practices of large corporations.

For the past 10 years local BSR networks have played an important role in promoting socially responsible business practices and delivering the BSR message to small and medium-sized businesses. In late 2001, BSR reorganized to free itself from supporting local business networks, addressing the needs of small and medium-sized businesses, and operating as a member-controlled association.

BALLE Emerges

These self-imposed limitations of SVN and BSR  dramatically changed the landscape of the progressive business community, providing a need and an opportunity for a new network of small, privately-held businesses to emerge.

This opportunity brought together local sustainable business leaders to create a new national organization, one that has gathered together local business networks from across the nation who are committed to promoting environmentally sustainable and socially responsible business practices, with a special focus on creating strong local "living economies".  The Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia joined with colleague local networks in other North American cities and regions to form this national network, The Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, BALLE.  BALLE initially began as an initiative of  the Social Venture Network.  To learn more about BALLE, visit: http://www.livingeconomies.org

Please see Resources for key writings on the development of sustainable businesses and networks.