Business Events for Good
Adding social impact to Waterloo Region Events
By Doug Wallace, Ignite magazine | October 2024
Following along with the local tech cluster’s “Tech for Good” mantra, Waterloo Region is taking a “Business Events for Good” approach to event planning by weaving elements of social impact into corporate events.
“Explore Waterloo Region (EWR) has been integrating social-impact activations into trade shows we’ve participated in, and industry events we’ve sponsored over the past few years,” says Jennifer Eddings, director of business development for Explore Waterloo Region (EWR).
Notable examples include EWR collaborations with WholeHearted, a group founded by Catherine McGuire that helps corporations infuse social care into their business events. “Whether it’s a teambuilding activity, a trade show, a booth activation or a cocktail hour,” McGuire says, “we propose different ideas and programs that support a Waterloo group in need.”
The WholeHearted team can take your group through “a tree-planting program, a mural-painting program, even creating ornaments for holiday trees,” McGuire explains. “We then facilitate the donation and report back, providing photos, videos and impact reports to share with everyone who participates.”
In 2023, WholeHearted partnered with EWR at a Canadian Society of Professional Event Planners (CanSPEP) holiday event, setting up a pop-up Heart-to-Heart Market filled with essential everyday items. Attendees were invited to pack a tote bag which was then donated to a Mississauga, Ont., community in high need that CanSPEP was supporting. “While donating money is valuable,” Eddings says, “the warm and fuzzy feeling comes from attendees actively participating. More and more companies are requesting social impact experiences to offer as teambuilding or off-site activities during conferences—things like volunteering at community gardens or food banks.”
Choose the cause that suits the event best
McGuire says that some groups come to her with a specific cause or organization in mind to support. “In that case, we work as a liaison to maximize their impact. Other times, groups are a blank slate, so we bring out our huge list of organizations that serve different needs and different people.”
Currently, WholeHearted is seeing a lot of social-care initiatives coming from the financial sector. “A lot of the big banks now have a mandate that wherever they choose to have an off-site event, something must tie back to community,” McGuire says. “Corporate social responsibility is becoming the new baseline for operating a business now.”
Eddings feels that business events can easily be a force for positive change—both socially and environmentally. “Although there’s more work to be done and awareness to generate, I think planners are embracing the concept of Business Events for Good, ready to leave a positive social impact.”
How can planners incorporate more social impact?
Stephanie Soulis, president and CEO, Little Mushroom Catering, is one of Waterloo Region’s champions of social and environmental sustainability. She shares this advice for event planners:
• Look for companies connected with Sustainable Waterloo Region, a program that looks at your event’s environmental impact.
• Choose restaurants and caterers that are Feast On Certified, a certification program run by the Culinary Tourism Alliance, a non-profit food-tourism development organization. “We submit our receipts for all of our ingredients to this alliance once a year,” Soulis says, “and they make sure we’re using a certain percentage of locally farmed ingredients. There’s a website where you can find out who has Feast On certification, but businesses will also include that on their websites and email signatures.”
• Work with businesses who are Rainbow Registered or part of the Safe Space Alliance, both supporting the 2SLGTBQI+ community.
• Other socially responsible certifications include The Ontario Living Wage Network employers and the Better Way Alliance, a national network of ethical employers.
• “Find businesses who put their money where their mouth is,” Soulis says, “and who give back to the community in some way—even simply sponsoring the Little League.”
Personalize Your Group Experience
Contact Jennifer Eddings to learn more about hosting your planet-friendly business event in Waterloo Region.
Jennifer Eddings, Director of Business Development
Explore Waterloo Region
519-590-8126
[email protected]
Explorewaterloo.ca