Can a New Business Model Save Connecticut?

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May 19, 2010, 05:26 ET

FARMINGTON, Conn., May 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Leadership Greater Hartford and reSET (Social Enterprise Trust) announce The Beyond Business as Usual Breakfast Forum at the Hartford Club on June 2, 2010. This forum will feature a panel of three Connecticut business leaders representing Newman's Own, Walker Systems Support and Criterion Ventures, who will share what they have discovered about running their companies as a Social Enterprise; using market forces to create social good. They will discuss the challenges and rewards of establishing a triple bottom line for the distribution of profits: employees, investors and the community.

The Forum is attracting business leaders, nonprofits, college and universities, and students, who will explore how the Social Enterprise approach of putting people and purpose before profits can be more satisfying and sustainable than the traditional business model. They will consider how it is possible for businesses to do good and do well at the same time. The discussion will include how this new approach can transform a business and how it is improving communities around the world.

"Businesses can do more than make a profit," said Kate Emery, CEO Walker Systems Support and one of the panelists. "They can make a real difference. All we need to do is rethink our priorities and reset our goals. I believe this could become a new business model that revitalizes Connecticut. It offers a sustainable, and immensely rewarding way to make a living, and provides business owners with the opportunity to leave a tremendously valuable legacy."

As the first in a series of planned Social Enterprise events, the participants will be invited to join the Connecticut Social Enterprise Network (CTSEN), whose goal is to make Connecticut a hub of Social Enterprise. Transparency, participatory governance, ethical and socially responsible behavior, a fair and balanced compensation structure, and an equitable distribution of profits among those who contribute to their creation are among the topics that will be explored. (http://socialenterprisetrust.org/)

Presented by Leadership Greater Hartford and reSET (Social Enterprise Trust), the Breakfast Forum will be held from 7:30-9:30 a.m. at The Hartford Club, 46 Prospect Street, Hartford, CT 06103. Parking is available and is included with admission. To register contact: Maggie Irving: 860.951.6161 x15 maggie.irving@leadershipgh.org.