??+??+ ???Purposeful ESG Impact ???(Diner Style Edition)

If you are like me, you might be in love with the classic American Diner experience. I love the vibes, food, and culture that these timeless diners encapsulate which resonates and permeates across the organizational culture.

Up here in Canada, there is one such Diner that I frequent every now and then called Wimpy's Diner located near my neighbourhood at Rylander, Boulevard, located in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada. Based on the 1950s and 1960s-themed aesthetic of diners, I quite enjoy classic American/Canadian Diner food such as classic homestyle breakfasts, pancakes, breakfast poutines/burritos, you name it, I love it! ??

As a big proponent of corporate social responsibility (CSR) organizational initiatives and the environmental, social governance (ESG) paradigm, I am always on the lookout for evaluating what organizations across various industry verticals are doing concerning the communication of their ongoing purpose-driven impacts. This can be innovations across their workforce, (people), product, technology, governance, risk, compliance, social communities, and our collective environmental/sustainable well-being.

As such, I came across Denny's recent ESG report and was quite impressed with some of the initiatives that they are currently undertaking concerning the various pillars of ESG. Those being:

I) ??Food ??

II) ??The Environment ??

III) ??Family & Community

IV) ??Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

V) ??Equal Opportunity

VI) ???People

From my vantage point, the way that Denny's ESG mission statement is constructed, it is indeed a simple recipe for ESG success. Many of the aforementioned pillars of ESG make for a holistic and diligent outlook toward Denny's overarching organizational philosophy and mantra.

That being:

"We Love to Feed People"

It is that central business philosophy in mind and social impact statement at heart, that makes Denny's such a transformational force for the better concerning their ongoing ESG mandates.

Reading into some of the key 'Environmental' ESG initiatives that Denny's was doing to be sustainably purposeful in their day-to-day business/kitchen operations was quite enlightening to observe. For example, Denny's as per their recent ESG report, is working conscientiously with vendors to more accurately track their waste, energy, and water usage across their respective franchise locations.

Now, certainly, it is to be expected that these levels of environmental usage metrics may have fluctuated over time (owing to the pandemic), however, as we return to and settle within a pre-COVID society, these metrics on waste, energy, and water usage will (hopefully) be reflective of how it was in pre-COVID society. However, Denny's resolute attitude and professional candour as to how they are continually working with their vendors on better understanding their environmental usage metrics was quite commendable to see being transparently referenced in their ESG reports.

Future goals of installing new high-efficiency HVAC units in all new company buildings and high-efficiency water heaters in all new company builds were also quite interesting to note.

Regarding some of Denny's 'Social' ESG initiatives, the sheer depth and breadth of local community partnerships that they are fostering and helping to nurture was very admirable to see.

??For example, Denny's recent fundraising partnership with No Kid Hungry, (a non-profit organization based out of Washington, D.C. which is working together to help alleviate the problem of child hunger in America) and Denny's ongoing initiatives with No Kid Hungry on donating to help provide meals to children in America coming from low-income backgrounds was also a great initiative to see being referenced as part of the "S" commitments to their key ESG initiatives.

• ?? Namely, an interesting statistic to share from Denny's recent ESG report, Denny's has raised over $12.6 million, or in other words, provided a whopping 126 million meals for hungry children across America as a result of their fundraising partnerships and social work being done with many non-profit organizations such as No Kid Hungry.

Moreover, from an internal 'Business Resource Group' (BRG) perspective, it was quite nice to see the sheer depth and breadth of various BRGs that Denny's has developed as part of their 'Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion' (DEI) council.

Incorporating various BRGs not only provides a safe space for employees across various professional leadership backgrounds, sexual orientations, and ethnicities to voice their concerns build good chemistry and foster effective camaraderie amongst their respective groups, but it also creates a collective environment to provide a sense of "belongingness" within the organization.

What immediately stood out to me as part of the 'Governance' spectrum of Denny's organizational hierarchy, was the diverse makeup of their board of directors and leadership committee. Many of them are made up of minorities and women who proudly serve on the board, as well as from various professional backgrounds and bring decades of leadership experience to the table.

In addition, ethics and codes of conduct are critical components that feed into any organization's governance outlook. After all, "good governance" comes with good ethical business practices. You cannot have one without the other so to speak. It is a two-way relationship in other words.

This is why, I was quite impressed with how detailed Denny's had gone into breaking down ethical and governance compliances as an organization. Namely, their emphasis on anti-bribery and corruption with compliance with various laws and regulations, such as the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCPA") and other such laws that prevent unscrupulous and improper payments.

??Conclusion:

So, at the end of the day, what can we all take away from these insights?

Personally, it warms my heart to see the steps that organizations like Denny's are personally undertaking in giving back to their respective communities, fostering innovative and ethical workplace practices, as well as improving their outlook on environmental stewardship.

A holistic ESG philosophy is simply but the tip of the iceberg of what organizations (like Denny's) are collectively doing to improve their level of care and diligence towards fostering an improved stance on their corporate social impact.

??Future roadmap and summary goals are also something that I love to see to keep myself abreast of Denny's ongoing commitment towards ESG.

Overall, in essence, I think that as good samaritans in our society nowadays (and not simply just as the collective organizational entity), we can use the case study such as Denny's as a shining example of what "we" as the individual can do to help foster improved environmental awareness, build strong and well-meaning social communities, develop positively beneficial and constructive camaraderie amongst our workforce, maintain good and positive social wellbeing, as well as develop ethical guidelines concerning our governance practices and simply practice what we preach concerning good governance.

It all starts with what we do in the present. Hearkening back to a famous quote by Mahatma Gandhi that I recall so fondly.

The future depends on what we do in the present

Thanks for stopping by! Hopefully, this article has given you some good insight from a case study perspective as to what some leading brands and companies are doing concerning ESG.

Now excuse me, while I go jam out to some tunes in my jukebox while sipping on my favourite strawberry shake ??