Empowering its practices as a service company
May 3, 2022
When it comes time to talk about improving a company's impact, we often think of those that base their business model on selling products. This type of company could develop recyclable or compostable packaging to reduce its ecological footprint. Or, it could offer free products to underprivileged communities to improve its social impact. The examples are numerous!
But what about service companies? What is their role in improving our society? That's a damn good question, and that's why we're going to chat about it right now!!
Before we start, what is a service company?
We're mainly talking about:
- Law/accounting firm
- Engineering firm
- Advertising agency
- E-commerce agency
- Consulting firm
- In short, all companies that do not offer tangible products
How to improve one's environmental impact when selling services?
There are several concrete ways to improve your company's ecological footprint. Here are a few:
- Provide a list of local suppliers to the team to encourage them to choose local options when making purchases. To push the initiative further, take the time to introduce new suppliers during lunch & learns with the team that will be added to the list.
- Share the right resources (Recyc-Qc) so that the team can dispose of their electronic waste correctly according to their location.
- Include a way to educate customers about good environmental practices in the service offering. Whether it's through workshops, sending newsletters, or organizing webinars, there are many ways to encourage them to take responsibility for their own practices.
How to improve one's social impact?
What does social impact mean? Essentially, we are talking about the impact a company can have on the community. For a more developed definition, I invite you to read this here.
So, how can your service company concretely impact its community? I'll explain it right here:
- Offer your services pro bono to NGOs in your community. If your company chooses this option, don’t forget to keep track of the hours worked on this project to increase that number over the years.
- Share your expertise and the reality of your industry with young talent from underprivileged communities through presentations in schools. This initiative is an excellent way to democratize jobs that are sometimes unknown in certain communities.
- Speaking of the next generation, why not offer one-day (or more) internships to young people so they can concretely understand the reality of your field.
You see, there are many ways to become a change agent as a service company. It's just a matter of starting and diving in! Go, don't miss the boat and come chat with us to discuss so we can help you take responsibility for your practices;)
Article written by Thomas, B Corp Consultant (he/him)
