Climate & Environment
Great Lakes Business Network
Many entrepreneurs are frustrated that their businesses are misrepresented as caring more about profit than protecting the environment. The Great Lakes Business Network was formed as a network of owners who wanted to change that rhetoric. GLBN members believe companies should be part of the solution, protecting the environment for generations to come.
GREAT LAKES BUSINESS NETWORK
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the mission of the Great Lakes Business Network?
The mission of the GLBN is to create an influential business network that advocates for thriving ecosystems, economies, and communities, in the Great Lakes Region. We envision a thriving Great Lakes environment and economy fostered by a passionate and diverse business community. We are fact-based, non-partisan, and focused on pragmatic advocacy to help set the Great Lakes agenda.
Can any size business join the network?
How much does it cost to join GLBN?
Can nonprofit organizations or citizen groups join the GLBN?
How does the business network select issues to work on?
Members meet and discuss key environmental issues facing the Great Lakes and select a set of issues to focus on. Originally the group focused on just one issue, preventing an oil spill from the Line 5 oil pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac. But in the past year the group expanded the scope of projects to include reducing algal blooms in Lake Erie and promoting 100% clean energy.
Whom do I contact to learn more about the Great Lakes Business Network?
Please contact Zoe Zeerip, Great Lakes Business Network Coordinator, zoe.zeerip@groundworkcenter.org. Also, explore the Great Lakes Business Network website.
GET INVOLVED!
Resources
"I met Groundwork more than five years ago because of our shared concern about the Line 5 oil pipeline in the Mackinac Straits. Since then, they've helped create the Great Lakes Business Network, amplifying my voice and supporting nearly 200 other business leaders to be better advocates to protect the Great Lakes. My business depends on the clean waters of the Great Lakes, and I'm so appreciative that Groundwork is helping business leaders become better advocates for the idea that a clean environment is central to a strong economy."
— Chris Shepler, President, Shepler’s Mackinac Island Ferry Service
WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW?
Great Lakes Business Network News
More Business Leaders Call to Decommission Line 5 Pipeline
Twenty-eight business leaders have joined a new Great Lakes Business Network (GLBN), which calls for the strategic decommissioning of Line 5, Enbridge’s 63-year-old oil pipelines on the bottom of the Straits of Mackinac.
Great Lakes Business Network Makes Economic Case Against Line 5
Groundwork’s Jim Lively explains why Great Lakes business leaders are calling for a shutdown of the dangerous oil pipelines through the Straits of Mackinac.
Groundwork attracts business support for Line 5 campaign
On May 31, Groundwork and the National Wildlife Federation Great Lakes Regional Center (NWF) hosted a Line 5 Business Reception at the Chippewa Hotel on Mackinac Island to coincide with the start of the Detroit Chamber of Commerce Mackinac Policy Conference the next morning.