Clean Water Archives - American Sustainable Business Network

02March 2025

Clean Water is Good For Business DRWS Steering Committee Meeting

Clean Water is Good For Business DRWS Steering Committee Meeting April 14 @ 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Virtual Event Clean Water, Committee Meeting, DRWS Free Series Description:Each month we will dive into a topic with experts available to answer questions…

Clean Water, DRWS

28August 2024

Growing the Circular Economy

Join one of ASBN’s newest members, CoAqua for the upcoming ASBN Live webinar, Growing the Circular Economy: CoAquas Journey to Support Farmworkers and Low-waste Sustainable Sourcing.

In this webinar, CoAqua will share how they practice low-waste and sustainable principles contributing toward a circular economy while uplifting the stories behind the farmers they support in Vietnam. They will share their ideas on navigating commonplace beverage industry green-washing practices and how they have made a commitment to harvesting coconuts in ways that honor the land and the farmers they support.

Guest speakers include:

Anthony M. Cadieux, II
Cofounder, Co-CEO
CoAquas

An entrepreneur who began his career at Merrill Lynch before joining Raymond James and specializes in business strategy, raising capital, wealth strategy, investment management, and business-exit strategies.

Justin Bruckel
Cofounder, Co-CEO
CoAquas

Previously, the COO of the Bruckel Organization with expertise in the development of long-term business strategies, value-creation for startup companies, and building brands. In 2022, Justin and Anthony launched CoAqua nationwide and have since grown CoAqua into one of the fastest-growing beverage companies in America. CoAqua is a coconut water brand that is sold in major retailers such as Sprouts, Wegmans, and ShopRite.

About CoAqua

CoAqua is a mission-driven company specializing in super-premium coconut products, notably their flagship CoAqua Super Premium Coconut Water. Sourced from the verdant landscapes of Southern Vietnam, their coconut water has experienced tremendous growth due to its exceptional quality. At the core of CoAqua’s ethos is a commitment to sustainable farming and ethical sourcing practices, ensuring their operations support local farmers. Their dedication extends beyond their product line, as CoAqua is deeply invested in making a positive impact within their communities at home. CoAqua proudly allocates 2% of its revenue to the Bikes for Kids Foundation, a significant initiative aimed at mitigating generational poverty. This is achieved through a character-building bike rewards program for Title 1 third graders, which has led to remarkable outcomes: children who participate in the program and receive bikes are graduating high school at a rate over 1500% higher compared to their peers who did not receive bikes. As enthusiastic new members of the American Sustainable Business Network (ASBN), they look forward to meeting other businesses who share their values to use their skills and opportunities for the betterment of society.

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Archived, Circular Economy, Clean Water, Impact Investing

20March 2024

ASBN Live: Sustainable Pathways: Building Inclusive Supply Chains

Image advertising webinar on March 20th 2024

Join leaders from ASBN, LocalContent.com and network partners of the National Supplier Diversity Institute (NSDI) for a panel discussion about engaging BIPOC businesses in sustainable-industry supply chains. Receive insights from U.S. Offshore, the Oceanic Network, NSDI, and those who are driving local content development and advocacy for supplier diversity, environmental justice, and social impact within their supply chains.

Angele Doyne
Strategist | Innovator | Cultivator
Ampersand Group | National Supplier Diversity Institute

AngelÃ© is a strategist, innovator, and cultivator of multi-stakeholder ecosystems that intersect business, education, social equity, and public service to advance positive outcomes for diverse communities. AngelÃ© has served in the Obama Administration, where she supported federal supplier diversity initiatives, and has also consulted with Fortune 500 corporations to develop diverse business practices.

At the Ampersand Group, AngelÃ© leads initiatives to stimulate diverse business investment, robust supplier diversity, and intentional talent development in emerging industries.

Her passion for building sustainable ecosystems connects businesses, people and places to nurture strategic partnerships and equitable supply chains that ignite a shared responsibility toward the longevity and well-being of networks and communities. This work advances equitable engagement of stakeholder groups and public/private interest to adopt innovative technologies and collaborative practice.

Brian Moore
National Director | Local Content

Mr. Moore is the National Director at Local Content â€“ a trusted source for local content measurement, reporting, and compliance. Local Content bridges the worlds of industry, community, and government to ensure the use of local services, goods, workforce, and community benefit investments within infrastructure developments a national supplier diversity and development firm.

Mr. Moore’s role as National Director ensures local content compliance and measurement of economic development, workforce development, community benefit investment, and stakeholder engagement for large industry projects throughout the country.

Mr. Moore is a Senior Associate with Chasing Winds, an energy efficiency business providing clean energy services in New York and New Jersey.

Monica St Claire
CEO, US Offshore Group

As CEO of the US Offshore Group, a growing number of companies dedicated to the clean energy transition and other vital infrastructure projects, Monica St Claire works with a talented team of global and domestic specialist who build, connect, dive, repair, inspect, train, and provide other services and solutions for renewable energy, telecommunications, and other sectors.

Committed to building a skilled, equitable, and representative domestic workforce, US Offshore is creating a US hub of marine, construction, workforce development, and strategic intelligence solutions that capitalize on what we have learned in the wind farms and waters across the globe.

Paula Bowens
Co-Founder & CEO â€“ One Degree Consulting
Director of Growth Strategy â€“ MRV Group

Paula Bowens is a highly experienced marketing and business development consultant with decades of expertise in sales and marketing across various industries. She began her career with Xerox, which sparked her passion for technology and enabled her to work in diverse fields such as healthcare, media, sports marketing, and supplier diversity. With her background in corporate America, nonprofits, and entrepreneurship, she has a deep understanding of what it takes to achieve success. Paula’s latest obsession is working with AIs, hanging in the Metaverse and Cryptocurrency!

Ross Gould
Oceanic Network, Vice President for Supply Chain Development & Research

Ross oversees the growth and evolution of the offshore wind supply chain as well as the offshore wind industry’s workforce development. He is also responsible for designing, developing, and coordinating the Network’s Northeast Corridor strategy, including planning, policy and regulatory engagement, programs, and research.

Ross has experience in private, public, and non-profit sectors. Before following his passion for energy, Ross spent nearly 10 years as an attorney. In 2007, Ross attended an evening continuing education class at NYU that focused on the use of natural resources and energy. From this moment, Ross was hooked on the energy sector.

From 2010-2013 Ross served as the Air & Energy Program Director at Environmental Advocates of NY working on clean energy jobs, energy efficiency, renewable energy, state energy planning, siting of electricity generation, and global warming. After that, he worked as Legislative Counsel in New York State Senate from until 2015. In 2015, he joined the Workforce Development Institute (WDI) where he focused on growing the workforce and supply chain of the offshore wind industry.

David Levine
Co-founder and President
American Sustainable Business Network

David is the co-founder and president of the American Sustainable Business Network. He has worked as a social entrepreneur for over 30 years focusing on the development of whole systems solutions for a more sustainable society through building strategic partnerships and broad stakeholders initiatives. Previously, he was the founding director of Continuing Education & Public Programs at The Graduate Center, City University of New York. From 1984â€“1997, David was founder and executive director of the Learning Alliance, an independent popular education organization. David is also a principal partner at Miracle Springs Farm, a family farm in the Hudson Valley.

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Archived, Clean Water, Climate Action, Social Justice

29March 2023

Media Release

The Senate’s Vote to Overturn the Clean Water Restoration Rule is Bad for Business

The American Sustainable Business Network (ASBN) strongly opposes the Senate’s vote to overturn the EPA’s 2022 Clean Water Restoration Rule, following a similar vote in the House earlier in March. Before the House vote, ASBN member Rick Baumann, founder and owner of Murrells Inlet Seafood, testified at the Small Business Perspectives on the Impacts of the Biden Administration’s Waters of the United States (WOTUS) Rule hearing, highlighting how repealing the rule would harm small businesses across the country. Read his testimony here.

Clean Water

12October 2022

ASBN Live Expediting Inclusive Resilience and Positive Impact Through Climate-Friendly, Community-Centric Adaptive Redevelopment

In this webinar, we will discuss the importance of business leadership and investments in community-based partnerships to expedite meaningful and transformative innovation, local capacity building, scalable solutions and holistic resilience and sustainability in the age of climate crisis.

Featuring 2 Innovative Models Driven By Fair and Equitable Commercial, Industrial and Residential Adaptive Redevelopment:

1. Hugo Neu Kearny Point Innovative Flood Risk Assessment & Water Resilience Study: Findings, Recommendations and Transferability for Climate-Impacted Urbanized Coastal Communities (Wendy K. Neu&Dominique Lueckenhoff, Hugo Neu)
2. Vancouver Heritage Commission First Nations Full Housing Retention Model for Social Housing That Supports People, Community, and Planetary Wellbeing (Alex Lau, Golden Properties Ltd &Mark Shieh, Tomo Spaces)

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Archived, Circular Economy, Clean Water, Climate Action

09September 2022

ASBN Live A Dialogue on the Opportunity to Advance Land and Ocean Conservation and a Sustainable Economy

The American Sustainable Business Network (ASBN) and Businesses for Conservation and Climate Action (BCCA) invite you to join us for a dialogue with the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Wizipan Garriott, other administration leadership and Indigenous business leaders on the opportunity to advance land and ocean conservation and a sustainable economy.

The Department of the Interior has a solemn obligation to protect America’s lands, waters and ecosystems for future generations, and is taking bold initiatives including the America the Beautiful Initiative to meet that goal.

Co-stewardship represents the best of land conservation and enables local communities to conserve areas of tremendous cultural and economic importance. Conservation can drive economic output through the long-term protection of resources.

Carrying out this work in collaboration with Tribes will help fulfill this obligation. Since time immemorial, tribes have developed land and water stewardship practices across many diverse ecosystems on this continent. These practices are based on traditional ecological knowledge that has been accumulated over countless generations through observation and analysis. These practices were also focused on ensuring that ecosystems remained healthy and resilient for generations into the future.

Now is the time for a public-private partnership for ambitious action to protect our land and oceans to build a strong and sustainable economy.

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Businesses for Conservation & Climate Action’s mission is to establish national, regional, and state policies that recognize sustainable, BIPOC and community- based businesses as compatible with healthy lands and oceans, and to enhance rather than exclude these sustainable businesses from conversations about resource access at every step of the decision-making process. Our work is guided by a firm commitment to social equity, local and traditional wisdom, and triple bottom line solutions that restore social, ecological and economic health.

Archived, Clean Water, Climate Action, Social Justice

19August 2021

Business Case for Clean Water featuring Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA)

Clean water is an essential ingredient for life and plays a significant role in our economy. A majority of business leaders understand that smart, science-based regulations, and enforcement for wetlands, rivers, streams, and public lakes help spur economic growth. Today, 70% of small business owners agree that clean water protections drive increased profit margins, create jobs, and provide a suite of economic benefits.

Yet our access to clean water is threatened by an assault on the Clean Water Act. You may recall that the previous administration implemented the Navigable Waters Protection Rule â€”removing vital protections for countless wetlands and waterways. If you are looking to learn more about what you can do to protect our water supplies, you won’t want to miss this free event. Hear firsthand from leaders who are building a clean water future for all.

Our moderator for this event will be Colton Fagundes, Senior Policy Manager at ASBC. He will be joined by a cross-sector panel of managers and owners with firsthand knowledge and experiences about how the value of clean water shapes their businesses. Speakers include:

Ben Cardin, U.S. Senator (D-MD)
Bobby Scott, U.S. Representative (D-VA)
Jon Devine,Federal Policy Director, NRDC
Avi Garbow, Environmental Advocate, Patagonia
Dominique Luckenhoff, Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability, Hugo Neu â€“ Kearny Point
Rick Baumann, Company Founder and Owner, Murrells Inlet Seafood
Ryan Bethea, Owner, Oysters Carolina

Circular Economy, Clean Water, Sustainable Food

20November 2020

Deep Dive: Green Infrastructure

Green infrastructure is an interconnected network of natural areas and other open spaces that conserve natural ecosystem values and functions, sustain clean air and water and provide a wide array of benefits to people and wildlife. It is the ecological framework for environmental, social, and economic health â€“ in short, our natural life-support system (Benedict and McMahon 2006). In this webinar we will explore the benefits, scalability, implementation, politics, and potential funding of green infrastructure projects. We will dive deep into green infrastructure as another equitable and effective tool to address the climatecrisis.

This Deep Dive webinar discussion will be led by three experts who are nationally-known for their advocacy and successful implementation of green infrastructure projects.Christine Connis the Landscape Conservation Planner for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. She is especially recognized for successfully engaging diverse stakeholders in innovative green infrastructure projects in theChesapeake Bay watershed.Sacoby Wilsondirects theCommunity Engagement, Environmental Justice and Health Laboratory. His views on exposure science, environmental justice and environmental health disparities â€” based on crowd science and community-based participatory research â€” are especially pertinent to successful green infrastructure projects in frontline communities. Finally,Will Allen, who oversees theConservation Leadership Network, is an expert on green infrastructure and conservation GIS.

This conversation will be moderated byJane Fountain, Professor at the UMassSchool of Public Policy, which is sponsoring this webinar.The program is part of a series of forums on national climate policy co-hosted by Climate XChange and the Pricing Carbon Initiative

Speakers:

Jane Fountain, Professor at the UMassSchool of Public Policy
Christine Conn, Landscape Conservation Planner for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources
Sacoby Wilson, Director of theCommunity Engagement, Environmental Justice and Health Laborator
Will Allen, Senior Vice President of the Conservation Fund of theConservation Leadership Network

Archived, Clean Water, Climate Action, Social Justice

Clean Water is Good For Business DRWS Steering Committee Meeting