Creating a triple bottom line company is one thing. But keeping those values alive long after the founders have left is something else again. It’s one of the reasons why clean energy engineering firm Burch Energy became a certified Benefit Corporation for Good.

As this holiday season enters and 2022 winds down, I carry with me one dominating thought. It's not tied to politics, economics or sports. 

Rather it's all about service. Make that "being of service."

You see, helping others by volunteering, mentoring or simply listening without judgment provides the greatest joy I receive in life. It's priceless to give something with nothing expected in return.

From focusing on restorative actions to partnering with other local businesses, here are 11 answers to the question, "What advice do you have that shows how your small business is committed to sustainability?"

You can't be Switzerland anymore.

If you're in business and you want to show your customers that your product is worth their time and money, you and your business must stand up for something.

And there is no shortage of contemporary issues.

Do you know why a language solutions company becomes a certified Benefit Corporation for Good? Here's the answer from William Tongsiri, founder and leader of PASA Language Solutions.

Do you know why a video production company becomes a certified Benefit Corporation for Good? Here's the answer from Erik Croswell, founder and leader of Bridge City Media.

Do you know why a bank becomes a certified Benefit Corporation for Good? Here's the answer from Lisa Fajardo Faust, senior VP at Pacific West Bank.

When a business becomes a purpose-driven business, there's a big shift in its thinking and acting. Businesses change from thinking “how much profit can I make” to “how much good can I do while still making a profit.”

Now I know it’s a big shift. But the research supports small businesses making this shift as employees and consumer are wanting more, make that demanding more, from businesses.

What is one simple step a small business can take to create social impact?

To help you identify simple steps to take for your small business to create social impact, we asked our Benefit Corp community and other business leaders this question for their best insights. From living by example to focusing on individuals, there are several tips that small business owners could follow to make a meaningful impact in the communities and beyond.

Here are 11 tips these small business leaders follow to create social impact:

Do you know why a small law firm becomes a certified Benefit Corporation for Good? Here's the answer from Michael Jonas, founder of Rational Unicorn Legal Services.

Do you know why a B2C small business becomes a certified Benefit Corporation for Good? Here's the answer from Jacoba Gundle co-founder of Mindful Proteins featuring Tatu.

5 Reasons Our Small Business Became a certified Benefit Corporation for Good

Many people have asked us what is a certified Benefit Corporation for Good? To help answer that, a video series has been created with responses from the leaders of our growing purpose-driven community. Here's the first of 6 different videos:

In his most excellent book "Tomorrow's Capitalist," Alan Murray, CEO of Fortune Media, talks about his search for the soul of business. As a journalist, Murray cites important research and data points in making his argument for the "force for good" corporation.

Specifically, he uses early 2021 research from Edelman and their Trust Barometer survey. In it, more than 33,000 people in 29 countries are asked questions about trust in businesses, governments and institutions.

Key finding: 86% agreed with the statement, "I expect CEOs to publicly speak out on one or more of these societal challenges, pandemic impact, job autiomatic, society issues, local community issues."

But is their a roadmap to doing that?