The Beacon Design Collective: Sustainability and Social Justice-Driven Graphic Design

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A Sustainable Graphic Design Business with a Higher Purpose

The Beacon Design Collective Inc. is saving the world with graphic design one project at a time. This boutique sustainable design studio creates graphic design and motion graphics for the social justice and sustainability sectors.

The Beacon Design Collective’s entire business model revolves around sustainability, from the brand’s offering to operations, communications, and employee engagement. As such, The Beacon Design Collective has achieved Green Business Benchmark° Platinum Certification, and we are proud to showcase their sustainability journey.

Achieving Carbon Neutrality and Effective Stakeholder Communication

The Beacon Design Collective has focused its sustainability efforts on achieving carbon neutrality, and effective stakeholder communication and engagement.

Implementing Sustainability Initiatives to Achieve Carbon Neutrality

The Beacon Design Collective Inc. is zealously planting trees. Currently, they work with For Trees which provides drone footage and NFTs of the trees that are planted. So far, The Beacon Design collective has planted nearly 300,000 trees since starting the program at the beginning of 2021. Tree planting helps restore natural habitats and creates vital carbon sinks that remove greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the atmosphere.

The Beacon Design Collective is a remote business, which means they also save emissions from commuting. Yet, Beacon doesn’t disregard the environmental impact of the home office. Rather, employees are encouraged to take proactive steps in their homes to reduce emissions. Doing so extends the practice of business sustainability beyond the confines of the business and into the home, to solidify a strong green culture. For instance, Founder and Operator at Beacon Design Collective, Dani Vachon, has replaced her home gas furnace with an electric heat pump. In addition, Dani and her husband share a smart car.

Developing an Effective Stakeholder Communication Program

The Beacon Design Collective is working with the Carbon Neutral Club to educate their staff on how to lower their carbon footprints. To set an example and back these communications, they also pay to offset their team’s emissions every month. In addition, Beacon rebates over $1,000 for each employee to help them transition to electric solutions (e.g. switching to an electric car).

Stakeholder education is integrated into the core of the Beacon Design Collective brand. For example, the creative team at Beacon is using design and editing to improve the usability of an Air Quality and Climate Action Plan for the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority. Beacon is also, with their client Oxfam Canada, developing activism campaigns that fight for fashion brands to pay their garment workers in developing countries fair living wages.

Challenges

For the Beacon Design Collective, the most challenging part of their journey was coming to terms with the inconsistencies in their business operations. Overcoming this challenge required a shift in mindset, that is, rather than seeking perfection, individuals and businesses must simply do what they can.

Founder and Operator, Dani Vachon, has practiced what she preaches and applied this approach to her personal life. As a lover of travel, Vachon felt guilty about her impact on our natural world, yet was conflicted as travel helps keep her spirits high, gives her greater insight into the world, and keeps her striving to make a positive change. Vachon does everything in her power to cut emissions, from eating organic, composting, growing her own food, and planting trees. She strives to establish a balance in her life that aligns with her business and personal values.

Platinum-Level Sustainable Business

The Beacon Design Collective chose Green Business Benchmark° to build their sustainability program and gain recognition for their sustainability achievements. Today, they have gained Platinum Certification, the highest we offer, which demonstrates their commitment to building a sustainable business world.

Businesses have a real opportunity to save the world

“Do your best, then offset the rest! Nobody is perfect. Each living human will have some sort of footprint if they want to participate in society. All we can do is our best. If Beacon, a small company like mine, can plant almost 200,000 trees per year, think about the impact your business can make. In the future, I envision every company to be carbon negative by doing their best and offsetting the rest. Companies can act a lot faster than governments and have more power than individuals. There’s a real opportunity here for companies to save the world.” – Dani Vachon, Founder, and Operator at the Beacon Design Collective

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