Equal Exchange, a leader in fair trade food products since 1986, brought Fair Trade to Easter with their first Easter chocolates this year. They sold chocolate boxes with dual-certified Fair Trade and organic ingredients sourced from small-scale farmers.

Canaan Fair Trade won a Recognition Award at the BioFach 2012 in Nuremberg, Germany. The company seeks to sustain the livelihood of Palestinian producer communities caught in the midst of conflict.

Washington metro area Channel 9 featured Amanda White, Brand Manager of Divine Chocolate, on their Chocolate Week in a segment on the Business of Chocolate.

Green Century, along with the Investor Environmental Health Network, filed shareholder resolutions at 10 major oil and gas companies, advocating that they mitigate and disclose the environmental risks of fracking.

SJF Ventures and lead investor Citi Community Capital announced today the initial closing of the first national Impact Investment SBIC fund, SJF Ventures III, LP. The fund will provide equity investments to growth-stage cleantech and positive impact companies, and has been licensed by the U.S. Small Business Administration under its new Impact Investment initiative.

US SIF: The Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment invites green businesses to join senior leaders and community investment experts from May 2-4 at the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Make plans now to attend and meet-up with GBN Director, Denise Hamler and Strategic Outreach Director, Fran Teplitz.

Calvert Foundation announced a loan of $500,000 to East Meets West (EMW), an international organization working to improve the standard of living for low-income populations in Vietnam and other parts of Asia. Through this loan, Calvert Foundation investors will enable EMW to provide basic services such as healthcare, clean water and education, without relying exclusively on philanthropy.

The LOHAS Forum brings together over 500 business executives to network and learn about the opportunities the LOHAS marketplace has to offer and how best to target the LOHAS consumer. The Forum will take place on June 12-14 in Boulder, CO.

Join business leaders, investors, and leading non-profits at the Ceres Conference, April 25-26 in Boston. The conference examines some of the world’s most pressing sustainability challenges, creates a forum for sharing best practices and presents solutions that will drive us toward a more sustainable economy.

Investors' Circle Spring 2012 Venture Fair features for-profit entrepreneurs with social and or environmental solutions presenting to values-aligned investors. Deal levels go up to $3 million. The Spring Venture Fair will be held April 22-24 in San Francisco.