Sustainability with Non-profit Partners
by Michael Matesic
Sustainability seems to be an increasingly popular news item. Whether the story is about the world’s water supply keeping up with population growth or the Pittsburgh Penguins ability to keep their core intact while adding young talent for another run at the Stanley Cup, the idea of being able to meet today’s demands without compromising the ability to meet tomorrow’s needs is a tricky proposition.
One way businesses are trying to become “sustainable” is by focusing not only on today’s revenue generating opportunities, but by tending to what is commonly called the “triple bottom line” – profits, planet, and people.
Companies like Wal-Mart, IBM, and, locally, Giant Eagle, are making headlines for their efforts to protect the interests of the environment and their employees while still maximizing profits. While some might see this trend as pure PR, statistics show that sustainable business practices make good business sense, and the real value for these corporations is in the added boost to their long term viability.
This is all well and good for corporations with the resources to tend to multiple, interconnected strategies. But a resources-strapped start-up faces a dilemma: before it can worry about the long-view, it needs to ensure it will be around to see tomorrow.
So how can a start-up solve its own sustainability problem – how does it meet its current needs without compromising its ability to meet future demands?
One answer might be that it doesn’t. Instead, it engages a partner-- a non-profit partner.
While for-profit startups may be required to devote all of their resources to revenue generation, non-profits may have an equal and opposite problem in that they must devote their resources to philanthropy first and profit seeking second.
However, when the underlying goals of a non-profit and for-profit company overlap, so, too, can their efforts to address the triple bottom line, to the benefit of company and customer alike.
One example of this dual effort is a recent partnership between Fossil Free Fuel, a for-profit waste grease collection and processing company that was spun out of Optimus Technologies earlier this year, and GTECH Strategies, a non-profit social enterprise dedicated to fostering community and growing the green economy through urban revitalization.
Fossil Free Fuel collects waste vegetable oil from local restaurants and food processors. The company then processes the grease to enable its use in engines and generators that have been converted to burn biofuels by Optimus Technologies. Because of resource and logistical constraints, Fossil Free Fuel must prioritize the pick-ups by volume and location, which limits their reach—smaller grease producers cannot be attended to.
Enter GTECH, which has earned a reputation as a green jobs creator, focusing on community outreach and education, youth jobs programs, and urban renewal through environmental stewardship.
GTECH will collect grease from the smaller one-off restaurants, implement community collection sites, and provide jobs, education, and outreach though a grant-funded program called ReFuel Pgh. GTECH will receive a percentage of the cash value of the grease they collect, enabling them to generate revenue while promoting the importance of recycling and the need for renewable fuels.
The result is two companies creating positive impacts across three bottom lines – increased profits, an educated community and growing workforce, and a less polluted planet.
Asa Watten, CEO of Fossil Free Fuel, sees the benefit of the partnership this way:
“For the market we serve, revenue will always be tied to the real social and environmental benefits we create. The more cost-savings we offer our customers, the more committed they’ll be to converting to low-carbon renewable fuels, and the healthier the environment will be for everyone.
Our partnership with GTECH makes our start-up more compelling both for the supply side where we are providing a waste recycling service and for the end users of our fuel. The partnership allows us to capture waste oil from residents who have no access to a waste oil recycling service. It enables GTECH to create a new revenue stream with real growth potential. And it allows us to get the community involved--and an involved community will likely be our best advocates in the future.”
Start Me Up appears monthly in the print edition of TEQ Magazine.