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Our History
NHBSR has a rich history dating back to the late 1980s when businesses began to organize around the issue of corporate social responsibility. Since then the organization has enjoyed steady progress in its growth and development, extending its outreach to an influential group of companies and individuals. NHBSR has achieved a number of notable milestones during this time, some of which are highlighted on the following page.
We are proud of our innovative and dynamic programming. We strive to keep pace with the ever-changing opportunities and needs of our members and to work toward our vision for NH. Early on, we created "Go on Tours," an opportunity to learn about a business and their sustainablity efforts while meeting others interested in sustainable business. This successful model, originated by NHBSR, was adopted and implemented by BSR Networks nationwide and has been a staple of NHBSR programming over the years.
We have also been successful at partnering with other influential organizations like Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility (VBSR) and Business NH Magazine. NHBSR and VBSR have presented a joint annual conference since 1994, and this year enjoyed the largest attendance to date. The partnership with Business NH Magazine has been in place since 1998 when the magazine first published its "Top 10 Companies to Work For in New Hampshire" list. NHBSR approached the magazine regarding the idea of an annual "Breakfast with the Best" program, an event that has gained recognition and increased attendance each year.
In 2002, we continued to build on this rich history as we worked to further NHBSR in its initiatives and membership outreach. Programs scheduled included the "Breakfast with the Best" as well as the 2002 "Go on Tour" program, serving as an extension of the Breakfast with visits and tours to the top 10 companies over the course of the year. In May, we hosted an Inaugural Event to officially launch NHBSR as an autonomous organization. Throughout the year we will work to expand and refine the www.nhbsr.org website, making it a respected source of information and idea sharing for our members. Most importantly, this is just the beginning of an exciting new chapter in this important organization's history.
In the fall of 2011 we launched what is still considered to be one of the country's most unique and innovative executive education programs in partnership with the University of New Hampshire. The Institute for Corporate Sustainability and its follow-on Certificate program combines the latest in academic research for sustainability with leading business practitioners to provide mid- to upper-level executives with the tools and understanding to advance sustainability in the professional environment. In early 2014, the Institute was renamed to the Corporate Sustainability Leadership Program and Certificate to more clearly reflect the program's mission.
Sustainability Roundtables are held around the state and allow business leaders, community members and NGOs to come together to discuss the relevant sustainability and CSR topics in order to provide collaborative opportunities for change. Roundtables are a great opportunity to connect more deeply with fellow business leaders and sustainability professionals to build stronger businesses and communities.
In 2014, we launched the Just One Thing campaign encouraging businesses and nonprofits to share simple stories of their sustainability efforts that created impact either in their communities, within their workplaces or for the environment. The stories have inspired others to take simple actions that together have big impact. To elevate these stories, NHBSR presented the Sustainability Slam, a fun, fast-paced event that allows the top stories to be shared in 90 seconds or less, with winners selected by attendees via a polling app. The networking event has been awarded the NH Business Review's Best of Business for its uniqute platform and continues to draw maximum capacity crowds.
In 2018, we launched another new initiative, Measure What Matters NH. The program is a multi-tiered opportunity to measure your business' impact through assessment tools and to use local progamming (webinars, workshops and internships) to learn about tools and ideas that can help to drive your sustainability efforts forward.
