Sponsor Testimonials

Trade Exchange Canada has supported the Fresh Outlook Foundation in many ways. Most recently we had the pleasure of sponsoring the Breakfast of Champions, with a focus on innovation and collaboration. We were rewarded with a great learning opportunity, new contacts, and an opportunity to put forward our company values.  - Des Reiger, CPA/CMA, Founder and CEO

Crowe Mackay was very pleased to be part of the Breakfast of Champions, as it was relevant to many of our clients, increased our client advisors’ awareness, and helped us build stronger networks. It also enabled us to profile how we help clients with change, risk, and performance services. - Don Turri, FCPA/FCA, Incorporated Partner

CAPE is an organization of physicians, other health professionals, scientists, and other citizens that explores the interface between human health and the environment. It seeks to promote environmentally appropriate behaviour, by pointing out the health consequences of environmental degradation and loss of ecosystem services. Since its inception in 1994, it has become the voice for doctors with respect to environmental issues and long-term sustainability.

CAPE is pleased to be involved in the wonderful Building SustainABLE Communities conference. First, the conference is stimulating, entertaining, well-organized, and imaginatively structured. Second, it focuses directly on one of the most important issues of our day, the long-term ability of our species to thrive on Planet Earth. And third, it brings together renowned scientific experts, political leaders, and non-profit advocacy groups, as well as ordinary citizens, and especially youth, to share insights, and current, authoritative information about how our communities are managing now, and how they will manage in the future. There is no better event in this province to attend in order to learn how to adapt our communities to the realities of the 21st century!

FranklinCovey is a global company, with a presence in more than 45 countries, specializing in performance improvement. We have helped organizations achieve results that require a change in human behavior for more than 25 years. We have expertise in seven key areas: Leadership, Execution, Trust, Productivity, Customer Loyalty, Sales Performance and Education.  Our mission is to enable greatness in people and organizations everywhere. FranklinCovey creates transformational leadership in people and organizations around the globe through training, executive coaching, and principle-based programs.

As the Fresh Outlook Foundation is highly acclaimed as the creator and host of innovative and interactive events, programs, and projects that enable and encourage community sustainability, FranklinCovey is excited to be a partner in the Building Sustainable Communities conference to accelerate change across whole communities by learning and leading with the behaviors and language that build, restore, and drive trust and innovative problem-solving.

Twenty-five years of grant making experience, and a unique mandate have helped the Real Estate Foundation become a pivotal connector on land-use and real estate issues in BC. By supporting progressive solutions, the foundation contributes to resilient, healthy communities and natural environments. Since 1988, it has approved more than $63 million in grants to a range of non-profit organizations working on important research, education, and policy initiatives.

The Fresh Outlook Foundation’s Building SustainABLE Communities (BSC) conference is one of those initiatives. BSC aligns well with the foundation’s mission to transform land-use attitudes and practices. It provides learning and networking opportunities for people from various disciplines and sectors across BC. And it facilitates meaningful conversation, shared vision, and informed decisions—key factors in achieving sustainability on the ground. We’re pleased to be a part of it!

For nearly fifty years, the Social Planning and Research Council of British Columbia (SPARC BC) has been working with communities to build a just and healthy society for all. In partnership with our 17,000 members, we build community capacity to achieve positive local change, and use evidence-based approaches to develop social policy solutions that promote economic security, social inclusion, and accessibility.

The history of community development in BC is strong, and the Fresh Outlook Foundation’s Building SustainABLE Communities (BSC) conference continues this tradition of working together for our collective well-being. The conference provides an important opportunity for leaders to learn, build skills, and share knowledge about what it takes to create complete communities based on the principles of equity, equality, adaptability, and security. During these pivotal times of change, BSC is exactly what British Columbia needs.

Building SustainABLE Communities (BSC) is the best conference in central BC on innovative community development issues. Drawing local government, developers, community leaders, politicians, First Nations, and business together, BSC offers a highly effective venue for sharing and comparing current strategies for building sustainable and prosperous communities in the social and market context of BC.

As a development company, we are pleased to participate and sponsor the conference, as we know from experience that all great solutions come from listening to others, sharing our point of view, and then building better ideas together. This conference allows us to network with many people and organizations that we wouldn’t otherwise engage, to hear their insights and experiences, and to thereby become better at what we do.  There is no other event like this in BC!

As a national association of local organizations and individuals active in the sustainable economic and social development of their communities, the Canadian Community Economic Development Network is pleased to be a partner in Fresh Outlook Foundation’s Building SustainABLE Communities (BSC) conference and Reel Change film festival.

Opportunities like these to learn, make connections, and be inspired are essential catalysts for innovative local solutions that reduce poverty and homelessness, build fairer and stronger local economies, and invest in sustainable and resilient communities. We look forward to supporting and being part of BSC’s agenda for change.

Participant Testimonials

“BSC has become one of BC’s premier conferences that consistently attracts leading thinkers and practitioners on a wide range of sustainability issues. When the big names and serious players show up regularly, you know there is substance to the meetings.”

“Most useful and inspiring conference I have attended.”

“I felt like I was in the midst of a migration to open thinking and new ways of doing.”

“Thank-you for your obvious efforts to make this a relevant and showpiece conference.”

“Chock full of content!”

“BSC offered a holistic program relating to key community issues and challenges from small scale to the large. The scope of the conference was both broad and deep offering “takeaways” for all who attended.”

“I left BSC with tons of new ideas, feeling like I could accomplish anything!”

“This is a must-attend event for those who wish to gain a broad understanding of the sustainability paradigm, or those who are experienced and seeking inspiration and current initiatives from industry leaders.”

“I loved the format, with lots of opportunities for interaction and networking.”

“It is difficult to say which is most valuable: the access to valuable, practical information or the professional networking opportunities with industry leaders. This event offered something for everyone.”

“The breadth of topics, speakers, and delegates was outstanding. And it had a broad application across industries, sectors, and interests.”

“I left feeling inspired, with new information and a new appreciation of what my region has to offer.”

“This is a place where ideas are shared and spread.”

“The speakers and panelists were insightful and delved into substantive, topical issues.”

“BSC helps keep our community and particularly our local government staff motivated in our mission to become a more sustainable, green community.”

“BSC was a refreshingly different event with an emphasis on getting things done.”

“I have never had such a fulfilling use of my time at a conference! It had opportunities for lively discussion, intelligent debate and interactive problem-solving built right into the schedule. This essential communication has been missing at almost every professional event I have ever attended. I am not only grateful for the intentional communication, but it also enhanced my learning and ability to process all the information that was being offered.”

“…it was well organized, passionately moderated, and full of valuable information from some of the leaders in the field.”

“It inspired me to take action in my community.”

“I loved the frank, no-holds-barred style.”

“The right people were there, and I wanted to talk with everyone!”

“BSC encompassed exactly what the current environmental movement needs―a platform for people in power and those wanting to use that power to change the world to talk and create change.”

“The Fresh Outlook Foundation consistently delivers a top-notch event that addresses the breadth of elements that lead to healthy and resilient communities. Delegates take away new ways of thinking and valuable connections for their work on sustainability.”

“Thank-you for hosting such an amazing conference! It was a wonderful opportunity to meet and learn from the sustainability champions in BC. I can’t wait until February 2015.”

“BSC provides a great platform for building relationships and understanding across sectors, generations, and perspectives.”

“A brilliant initiative that meshes ideas and perspectives from different fields. This can only continue to grow.”

“The level of whole-person engagement at this conference was overwhelming. The mind, heart, and spirit were shaken, stirred, and dismantled. I came away changed, confused and committed. I have attended many sustainability conferences throughout North America, and was involved in organizing the GLOBE series for a number of years, but this conference topped my list in terms of productivity and positive outcomes.”

“This model of convening people to move the agenda of human survival on planet earth needs to be replicated and distributed globally. Brilliant work!”

“Thank-you for your effort to increase community capacity for building sustainable communities. I enjoyed the integration of technical, social, cultural, and practical speakers sharing their expertise and lessons learned. The idea-sharing and networking opportunities this conference provides are invaluable.”

“As a teacher, I hoped to jolt my students from the culture of distraction that blinds so many of us from the truly important. We received so much more. The stark reality is sobering. However, hope was provided, and a call to action made. This will resonate with me and my students. We cannot see the world as we did before. Education is not about learning what we did not know, but rather it’s about having us behave in new ways. We are on the move…watch for us!”

“BSC was a unique and moving experience in so many ways. As a student, I rarely get to be inspired by internationally acclaimed speakers, to rub shoulders with such an influential group of people, and to learn a method for moving from vision to action…  and all that in three days!”

“The Fresh Outlook Foundation is one of the most thoughtful convenors in the sustainability conversation. They know that listening is only one of the pathways to learning, and they choose topics that are at the leading edge of what we need to discuss. It's a rich landscape for change.”

“Amazing line-up of speakers on diverse topics in one conference.”

“Great energy, and I loved the overall integrity and spirit of the conference.”

“Wonderful to be among so many like-minded people.”

“Last year’s conference only got me thirsty for more!”

“Reality check combined with useful solutions.”