If we wish to keep growing personally and professionally, we need to continually ask ourselves, “How can we provide meaningful and significant value?”
At Eco Paving, we’re committed to improving the environment. Part of our mission involves attracting, developing and retaining a team that is motivated to fulfill our vision.
By seeking new ways to add value, we exceed our clients’ expectations. This can also be a highly impactful way to attract new talent and increase employee engagement. Simultaneously we attract new clients and partnerships.
Energetically we know that what we put out into the world always comes back to us. If we want to be true leaders we need to keep the triple bottom line in mind – people, planet and profit.
The questions below are designed to help you gain insight into how your company might give back:
Get clear.
Q. – What are your company’s values?
Is the work you do connected to environmental preservation, community development, food security, clean water, personal development, animal rights, education or health & wellbeing?
Example – Supporting youth athletic teams can be a good way to give back while highlighting your commitment to teamwork, health and community.
Q. – What do the people within your organization care most about?
Example – One way to give back is to provide paid leave days for employees to volunteer for causes that they are passionate about.
Get connected.
Setting up a give back program can be simple. Save time and effort by seeking ways to team up with established non-profit organizations.
Q. – What organizations exist to positively impact the areas that your company values?
Q. – What can you do to work with them or to support their efforts?
Example – Volunteering at a soup kitchen or adopting a street to clean can be a great way to volunteer as a team and work within systems already established in your community.
Or you might choose to build or repair something in your neighbourhood or to implement a company food drive for the local food bank.
Networking and promoting other local businesses is a perfect way to develop relationships in your community, to support your local economy and to introduce your clients to complementary products and services that may be of value to them.
Example – Send your clients gift baskets filled with local goodies or provide prize draws for gift certificates at neighbourhood businesses. This is a great way to support the companies.
Get started.
At Eco Paving, we help reduce environmental degradation by recycling tires and keeping old asphalt and concrete out of the landfill. We choose to plant trees to sequester carbon and beautify our environment. Working with UBC Research Forest we were happy to fund the planting of 1000 trees. For our company, that felt like a good fit.
We’d love to know:
Q. – How is your company fostering positive social impact?
Q. – What might you be inspired to implement within your organization?
About the author: Deeply passionate about the power small business has to affect positive social and environmental change, Solah Nightstar supports Changemakers in getting clear and taking action.