FMYI | For My Innovation

Yesterday FMYI received an Innovation in Sustainability Award in the small business category at an event hosted by the Portland Business Journal and Sustainable Business Oregon. Recipients of these awards are organizations committed to pushing the envelope to provide innovative sustainability solutions for business and commerce as companies that demonstrate new and creative products, services or approaches that serve to strengthen our sustainable economy.

At FMYI, we realize that sustainability is not an easy sprint or long-haul marathon, but rather a journey towards zero impact. As a mission-based company focused on empowering teams to make a difference, FMYI is about doing good and changing the world. From the very beginning, sustainability has been a part of our DNA and corporate social responsibility is written into our Articles of Incorporation. As we have bootstrapped FMYI over the last six years through client revenue, sustainability has permeated into every aspect of the company and has informed every step we’ve taken.  Quite simply - sustainability is the heart and soul of FMYI. We, like many others, continue the journey by continually looking for ways to improve our efforts and envisioning how we can achieve zero impact.

When accepting the award, FMYI President Justin Yuen said, “Small business success and sustainability are linked. If you want to have a small business that succeeds, you have to surround yourself with passionate people who believe in the mission and are there to make things happen. You have to bootstrap your way through things, you may not have as many resources you may like, and finally you are looking for every competitive advantage you can have in terms of business development.”

“What does it mean to be a sustainable service company or small business? It really comes down to 3 things. Even though you may not have a tangible product, 1) you can use it to attract and retain employees through the commitment, and that is pretty important thing in this community. 2) Essential for reducing costs and finding ways of reducing expenses, in terms telecommuting and digital marketing materials, as opposed to printed materials.  The third and last thing is really looking for business development advantage, competitive advantage in terms of building sustainable attributes into your service, like our commuting tracker and templates for sustainability and employee engagement.”

Check out today’s Sustainable Business Oregon article and find out why they believe FMYI is “a living embodiment of the sustainable office.”

Congratulations to the other award recipients as well: Miller Paint (Medium business), Truitt Bros. Inc. (Large Business) and Zero Waste Alliance (Sustainable Vision Award).