Business was looking up in Burnaby in 2013, according to Paul Holden, president and CEO of the Burnaby Board of Trade.
"The feedback we had from the membership in general was very positive. We've had a number of our members that have seen really quite considerable growth in their businesses," he said. "Overall, our sense has been that's it's been a very positive year for Burnaby businesses."
It was also a good year for the board, which saw membership increase as well as attendance at events, he added.
The board finished its first year of the Student Access Program and started the second year, according to Holden.
The career development program was created to connect postsecondary students with business leaders and representatives.
"We've had an increase in the number of students, and we have SFU, BCIT and Douglas College as partners on that program," he said. "We've had some good success stories with students who have found employment since going through the program, so that's been excellent."
The board also saw increased interest in its Pledge for a Sustainable Community, with more than 100 members signing on last year.
The sustainability initiative is an online resource designed to help businesses reduce their environmental impact while promoting their business.
"That program has been very successful for us in terms of the number of members that we've had engaged and also what it's done for us in terms of the profile of our organization," Holden said, who added other boards and chambers showed an interest in it.
The new version of the pledge website was created in a format that allows other organizations to take a licensed version of the program and customize it for their community, he added.
In 2014, the board is planning to continue its work on social issues, particularly those relating to family friendly initiatives, according to Holden.
"We asked members about what they'd like our priorities to be this year," he said. "The message came across loud and clear that it was issues relating to businesses becoming more family friendly and initiatives that enabled their staff to have a more flexible work life, because of possibly the challenges they have with family care and other family issues."
The social issues committee will be looking at the issue this year and developing Burnaby-specific initiatives, he said.
Last spring, the board announced it would be working with the Surrey Board of Trade on a position paper on the issue.
"We'll be working with Surrey on the broader issues but making sure we have a Burnaby focus to it," Holden said.
Another focus for the board this year will be the 15th anniversary of the annual Burnaby Business Excellence Awards, according to Holden.
"It's always a fantastic event, but we want to try to do something a bit special this year," he said.
