WMSBF hosted the 12th Annual Future Green Leaders Golf & River Outing at The Meadows at Grand Valley State University. The outing serves as a networking event and fundraiser that provides sustainable business leaders and their allies, friends and colleagues a chance to enjoy the natural resources they work to protect while raising funds to support programs that introduce emerging professionals to opportunities in waste diversion, climate action and corporate social responsibility.

See photos on Facebook here.

Golfers enjoyed friendly competition on the links, with various team and individual awards to swing for. Meanwhile, kayakers launched from the GVSU Boathouse for a float down the Grand River. The event capped off with a reception hour, including hors d’oeuvres, Brewery Vivant beer, and the outing awards ceremony.

A special thank you to all those who participated in this year’s golf & river outing, provided door prizes, and sponsored. Many thanks to our door prize donors Long Road Distillers, Founders Brewing Co., Crystal Mountain, Experience Grand Rapids, Essence Restaurant Group, Grand Valley State University, Frederik Meijer Gardens, Grand Rapids Art Museum, Grand Rapids Public Museum, Gerald R. Ford Museum, Graydon’s Crossing, Brewery Vivant, and Marie Catrib’s.

Also, thank you especially to sponsors Amway, Padnos, Experience Grand Rapids, Thomas J. Newhouse Design, REHAU, and Brewery Vivant.

Thank you again and please plan to attend our next Membership Meeting at Aquinas College on September 11.

West Michigan Sustainable Business Forum hosted its 2017 Annual Meeting on Monday, June 19 at the University Club of Grand Rapids, which examined emerging sustainable business concerns presented by racial inequity, the built environment and other social and environmental issues.
View photos of the Annual Meeting on Facebook here.
View slides from the Annual Business Meeting and Strategic Plan Intro here.
Featured speakers included The City of Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss, Rodney Martin, Diversity Partner at Warner Norcross & Judd, and Eric Foster of Progress Strategies+.
The WMSBF Annual Meeting also presented the organization’s new strategic plan, introduced its 2017-2018 Board of Directors, honored WMSBF 2017 President’s Award winner Jason Kehr of Valley City Electronic Recycling, and announced its new corporate social responsibility & equitable sustainability initiative for 2018.
The 2017 WMSBF Annual Meeting was presented by Warner Norcross & Judd.

Schupan Recycling hosted WMSBF members to a tour of its bottle recycling facility on Tuesday, May 23.
Photos from the event can be found at our Facebook page.
The program included a presentation on Schupan’s recycling efforts, a Q&A session, tutorials in their demo area, and a guided walk-through of the indoor & outdoor recycling areas.
The 55,000-square foot facility processes 45,000 tons of material each year, including most Michigan deposit containers collected west of US-27, and miscellaneous other items, such as commodity material collected from events and full-product destruction.
WMSBF is trying to find ways to offer more value to its members through member-only events and mixers such as this.  We hope that members will share these opportunities with their colleagues and network so that they might take advantage of these services as well.

West Michigan Sustainable Business Forum hosted its April education and networking program in Holland this Monday, featuring the sustainability lead for the world’s largest carpet manufacturer on circular economy issues and sustainability, Paul Murray of Shaw Industries, at Haworth Inn & Conference Center.
Photos of the event can be found on our Facebook page.
Paul Murray discussed Shaw’s approach to sustainability focuses including transparency, material health, material reutilization, efficient use of resources, and social responsibility. He shared his unique outlook on holistic approaches to sustainability and the circular economy, as well as his teams role in helping Bill McDonough create and maintain the Cradle to Cradle model for product certification and integrate it into a company’s culture.