American Sustainable Business Council Releases Business Blueprint for A Post-Covid Ecomony
State And Local Business Organizations Rally Around Innovative Policy Recommendations At Virtual Event
Washington, DC – At a webinar this week, the American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC) announced a comprehensive series of innovative policy recommendations for states and localities to address the present impacts of COVID-19 while building more resilient economies. More than 400 business leaders from across the nation registered for the virtual event to vet the organization’s blueprint of policies designed for immediate implementation and intended to provide meaningful economic stimulus and positive social, environmental, and public impacts for both the immediate and longer terms.
“We cannot simply go back to what was,” said David Levine, ASBC President. “These policy recommendations will help us reopen in a safe and sound way, while also allowing us to build forward, to make our communities and states more resilient and sustainable.”
Working with a diverse coalition of socially responsible business and thought leaders, the ASBC collaboration developed the policy recommendations to look beyond the efforts of the federal government to empower state and local governments with actions they might take not only to deal with the current pandemic, but to build a stronger, more just and sustainable post-COVID economy.
“The COVID-19 crisis has exposed the need to reframe our economic development practices,” noted Derek Peebles, Executive Director of the American Independent Business Alliance and member of ASBC’s working group. “A new model of ‘business retention’ services will be required to make local business in the post-pandemic stage more resilient.”
The ASBC blueprint addresses issues ranging from economic development and expanding broadband access to mobility and clean water, with recommendations that provide short- and long-term solutions to address inequalities and challenges exposed and exacerbated by the current crisis. “Many of our recommendations offer literally trillions of dollars of stimulus at almost no cost. For example, just changing the rules on public procurement, to account for the tax benefits from local bidders, could help revitalize Main Streets across America,” said Michael Shuman, an expert in local economic development working in collaboration with ASBC.
M-O-R-E
Participants recognized the pandemic as a historic moment in time that allows for a reset of the economy. “Now is the moment for all of us in the public arena to work in common cause,” said Oregon State Representative Paul Evans, co-chair of Elected Officials to Protect America. “Together we can refresh the American Dream and rebuild, revitalize, and restructure our economy in a manner that puts people before profit, that rewards work rather than wealth; an inclusive, sustainable economy worthy of our ideals.”
Learn more about the ASBC Blueprint for a Post-COVID Economy and view the webinar here. Connect with the American Sustainable Business Council on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and the Web.