Green Frog is a pest control company that is doing more than just dirty work. By working with and hiring people with barriers to employment at risk of homelessness, they are helping others to rebuild their lives.

Companies like Green Frog that are creating a social impact will be the focus of the upcoming BC Summit on Social Innovation and BC Social Innovation Youth Awards on Feb. 8. The summit will help raise awareness of innovation across all sectors in British Columbia.

Green Frog is a registered community contribution company (C3) which means the bulk of their profits must go towards a community purpose. Organizations registered as C3s can focus on any type of social objective; Green Frog has chosen to focus on social housing and homelessness.

“We want them to see that there is a way out of their situation and they can still have a good career,” said Kane McIntyre, pest control technician with Green Frog. “It’s good for them to see us hiring from within the Downtown Eastside community.”

Green Frog specializes in servicing non-profit housing groups, specifically in the Downtown Eastside area. They also offer training and employment opportunities to people in the same demographic – ideally in the very buildings in which they are working.

“We work closely with the building managers to form a rapport with the tenants and potential employees,” added McIntyre. Partnerships such as this, as well as partnerships with other non-profits and social enterprises that share the same values are crucial to the work that they do, particularly in order to be effective in social outreach.

Dylan Goggs, co-founder and CEO of Green Frog, is a social entrepreneur who also founded the Simpson Society. The society oversees three separate social enterprises and, by co-ordinating efforts, is able to maximize their social impact – finding employment for people with barriers.

The work that Green Frog is doing not only helps the community but McIntyre finds it gives his work an extra level of purpose. “This is the first job where it feels like I am making a difference. These are some of the nicest people you could meet,” said McIntyre.

“Community contribution companies are the first business model of their kind in Canada, and it’s rewarding to see that they are working,” said Michelle Stilwell, Minister of Social Development and Social Innovation. “The BC Summit on Social Innovation is highlighting C3s like Green Frog who are generating a profit while pursuing social goals that help communities thrive throughout British Columbia.”

Quick Facts:

• Green Frog has two other socially-minded sister companies: ReBuild, a professional construction, renovation, and restoration service, and CleanStart, a housing and property cleanup company.
• Green Frog is a certified social enterprise in the Buy Social Canada program, which means that they supply or buy with social impact.
• A government-funded study on B.C.’s social-venture sector found the sector has grown by 36% over the last five years, generates an estimated $533 million annually and employs more than 12,700 people.
• As an active member of the BC Partners for Social Impact, government works with social innovation leaders in the public, private and non-profit sectors to promote and support social innovation and enterprise throughout the province.

Learn More:

Learn more about Green Frog: http://www.greenfrogpestcontrol.ca/

Learn more about community contribution companies (C3): http://www.fin.gov.bc.ca/prs/ccc/

Read about the upcoming BC Social Innovation Youth Awards: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2016SDSI0077-002783

Learn about the Ministry of Social Development and Social Innovation: www.sdsi.gov.bc.ca/social-innovation/index.htm

Explore B.C.’s online social-innovation tool: www.hubcapbc.ca