Small Business

It is hard not to be optimistic about the future of sustainability in the U.S. business sector. Ten, fifteen years ago, sustainability was a side-concern, a box that often was checked with a glitzy ad campaign. Now, sustainability is a crucial competitive advantage that businesses want to incorporate into their core strategies. Why? Sustainability is a catalyst for minimizing waste, saving money, and inventing new goods and services.

I recently attended an event in Tulsa, OK called A Day without Business.  This was the intriguing title of an event that asked business owners to consider what they would do if their businesses were interrupted for a day (or longer) due to a disaster.  Expert speakers from the areas of insurance, IT, public health and disaster recovery presented tips and ideas. 

It’s perfectly understandable why disaster preparedness might not be a front-burner issue for most small business owners. There are customers to meet, employees to manage, bills to pay.  But time and time again, it’s been proven that pushing the subject to a back burner is a recipe for disaster.

As a company that is committed to helping small businesses succeed— and as a nonprofit organization for which disaster preparedness, relief, and recovery are strategic priorities — Office Depot and the Office Depot Foundation uses a variety of channels to communicate this message.

This weekend, towns throughout the Midwest and South were hit by tornadoes and damaging storms. Inevitably, many businesses throughout the region are now coping with damage to their buildings or infrastructure, and wishing they had done more in advance to prepare for the unexpected.

This article first appeared on Mashable and I'm sharing it here because the business leaders we work with are always interested in effective ways to engage with local officials to solve community challenges. Community issues that affect local businesses come in all shapes and sizes, both in the U.S. and across the globe. This is a strong example of social media playing a central role in problem-solving to create a better community; what other scenarios have worked? Leave your comments.  

[Editor's Note: In the month of February, BCLC is seeking speaker proposals from innovative small businesses for a National Conference session called “Business Solutions to Address Community Challenges,” to take place on April 17 from  in Atlanta, GA. Small-business social innovators and social entrepreneurs -- we're looking for you!]

FEMA has been to America’s most shell-shocked communities. In the critical hours and days following a presidentially declared natural disaster, roads are impassable, communications are down, residents aren’t sure what to do, and area business owners/operators feel unsure about what the future holds for them.

On a January morning, 90 groups of mothers and children gathered at the Fe y Alegria primary school in a neighborhood north of Lima, Peru. They were there at the invitation of the Peruvian distribution firm Comercia for a hot meal, classes on nutrition education, and for the presentation of Comercia food baskets. An initiative from a relatively small firm in a country not famous for a history of CSR, the initiative was especially impressive, since it was – and remains – an