The Social Purchasing Portal (SPP) is a tool that's been designed by Building Opportunities with Business (BOB) to help companies source products and services that address social and environmental issues in Vancouver, BC. In concept its a great idea, with the growth in demand in sustainable purchasing programs in many companies and organizations, the SPP has the potential to link up purchasers with suppliers, creating connections that improve our economy while addressing sustainability issues.
It's working!
Every time I get an order from a new client I ask them how they learned about my business as this is one of the ways I use to see how affective our marketing campaigns are. Although it's only happened once in the last couple years of being listed on the SPP it is working! Last week I was told by a client that they were specifically looking for social and environmentally responsible corporate gift options and found me through the SPP. It has a trickle down affect as the gift that was ordered included wooden packaging made by a local social enterprise that trains women in carpentry living in Vancouver's downtown eastside. The gift was sent to a local community leader in the social enterprise space so it was cool how interconnected the transaction became in our local economy.
