Innovation

The Woolwich Arrow (aka "the Wooly") is a local Guelph pub that has corporate social responsibility rooted in every aspect of the business. From its carbon-neutral pub to its plentiful donations to the Grand River Conservation, the Wooly has a positive impact in whatever it does. Below is a list of the different innovations that the Wooly has undertaken to better the community in which it operates.

• Annual Speed River Cleanup: Removed the visible waste from the Speed River and the shoreline

• Grand River Conservation: Pledged $75,000 to the Grand River Conservation and the environment surrounding it

• KidsAbility: Provided more than 5,000 children with meals over multiple events and donated more than $4,000 to KidsAbility

• Installation of Solar Panels: Installed three solar panels to its their deck roof, which are used to power all water and heating

• Me to We: Assisted in planting trees to better the environment

• Certified B Corporation: Certified by the nonprofit B Lab to meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency

These are just a select few of the innovations undertaken by the Wooly that were all spearheaded by its general manager and COO of the Neighborhood Group of Companies Court Desautels. In our interview with him, Desautels explained that “being a leader in the community, you have to lead by example, especially if you have the opportunity to show that you can still make money doing it.” He believes and promotes that businesses should do the right thing for their communities.

Inspiration

The Wooly was not always a pub; it actually started out serving authentic French cuisine. After a change in ownership in the 1990s, the existing owners were inspired to create a restaurant that incorporated Canadian food and beer. The idea was to create a British-style pub with a local feel. The restaurant has always been involved with the community with one activity or other. Desautels explains, serving the community and “helping the people just seem to be the right thing to do.” Inspiration to give back to the community came from the heart of the leaders at the Wooly. Desautels believes that if you have the means then it is your responsibility to care for your community and environment. He has a philosophy of the more you give to community, the more you grow. He added, “implementing all these projects has led us to prosperity and popularity. Building this company is for making the smart choices for the planet--how I would want my children and grandchildren to live.” Desautels and the Wooly will continue to set goals to improve sustainable development now and in the future.

Working for society and the environment benefits the Wooly. The original innovation was helping to clean Speed River and other river programs. The Wooly has been a proud sponsor of Annual Speed River Cleanup for the past 28 years. Each year, this event uses about 200 community volunteers in an effort to remove the visible waste from the Speed River and its shoreline. Desautels says his inspiration for investing in water cleanup programs is because “water is the basis for all living forms; 90% of the beer is water and we can't expect good beers from unhealthy water.” Furthermore, the restaurant's inspiration for its other innovations is for sustainable development of the greater community. For example, when choosing how to give back to the community, Desautels explained how “there was a choice between a football team or a schoolchildren team”. The Wooly chose to donate to KidsAbility, and it encourages education for young people because it promotes development within the community. Desautels feels immense personal satisfaction and happiness in performing all the various activities. In return, the community supports the restaurant and its various causes, giving it new business and positive word of mouth.

Overall impact

The Wooly's innovations have created many positive impacts on the community, the environment, and the restaurant itself. The Wooly’s impact on itself is reflected in the mind frame of the community and its workers. Community members appreciate the Wooly's programs and donations. Management has found that guests have created an emotional connection with the restaurant, even to the point of being more forgiving if a service or food error was made during the guests' dining experiences. A positive mind frame turns community members into regulars at the restaurant, which benefits the restaurant’s sales. The innovations the Wooly has created for its employees have also had a positive impact on the business. Because the restaurant cares for its employees, there has been an increase in employee satisfaction and a decrease in turnover. The restaurant’s innovations continue to increase sales and profits year after year.

The community has been largely impacted by the many programs started and donations given by the Wooly. For example, through its work with KidsAbility, the restaurant has provided more than 5,000 meals to participants of the multiple events. With help from the radio station 91.5 The Beat, the Wooly raised about $4,000 this year for KidsAbility. Through these fundraising events, the Wooly helps special-needs children reach their potential.

In addition, the Wooly has a noticeable positive impact on the environment. The restaurant’s business with Bullfrog Power, installation of solar panels, planting trees with Me to We, and working to reduce its carbon footprint indicate its care and concern for the environment. These efforts have less to do with concrete impacts displayed on paper but more to do with a collective, long-term impact felt by the planet. A very important organization to the Wooly is the Grand River Conservation. The Wooly has pledged $75,000 to protect the river and the environment. Water is very important resource to the Wooly, and it will continue to protect it.

The short-term effects of many of the innovations created by the Wooly were not favorable. Start-up costs for community programs or environmental cleanup are large and do not create a quick return. However, the long-term effects are tremendous. A positive community mind frame is a long-term result of investing in the community. Similarly, investing in employees' education is an upfront cost but a long-term benefit of a more experienced employee and greater employee satisfaction. Desautels believes strongly in the importance of “short-term pain for long-term gain.”

Business benefit

• Longevity of employees

• Increase in profit

• One the most sought-out restaurants in the downtown Guelph core

The Wooly’s innovations of environmental consciousness, community philanthropy, and employee education/protection have had major financial, economic, and social benefits for the company. First, the company has incurred a trusting and dedicated group of employees. This has been achieved by offering paid education to employees who seek to improve their skills in culinary and restaurant-service skills, such as Blue Seal and Smart Serve certification. Additionally, the restaurant offers health insurance that is fully covered after three years of employment. These rare incentives in the restaurant industry have made the Wooly a highly sought-out place of employment in the community, which attracts ambitious and dedicated employees. The restaurant has seen a major increase of longevity of employment that has resulted in keeping turnover low and morale high.

Second, being a business that is environmentally sustainable and dedicated to community involvement has made the Wooly one of the most sought-out restaurants in downtown Guelph. People appreciate a business with tranparent and external goals, which encourages them to support the business. Guelph has more than 100 other restaurants, so this positive feeling is a hard feat to achieve. In addition to average customers, many other sustainable businesses in Guelph heavily support its innovations and use the restaurant as their preferred luncheon spot.

The Wooly's status as one of Guelph’s favored restaurants has led to a sufficient increase in profit since the commencement of its sustainability initiative. It's extremely difficult to achieve profitability in the restaurant industry, resulting in most starting restaurants having to close within their first three years. This makes the Wooly an anomaly because it's flourishing even considering its costly focus on sustainability.

Social and environmental benefit

The Wooly has created a positive image in terms of society and environment. As described above, the Wooly is involved in many environmental programs.

An example of how the Wooly positively benefits the environment is through its partnership with the Grand River Conservation. The conservation authority works to protect water and other natural resources on behalf of 39 municipalities with close to one million residents. Additionally, the Annual Speed River Cleanup aims to provide meaningful opportunities for students and communities to engage together to strive for a sustainable and ecological environment. Another example includes its partnership with the Me to We program. The Wooly has planted many trees, which provide clean air and oxygen and combat climate change.

In addition to caring for the environment, the Wooly has made changes to improve the community it is a part of. One example of societal benefits includes the fundraising of about $4000 for KidsAbility. KidsAbility aims to educate and develop children with disabilities and help them to understand and reach their potentials. Many young children have felt the benefit of the Wooly’s efforts. The Wooly has created a personal connection with its community that shows every day.

Interview

Court Desautels, Group Leader & C.O.O of Neighbourhood Group Companies