Earlier this month, small business owners, Eastern Bank employees, and Manomet staff gathered at Eastern Bank’s Boston headquarters to talk about Manomet’s Root360 online platform and the value proposition of sustainability for small businesses.  The discussion focused on how businesses can use the Root360 online platform as a tool to help improve their sustainability practices today and make strategic decisions for a more profitable and prosperous tomorrow.

 

Eastern Bank, the largest and oldest mutual bank in the country, is well-known as one of New England’s top lenders for small businesses–an ideal location for this informative and festive event! With more than six million small businesses in the United States, Root360 plays a key role in the mission of Manomet’s Sustainable Economies Program: to build an economy that is in balance with the natural world.  Working with partners like Eastern Bank and others provides Root360 with a strong avenue for reaching a number of those six million small businesses.

 

Sustainable Economies program staff Andy Whitman and Lora Winslow addressed the crowd at Eastern Bank, walking them through the many reasons sustainability is key for small businesses.  Incorporating practical sustainability can help businesses lower costs through more efficient use of resources, build better relationships with customers and clients, and ensure their long-term health.  Whitman and Winslow also highlighted personal examples from small businesses who are benefitting from Root360.

 

Meredith Coffin, owner of Portland, Maine’s Springboard Pilates, was one example.  Coffin had explained that, “I came into the benchmark survey with the idea that sustainability was just about the environment, and realized that it’s more than that; sustainability is about how to sustain my business. Root360 showed me the areas within my business where I can do better, that I never even realized were important to sustainability.”

 

It’s been just one year since Root360 launched to the public and the number of business owners engaging with the platform is growing steadily.  If you or your network would like more information about how to integrate more sustainable practices into your small business, please let us know.