Three Connecticut companies will come to Hartford next month to share how running their businesses as social enterprises could be a model for putting people and purpose before profits.
Leadership Greater Hartford and the nonprofit reSET (Social Enterprise Trust) will host The Beyond Business as Usual Breakfast Forum at the Hartford Club on June 2.
The panel will feature representatives from Newman’s Own Inc., the Westport food enterprise founded by late actor Paul Newman and his actress-wife Joanne Woodward. Newman’s Own donates nearly all of its profits to charity. Other panelists include Walker Systems Support, a Farmington computer network and consulting firm; and Criterion Ventures, a Haddam business incubator.
They will discuss the challenges and rewards of establishing a triple bottom line for the distribution of profits: employees, investors and the community. 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 Walker Systems CEO Kate Emery. “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.”
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.
