Established Hawaii business groups question fledgling chamber

The head of the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii says a new organization called the Chamber of Sustainable Commerce has generated confusion among some island businesses and does not represent traditional business interests.

“We’ve gotten inquiries from members, including from the neighbor islands, wondering what is the legitimacy of the chamber, what is its role?” said Sherry Menor-McNamara, CEO and president of the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii. “It’s caused some confusion. Usually chambers support businesses but their positions are different. They make it seem like we’re anti-workers, which is not the case, or we’re anti- environment, which is not the case, or we’re opposed to increasing the minimum wage, which is not the case.”

Tina Yamaki, president of the Retail Merchants of Hawaii, has been aware of the Chamber of Sustainable Commerce’s interests in legislation during the last two legislative sessions and wants to make sure it follows requirements regulating 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(6) non-profit organizations.

As a 501(c)(6), the Retail Merchants of Hawaii has to register as a lobbyist and file ethics reports.

“If others are not doing the same, it’s not fair,” Yamaki said. “That’s a big red flag for us. It should be a level playing field for everybody.”

But Kim Coco-Iwamoto, one of the founders of the Chamber of Sustainable Commerce who helps run the organization, said it has yet to decide what kind of 501(c) non-profit organization it wants to become.

The organization has generated outsized interest, in part, because Coco-Iwamoto is again challenging House Speaker Scott Saiki to represent the district that includes parts of Ala Moana- Kakaako-Downtown in the Aug. 10 Democratic Party primary.

Saiki beat Iwamoto by 161 votes in the 2022 Democratic primary — with 2,680 votes compared with 2,519 for Coco-Iwamoto.

A defeat for Saiki in either the primary election or Nov. 5 general election would create a vacuum in House leadership.

But Coco-Iwamoto told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that the activities of the Chamber of Sustainable Commerce are unrelated to her candidacy.

What eventually became the Chamber of Sustainable Commerce was first discussed in 2019 during a meeting among like-minded academics and business people, Coco-Iwamoto said.

“Hawaii needs a voice for business that’s not anti-­worker, that’s not anti-­environment, that believes in plants, prosperity and people without hurting workers communities or the planet,” Coco-Iwamoto said.

Now, about 250 businesses are involved.

“There are no membership dues,” Coco-Iwamoto said. “We are just a collective of business owners and people who support sustainable commerce. The Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii declares themselves the voice of Hawaii businesses and a lot of us felt they weren’t speaking on our behalf.

“They’re expressing some discomfort that we would exist,” Coco-Iwamoto said. “I’m sure they would like to shut us down.”