Sustainable Business Practices May 25, 2006 By Steve Fafel

We impact our customers, employees, investors, and community. The world, in fact; we produce software that sometimes gets packaged, and that packaging starts from trees and oil--dwindling resources. Trees for the paper or cardboard, and oil for CDs if we make CDs.

Trees are harvested, and then in some process that must be like making sausage, turned into paper. That paper gets cut and shipped to distributors, which then ship to retail distribution centers or retail outlets directly. The shipping itself requires energy, as does the manufacturing of paper. That energy comes from diesel fuel, or burning coal, or nuclear, wind, or solar energy. But mostly it's fossil fuels.

The trucks that carry the materials use oil-based tires. The waste from the manufacturing can and often does pollute streams and rivers. Rain washes tire tread waste that leaches into the soil and streams.

So when we say we're about to start using 100% post-consumer recycled paper, and will start to require that from our suppliers, you can see why. We're also likely to discontinue most CD manufacturing, and will no longer ship CDs to customers--you can download the software with minimal negative impact on the world, and 100% positive impact on your nonprofit (we hope!).

Check out New Leaf Paper to learn more, and consider how you can cost effectively minimize your negative impact on the world, and maximize your positive impact.

Sustainable Us: Mission Research and the Triple Bottom Line May 22, 2006 By Steve Fafel

Friday with Terry Gips was really refreshing--a first step toward institutionalizing some of our common values. We worked on ideas on how we can improve our operations to lessen our negative impact and increase our positive impact on the world, our community, and ourselves. I'll blog more about it over the coming weeks.

I have to run--I'm heading to the Pittsburgh Airport...was in town for the healthcare hearings held by Congressman John Conyers and State Senator Jim Ferlo. Looks like Pennsylvania might get universal healthcare!

FRIDAY--OFFICE CLOSED: COMPANY OFFSITE May 19, 2006 By Steve Fafel

Today we meet at Ephrata Cloister with sustainability expert Terry Gips to learn more about what it means to be a socially responsible business with a Triple Bottom Line.

We are a socially responsible business, but it takes a full commitment and understanding of all of us, so we're sharpening the saw through this first-ever full company offsite. We're growing rapdly, and we wanted to stop and step back for a second to work on integrating our belief systems so they are intact when we're much larger.

So again, thank you for your understanding as we take this step to make Mission Research a good community citizen. We'll be back on Monday, but answering email over the weekend if you need help.

Thanks for your understanding!

NOTE: if you have a GiftWorks problem that prevents you from working, send email to workstoppage@missionresearch.com and someone will call you from the offsite.

Craig's List Boot Camp: NYC May 3, 2006 By Steve Fafel

On June 10th, the Craig's List Foundation Nonprofit Boot Camp will be held in New York at NYU, and I'm pleased to announce Mission Research is one of the main sponsors. If you're a young or changing small nonprofit within easy travel range of New York City, I encourage you to check out this fantastic event--it's only 50 bucks. The sessions are mostly about how to improve your nonprofit (check out the agenda at the site above).