BALLE Conference Coming to Charleston

CONNECT. SHARE. LEARN.

Business Alliance for Local living Economies (BALLE) was founded in 2001 and is the fastest growing network of socially responsible businesses in North America with 80 regional networks & 21,000 local business members. BALLE has teamed with several local and national organizations to bring this unique conference together.  The Navy Yard at Noisette’s very own Lowcountry Local First is a big part of this event and the BALLE organization.  Also, Noisette Company CEO John Knott will be presenting on Sustainable Economic Development.  This is a great opportunity for anyone that lives in Charleston to have such an opportunity in their own backyard.

BALLE offers the opportunity to connect the dots, which distinguishes it from single-issue conferences focused on green building, food and farming, slow money, or green jobs.  This event brings together the thought leaders for ALL of these, tying them together within the context of a local living economy.  Conferees come to tap into the nation’s leading thinkers and practitioners in the emerging movements for green jobs, sustainable agriculture, thinking local first, community capital,  green building and energy efficiency, cooperative businesses, and the evolving policies for sustainable economic development.

• 80 speakers
• Mainstage events & off-site celebrations
• 24 breakout sessions
• Pre-conference workshop intensive
• 3 living economy tours of Charleston
• Innovative and effective practices in growing community health and building strong, local, green businesses

SPEAKERS INCLUDE:

• John Knott (Noisette Company)
• Annie Leonard (The Story of Stuff)
• David Orr (Oberlin College, author)
• Don Shaffer (RSF Social Finance)
• Judy Wicks (founder of BALLE and White Dog Cafe)
• India Pierce Lee (Evergreen Foundation)
• Jennifer Buffett (Novo Foundation)
• Marjorie Kelly (Tellus Institute)
• Lily Yeh (Barefoot Artists)
• Michael Shuman (BALLE, The Small-Mart Revolution)
• Woody Tasch (Slow Money Alliance)

BREAKOUT SESSION THEMES

• Increasing the Success of your Triple Bottom Line Business
• Local Living Economy Business Models: Green Building, Food and Farming, Energy, Manufacturing
• Sustainable Economic Development
• Building a Thriving BALLE Network
• Local and Regional Wealth Building Strategies
• Harnessing Community Capital
• Think Local First Campaigns and Tools
• The Power of Business Cooperation

Full details and registration: www.LivingEconomies.org/conference

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