Chamber of Commerce

Entrepreneurial American Community Award

The Entrepreneurial American Community Award acknowledges the individuals, groups, and communities that have recognized the value of building a broad constituency among the public and private realms to improve the standing of all residents in their community.

City of Houston, Texas is being honored for successfully transforming itself from a city once reliant on the fossil fuel industry into one of the most economically and culturally dynamic American cities. With a strong economy and high level of diversity, Houston today has set an example for what American communities should aspire to become in the future.

Accepted by Gordon Quan on behalf of Mayor Annise Parker

In the 1980s, Houston was a city with an economy largely reliant on the fossil fuel industry. When oil prices started falling, the local economy suffered dramatically. The end of the oil boom slowed the city’s growth and sent Houston into a recession by the end of the decade.

Today, Houston has one of the fastest growing job markets in the country and is widely considered one of the most ethnically and economically diverse cities in the world. It is home to a flourishing arts and culture community and is quickly becoming a premier destination for foodies worldwide. Respected publications, such as Forbes and the Smithsonian Magazine, have called Houston the “Future of the Great American City.”

Smart policies and effective leadership have fueled Houston’s impressive transformation. It is clear that Houston policymakers understand what it takes to make a truly livable city. Investment in areas such as education, health, renewable energy, and technology have spurred this dramatic growth. Houston has set the precedent for America’s future cities, making it one of the most entrepreneurial communities in America today. Gordon Quan, former Mayor Pro-Tem, will accept the award on behalf of Mayor Anise Parker and the City of Houston.

Photo Description: The Port of Houston is a 25-mile-long complex of diversified public and private facilities located just a few hours’ sailing time from the Gulf of Mexico. The port is ranked first in the United States in foreign waterborne commerce and second in total tonnage.

Photo credit: Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau

photo credit SCOPE

SCOPE’s (Sarasota County Openly Plans for Excellence) mission is to connect and inspire citizens to create a better community. A private nonprofit, SCOPE is a convener, catalyst and facilitator, partnering with residents to generate collective action around issues affecting quality of life. It is fitting that Sarasota County, as the oldest in the nation and with 30 percent of its residents over 65, focuses considerable attention on aging. Founded in 2001, SCOPE collaborates with Sarasota County residents, elected officials, and community organizations to support broad-based undertakings led by citizens, to solve a variety of community concerns. Initiatives have addressed the environment, transportation, family violence, community change, and the needs of aging residents, to name just a few. All SCOPE activities address issues that strongly influence the quality of life in Sarasota County.

With Sarasota County’s large older adult population, it is not surprising that SCOPE’s perspective on aging is both positive and constructive. It views Sarasota County’s older adults as assets to and active participants in the community. In 2005, to examine the consequences of aging, the opportunities and challenges, SCOPE launched the initiative Aging: The Possibilities. Over 900 residents participated in many discussions, and presentations by experts covered a range of issues relevant to community planning for aging residents—and on their great capacity for enhancing the quality of life in Sarasota County.

Partners for Livable Communities (Partners), in partnership with the American Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE) and with funding from Lumina Foundation, releases Business at the Table: The Employer Drive for Higher Education Attainment. This collection of case studies was created during the Business at the Table initiative to develop strategies for improving U.S. higher education attainment (degrees and credentials) through chamber of commerce and business involvement.

This compendium of case studies provides business and chamber leaders the perspective to further Lumina’s Goal 2025: to increase the proportion of Americans with high-quality degrees and credentials to 60 percent by the year 2025. Included are programs led by chambers of commerce, two-year and four-year colleges and universities, and national and local higher education achievement programs. Interviews were conducted with the CEO or director of each program, providing personal accounts of trials and victories on the road to success. Case studies explore the history of the program or organization, key players, geographic context, specific place-based economic challenges that were overcome, and the short and long-term goals that have been achieved.

Entrepreneurial American Leadership Award 

Richard C.D. Fleming is honored for his commitment to building livable and sustainable cities as a civic entrepreneur for more than 30 years while engaged in private sector and civic initiatives to revitalize cities and metropolitan communities in Atlanta, Denver, and, for the past 17 years, St. Louis.

Partners’ board member Mick Fleming, President of American Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE), contributed a cover article to the Winter edition of their publication, Chamber Executive.  Mr. Fleming sought to contribute to the thinking and discussion around what makes a person influential. 

To remain economically competitive, our cities need to go “green.” Partners’ report “The Dollars and Sense of Green Businesss,” features 22 organizations across the country that are boosting the economic health of their cities by fostering green business initiatives. Six months after the release of Partners’ report, these organizations are still hard at work. Read on for key updates, and get inspired to make your community more prosperous through sustainability. Read the individual city profiles here.

Partners is excited to announce the release of the second volume of the Economics of Sustainability, “The Dollars and Sense of Green Business,” made possible by support from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. This publication is a continuation of Partners’ sustainability agenda and explores the innovation and leadership of 22 chambers of commerce from around the country—true champions of the green economy. To read more about Partners’ Economics of Sustainability initiative, click here.

Syracuse, NY

When most people think of New York, they’re quick to conjure up images of the Empire State Building and Wall Street. But in the era of clean energy, New York’s emerging ‘Green Apple’ is giving the renowned Big Apple a run for its money as the innovation center of the state. With over 30 colleges and universities, the Central Upstate New York region has one of the highest concentrations of students in the country. Couple that with market leaders such as GE Global Research, GM Research and Carrier Corporation that are developing world class new clean technologies, along with $2 billion in annually funded R&D at the region’s top six research institutions, and you’ve got a region prime for green technology incubation. The Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce has been leading that green revolution.  In July of 2009 with a $1.5 million grant from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), the Syracuse Chamber proudly unveiled The Clean Tech Center, a clean energy business incubator program—one of the first of its kind in the country.

Des Moines, IA

Efficient land use is not only vital to protecting natural resources but to profitable physical development. High density design allows for more activities within a smaller space and has continuously attracted the young, creative classes in search of dynamic places in which to live.  In the effort to create these dense, walkable communities, the process of urban infill—the use of land within an already developed area—is a key to success, but no easy task. Urban land available for infill is often environmentally hazardous, such as deserted manufacturing sites known as brownfields. Other pieces of land may have little or no environmental contamination but are outdated, abandoned, or have plummeted in value; these derelict parking lots or vacant strip malls are known as grayfields. Most communities have them, but very few have effective strategies for turning these properties into valued parts of the community such as those in Des Moines, Iowa. Fulfilling its role as the regional economic development organization, the Greater Des Moines Partnership worked in collaboration with local allies to take major steps in reducing sprawl and carbon emissions through the mending of their urban fabric.

Washington, DC

Households that replace just a few old incandescent light bulbs with LED bulbs, a product with more than three times the lifespan of their traditional counterparts, can reduce electric bills and put a dent in their carbon footprint. Imagine the impact of replacing 4,424,361 light bulbs. This is the number of streetlights in our nation’s ten largest metropolitan statistical areas. According to a study released in March of 2008, switching all streetlights in these major regions to an LED or a “smart streetlights” system could lead to a savings of 1,494,250,000 kilowatts (kWh) or a reduction of 1,161,716 metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2). This report wasn’t produced by the EPA or a national LED manufacturer; in fact, this white paper was prepared by Bob Grow, then an American Chamber of Commerce Executives Ford Fellow in Regionalism and Sustainable Development for the Greater Washington Board of Trade.

State of Massachusetts

The 495/MetroWest region is one of the most economically productive in the state of Massachusetts and is still growing. Between 1980 and 2006, the region experienced a 59 percent increase in employment; during the 1990s alone, the region experienced a 12.1 percent increase in the local population. Though this trend is immensely beneficial to the area’s economic health, it also places a great strain on existing infrastructure and water supplies. More than 40 acres of open land per day, or nearly 300 acres every week in Massachusetts are converted into residential, commercial, or industrial land, putting local resources and biodiversity at risk. As a public/private association dedicated to the sustainable economic and physical growth of the region, the 495/MetroWest Partnership provides local businesses and governments with an effective strategy to ease burdens on local resources and ensure their future vitality through the Green Infrastructure Toolkit.

Southwest, IN

With a steadfast commitment to bringing cutting-edge economic and development issues to their members, the Chamber of Commerce of Southwest Indiana hosted the Regional Sustainability Conference on October 28th, 2009 in collaboration with the Wesselman Nature Society. Participants of the conference gathered in downtown Evansville to engage in interactive panel discussions featuring representatives of regional firms participating in sustainable business practices, attend breakout sessions that explored issues from waste stream reduction to marketplace trends, and hear from a number of keynote speakers focusing on “big picture” issues.

Grand Rapids, MI

After witnessing the myriad of green business programs spreading across the country, it did not take long for the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce to establish itself as a leader in the movement. Though the Chamber has been a participant and supporter of local sustainability campaigns for some time, it now boasts a strong program of its own for the benefit of its members and that of the region. Officially launched on January 6th, 2010, the Greater Grand Rapids Partnership for a Sustainable Community provides participating businesses the tools to become more energy efficient, reduce operating costs and boost their bottom lines.

Asheville, NC

Though countless businesses around the country are implementing new practices to reduce their environmental impact, the carbon-emitting necessity of travel is often beyond their control. Even the greenest of employees find themselves towing briefcases filled with recycled paper onto an airplane that burns nearly a gallon of fuel every second. Those individuals traveling to Asheville, North Carolina, however, can fly through clean skies with a clean conscience. Thanks to the innovative Asheville Offset program of the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce’s Convention and Visitors Bureau, visitors have the opportunity to counteract carbon emissions produced from their travel. Through this program, Asheville can continue to protect the great natural amenities that have supported a tourist economy for decades.

North Myrtle Beach, SC

One would be hard-pressed to find a region rich in oil with untapped wells or accessible coal unscathed by a miner. It does not take long, however, to find a powerful natural energy source literally blowing past American cities, unharnessed. Current technology is able to capture nearly 60 percent of wind’s energy. This potential power in the wind flowing over the United States in one year is more than the country’s total power needs for those same 365 days, yet wind power currently makes up less than one percent of our energy supply. This number is likely to grow in the not so distant future, however, as communities around the world are working to capture this free and renewable resource. One such community is North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Through alliances with a number of local economic and academic institutions, the North Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce is taking steps not only toward local energy independence but toward the establishment of a powerful economic cluster.

St. Louis, MO

The distribution of transportation, housing, human capital, and other similar resources has led most civic leaders to agree that a regional approach to economic development is most effective.  After decades of success in advancing the economy of their 16-county region, expanding into both Missouri and Illinois, the St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association (RCGA) is determined to realize similar accomplishments in their regional approach to climate change issues.  Through their participation as a pilot region in the Climate Prosperity Project, one of the newest and most ambitious initiatives marrying climate protection and economic development, RCGA is improving not only the economic strength, but the environmental vitality of greater St. Louis. 

Chapel Hill-Carrboro, NC

A program instigated by the local chamber of commerce that teaches businesses how they can effectively use sustainable solutions to cut costs and reduce waste.

As part of the Green Plus North American Sustainable Enterprise Awards, the Institute for Sustainable Development and Partners for Livable Communities are collaborating in recognizing a Green Plus Chamber of Commerce. “Over the past year, Partners for Livable Communities has explored how business leaders, faced with the challenge of ensuring the future strength of regional economies and local quality of life, have employed creative new agendas that not only help reverse the effects of environmental degradation but leverage the occasion for valuable economic and social gain,” said Carly Grimm, Program Officer of Partners for Livable Communities. Read more about Partners' Economics of Sustainability program.

The award will recognize chambers of commerce that have an exemplary track record in four categories

1. Regional Leadership: Creating a more sustainable region
2. Assisting their members in improving their triple bottom line
3. Making the Economic case for Sustainability
4. Leading by Example: Chambers that have made their own operations more sustainable

“Chambers of Commerce throughout the country are implementing green business programs, attracting clean industries, and creating green jobs; they are paving the way to the more sustainable and robust communities of the 21st century,” Grimm said. “Partners has now joined forces with the Institute for Sustainable Development to recognize the chamber employing the most innovative and effective green strategies through the Green Plus Chamber of the Year Award,” Grimm concluded.

See more info here.

This report showcases the innovation and leadership of 22 chambers of commerce that when faced with the challenge of ensuring the future strength of their economies, have employed creative new agendas that not only help reverse the effects of environmental degradation but leverage the occasion for valuable economic and social gain. Click here to download the report.

Governing magazine founder Peter Harkness writes about how local business and governmental entities are taking action on climate change issues in their communities.