Sustainability, Electronic Records, and the Foothold Mission

April 22^nd is Earth Day, and over the past few weeks we’ve been thinking about the efforts we’re making, both as individuals and as a company, within the larger community of people dedicated to making the world safer, healthier, and more peaceful. “Sustainability” is a concept that guides our engagements on many levels. We consider not only our own sustainability as a company, but that of our client community and how we can help providers of human services survive to provide more services to people in need.

Our CEO, Marlowe Greenberg, was recently a panelist at the annual conference of the California Institute of Mental Health in San Diego. He returned energized by what he called a “good, honest” discussion between social service providers and companies like Foothold who offer products that help them operate. The session, interestingly titled “Improving the Marriage between Providers and Vendors,” addressed the importance of viewing the relationship we have with our clients as a partnership, one that needs to be cultivated, on both sides and from the beginning, with sustainability in mind. We’re very fortunate to have longstanding relationships with many of our clients, and strive to empower our community to succeed in the new landscape.

By many standards, we’re a “green” company. Our product—an electronic record-keeping system—is drastically reducing the need for paper files, not to mention the filing cabinets in which to store them. Since we’re web-based, no software packaging gets dumped in landfills.  Our commitment to the environment extends well beyond recycling and purchasing recyclable office supplies.  But it’s our mission—to serve people who are committed to improving the world around us—that truly reflects our commitment to the earth.