   
The Social Purchasing
Portal:
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wish to read in this page:
What
is the Social Purchasing Portal?
What are the benefits?
Success stories from Vancouver
The Social Purchasing Portal of Waterloo Region
Purchaser Working Group
Supplier Working Group
Employment Service Provider Working Group
Marketing and Technical Development Working Group
Other Portals
Media coverage and more information on Social
Responsibility
Does YOUR Company
use Office Supplies, Couriers, Promotional materials, cleaning services,
catering or flower delivery?
·
Enhance your company’s reputation by engaging in corporate social responsibility
in your daily business activities without added costs.
·
Purchases of every day products & services from suppliers in the Social
Purchasing Portal (SPP) afford good business value while contributing to our
local employment development efforts.
·
The
portal is an online ‘hub’ of purchasers, suppliers, and employment service
providers.
What is the Social
Purchasing Portal (SPP)?
The SPP gives you the opportunity to blend commercial growth and
social benefit when purchasing goods and services from our suppliers.
In order to participate, our suppliers would agree to hire
individuals requiring support to enter the workforce.
As the supplier businesses experience access to new markets,
their employment needs grow, creating new work opportunities. Our partners in
employment development agencies would provide trained applicants.
This searchable database facilitates new multi-sector
relationships among corporations, small businesses, (non) government
organizations and other interested individuals.
The Social Purchasing
Portal uses a business model as opposed to a charity model.
What
are the Benefits?
Economic:
As a
purchaser, everything you buy not only adds social value to the local
economy, but eventually directly impacts on the employment development goals of
the community. It is not going to cost you
any more than what you have already budgeted.
As a supplier,
you are front and centre on the Portal, reaching new markets - the purchasers
who want their spending to have social value. Your growth fuels the
success of the portal.
Since its
launch last year, Vancouver’s SPP helped create 70 new jobs.
Community Value:
The SPP engages the
business sector into community development efforts while
satisfying their existing business needs. It is that easy!
Through the portal,
unemployed and underemployed residents are positioned for long-term, supported
and meaningful work. Give someone a life-changing
opportunity!
Mills Basics - Simple business practices make a difference
As one of the
original participants in the Social Purchasing Portal, Mills was able to
contribute to the community while simultaneously growing their business.
“We just do our part by
providing quality products and services and hiring new employees through (the
portal),” says Brad Mills. “It’s great that such simple business practices are
making a difference in the community!”
To date Mills has
hired 7 full-time employees through the program, all of whom are still working
full-time in the company’s East Vancouver Warehouse.
Cook Studio Catering – Creating jobs and happy customers.
Since Cook Studio
Foodservices opened its catering division in May 2002, it has grown rapidly –
mainly by word of mouth.
It runs a program
helping two different sectors in the community: one for adults who are on income
assistance; the other for youth-at-risk.
One of Cook Studio’s
corporate clients is Xenon Genetics, a privately owned science company. Xenon
appreciates the excellent quality of the food and the staff, but is also
impressed with the social venture aspect of the operation. Pat Watson, Senior
Director of HR and Administration says, “When I read about [their goal of]
helping others, we decided that we wanted to be part of the solution too.”
LogoTex & Marion: An employment success story.
LogoTex creates
promotional products such as logos on pens, shirts, and many other items.
LogoTex is a key supplier on the portal.
When the company
needed more staff to support its growth, it looked first to the portal. That is
how Logo Tex found Marion. She loves her new job.
“Being out of the
labour market for over ten years while raising my children made the challenge of
finding work daunting, if not down right frightening. Having (the portal) in the
community is a marvelous support network for anyone who hasn’t worked in a long
time.”
It’s a win-win
situation all round. Marion had earlier been involved in a program for people
with barriers to employment (jobSTART). Her agency workers couldn’t be happier
about their involvement with the portal. “Marion was the first person that we
put through the process and she came out with a job. We are very pleased.”
Marion’s story will be one of
hundreds, thanks to the Social Purchasing Portals operating throughout the
country,
Waterloo Region is poised to launch its own Social Purchasing Portal in 2006.
What role will YOU play?
For more
information visit:
The Social Purchasing Portal of Waterloo Region
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