2022 Spring Conference Awards Press Release

NHBSR’s Spring Conference Returns to In-Person with a Roar!

More than 200 members of the sustainable business community attended New Hampshire Businesses for Social Responsibility’s (NHBSR) spring conference – Uniting on Purpose – on May 4, 2022 for over a dozen vibrant, interactive, educational and inspiring workshops. 

In between the morning’s Mindfulness session and the afternoon’s Community Conversations and Corporate Citizenship Plenary Panel, NHBSR presented several awards.

NHBSR’s Cornerstone Award is bestowed upon a company or individual exemplifying the principles of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and promoting those concepts to the greater New Hampshire business community. The award is named for the first building block – cornerstone – placed to create a strong foundation on which to build. NHBSR chose the name with the belief that corporate social responsibility should be a foundation of every business, a basic building block of our economy and our society.

Hanover Co-op Food Stores and Auto Service Centers received this year’s award. The Co-op has long demonstrated outstanding leadership in community activism and advocacy, strong workplace policies and practices, and an 84-year-long commitment to the environment. They are dedicated to innovative community collaboration and programming in the Upper Valley, and in sharing best practices to inspire others. Several of the Co-op’s initiatives have been recognized at NHBSR’s Sustainability Slam, but most recently their Car Connects program inspired another NHBSR member to propose the same initiative in other areas of the state.  

They use the power of their size and business voice to tell the stories of their communities of farmers and friends, advocating for funding and policy support not for their benefit, but for their stakeholders. They truly represent business as a force for good.

NHBSR’s Partnership for Innovation Award winners are recognized for their collaborative efforts to create synergy and progress on a sustainability initiative where it might not otherwise have been possible. The partnerships demonstrate creative approaches and measurable results that inspire other business leaders in New Hampshire to take action.

The 2022 Partnership for Innovation winners have collaborated since 2017, providing a week of innovative and engaging programming to encourage positive action and policy in the clean energy space in New Hampshire. The Energy Week partnership works to bridge partisan gaps and provide valuable conversations that open possibilities for moving NH's energy future in a positive direction. This year’s Partnership for Innovation award recipients were: The Nature Conservancy, Clean Energy NH, NH Community Develop Finance Authority, NH Small Business Development Center, SkiNH and Ceres. This group shone a spotlight on leading businesses, communities and legislative leaders recognizing outstanding impact with the hope that their stories will inspire others to move their energy work forward.

The Changemaker Award was presented to Paul Michael, a Granite State College student and supervisor at Lindt Chocolate. While working as a Jamaican person in New Hampshire, he has experienced significant exclusion and inequities, which prompted him to start a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) committee at Lindt Chocolate Factory. Paul also works as a volunteer firefighter to aid others in emerge

ncy situations. He works tirelessly to promote a diverse and equitable future for all.

“Get to know someone who doesn’t look like you,” Paul advised. Just by taking that simple step, you can learn, grow and strengthened connections with others in your community.