Innovation

Responsibility as an innovation connects directly to the mission statement of the LCBO. Their mission statement is:

‘We are a best-in-class, customer-first, responsible retailer and wholesaler, supporting our local communities and delivering value to Ontarians’,

And their social responsibility ties directly into their mission. When asked if their responsibility connected to their sense of purpose, store manager Harb replied “that’s our mission statement, right?”. He further went on to say “that’s our culture here, every day” in reference to their socially responsible practices in daily operations. The LCBO uses responsibility to connect with customers and their community and uses that business model to deliver amazing customer service while being a responsible retailer.

The innovation of responsibility was conceived and implemented by the Ontario government. As a government organization, the LCBO has a responsibility to keep the community safe. As such, the Ontario government set strict regulations for the sale of alcohol through the LCBO and other retailers, with the LCBO emerging as the most responsible and professional of them all. The sale of alcohol is something that must be treated delicately, due to the nature of alcohol and protecting the minors in the community from its effects. As such, responsibility as a business model emerged out of necessity for the responsible sale of alcohol.

Inspiration

The inspiration for this innovation came from the Government of Ontario, they wanted strict rules in place to ensure alcohol is not distributed to minors. With the innovations implemented at the LCBO, the government is able to protect communities from underage drinking which would be a detriment to people's health and society. Though our leader did not come up with this innovation on his own, he takes it very seriously and makes sure it is enforced throughout his store everyday. During the interview Harb said, “being socially responsible, we have to protect our community, protect our customers. That’s why we have social responsibility and our check 25 and assume 30 [program], just to make sure that, you know, we keep everything safe”. Based on this response, the goal for Harb is to provide the customers and community a safe atmosphere to enjoy alcoholic beverages. This lines up directly with the mission statement the LCBO deploys.

Overall impact

The effects of responsibility are easily measurable within the LCBO. Short-term effects include the effects on communities. Through the Check 25 program, the company significantly cuts down cases of underage drinking and is able to monitor how often they ask people for ID. This helps not only minors in the community but everyone in the community, effectively creating a safer environment for everyone. Harb explains that “when you don’t serve [minors or those unfit to be served, the community benefits]. I can relate this to [car accidents on the road]. We want to know for sure there’s [no one] on the road drinking and driving”. Short-term, being an extremely responsible company results in less alcohol-related incidents on roads and in communities.

Long-term, the LCBO helps the health of the community. Alcohol, while in moderation is okay, is a dangerous substance that can potentially seriously harm individuals. The LCBO is diligent in their responsibility, requiring licenses for large events such as weddings, and judging customers to see if they are fit to buy alcohol. Harb comments that “setting expectations [is important]. People drinking alcohol is hard on the [communities] lifestyle and culture, but we set the expectation and limit, and also control it, so they can’t buy [too much] or get it whenever they want. There has to be some control on it”. Control of alcohol is the main purpose of having a government owned alcohol retailer, and it works for the company. Further, responsibility creates long-term brand loyalty. Consumers continue to purchase at the LCBO due to their positive experiences in the store.

Business benefit

The impact of the LCBO’s social responsibility is beneficial to both the business as well as society and the environment. The impact of the innovation on the business is evident. As stated, the LCBO creates brand loyalty by always being respectful to customers, creating an impact on their communities that cannot be replicated elsewhere. Through socially responsible practices and highly trained employees, the LCBO delivers customer experience like no other beverage alcohol retailer. When asked about the impact of responsibility on the business, Harb explained that “we are a really good company in terms of [being professional] and everything else, and also, in terms of making profit, we make a lot of money here. "We keep alcohol out of minors’ hands, and people appreciate it]. We have clean stores and we provide the best customer service, which is working for us”. With such massive profits being evident for the company, the impact of their innovation on the business is very positive.

Social and environmental benefit

The LCBO contributes to society, through their responsibility. They not only set up programs for the United Way and Sick Kids, allowing customers to donate to the respective charities, but a portion of their profit goes to the provincial government. Harb explains that “the LCBO does an excellent job in terms of community involvement. We do have programs where if the LCBO is close to schools, we’ll get them involved and we have some programs where the LCBO people from head office will go and teach/train and enforce the importance of [the LCBO and responsible practices]. At the same time, in terms of community we have our charity programs where we raise funds for the community, and right now we have a charity going on for the United Way. We are doing an excellent job [raising money]. And then we have our Sick Kids [charity] raising money for Sick Kids, and all the money we raise is spent within the community where the LCBO is located”. Responsibility as a business model allows the LCBO to integrate charitable donations and community involvement directly into their daily operations.

The impact of their innovation on the environment is also evident. The LCBO employs many programs to be environmentally responsible, including only using paper bags, reducing waste in stores, and fitting stores with energy efficient lighting. Harb explains that the LCBO is “targeting lighting and changing our lights to LEDs, which obviously reduces the amount of electricity [used]. Even the bottles are changing to plastic because it’s lighter, easier to carry, easier to transport”. Further, Harb mentions that “we have the program with all of the cardboard [in the store]. Instead of going into landfills, we do a bale [with the cardboard] and recycle all the cardboard [in the store]”. The managers further go on to explain how they attempt to reduce waste in stores as much as possible, reusing when they can and only using recyclable, paper bags. “It all gets recycled”, said Harb. “There’s very little garbage here, even in the offices or the store, even at the cash. We don’t have garbage cans, we just use cardboard boxes. 99% of everything is recycled”. The LCBO does an excellent job of integrating their mission and innovations, which creates a benefit for the business, society, and the environment.

Interview

Mathew Gauthier, Manager