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As someone in the data center industry, I never imagined tree planting and orchard tending would be part of the job description.
But this Earth Day, my company launched a partnership with a non-profit to restore areas damaged by forest fires near our campuses. We're also working with a foundation to plant orchards across many of our U.S. markets, with the goal of providing fruit to local food banks.
Does all this feel good? Sure. But it also makes good business sense.
In my industry, being a good neighbor isn't an aspirational, box-ticking exercise. It's a must — not only to gain access to the communities where we do business but also to ensure we retain local employees and protect our investment. This is crucial for data center providers, which typically build facilities to run for 30 to 40 years.
That physical presence and long time horizon make our sector somewhat unique. But no matter what your company does, the benefits of building strong relationships with local stakeholders add up, often far outweighing the costs. In fact, businesses practicing corporate social responsibility can increase their market value by up to 6% and their revenue by as much as 20%.
Here's why being a good neighbor matters and how it can set up a company for long-term success.
What makes a good neighbor?
Think of the neighbors you want living next door. They maintain their property, and they're considerate and community-minded. When it comes to being a corporate neighbor, the same principles apply.
Over the past decade, my company has set up shop in almost 20 communities. We don't just bring good, well-paying jobs, using local labor whenever possible. We also strive to bring a respectful attitude.
One way is ensuring the campuses we build enhance the community rather than blight it. Many are constructed on long-abandoned brownfield sites that we remediate and return to life in keeping with our commitment to sustainability. Designed to run quietly and cleanly, our campuses are attractive buildings with curb appeal.
Not building a new facility? Factors like noise and esthetics still impact your neighbors, whether you're renovating a new office space or moving into a shared one.
Listen — and deliver value where it counts
One of the most impactful ways to build a positive relationship? Listen. Rather than pretend to have all the answers, go out and ask the community what's important to them. Companies like ours will assign special teams for stakeholder engagement to discover what's most beneficial.
Follow-through matters here. In our experience, people don't ask for the moon. For example, if a community tells us that it lacks green space, we might adjust our landscaping so it doubles as a park.
Seek out local organizations to team up with
Another way to be a good neighbor: Find partners in the non-profit sector that align with your corporate values. Research shows that consumers and workers want community engagement. Almost nine out of 10 Americans think companies should address social and environmental issues, while the same share of employees believe businesses that sponsor volunteer activities offer a better work environment.
Encouraging team members to support initiatives of their choice can be a powerful motivator. Take software giant Atlassian, which gives its employees five days of paid leave each year to volunteer for causes they care about. Or Nike, which runs a global Community Impact Fund that lets local groups apply for grants, with volunteer staff doing the vetting.
At each of our data centers, everyone aims to give back once a quarter, whether that's planning gardens to improve the bee population in Virginia or working with a school in an underserved area of Phoenix to fund a teachers' day and collect donations for families in need.
While large organizations may appear to have more capital and resources to do their part, smaller businesses can make a big impact, too.Roughly three-quarters of them say they give their employees chances to volunteer or perform community service.
Don't overlook educational partnerships
Finally, educational partnerships can make an outsize impact, creating a crucial hiring pipeline for organizations facing a talent crunch while also broadening local students' horizons.
We recently saw the impact of this firsthand, by working with staff at a high school in one of our markets to support their vocational program, then teaming up with a foundation for a presentation on careers in the data center industry and beyond.
The ROI of being a good neighbor
When you show a community that you're serious about collaborating with them to meet their needs, wonderful things happen.
For one, it's easier to hire and keep employees. Most people want to work for a company that cares about the community. When employees are proud to be part of that business — and when other community members hail its efforts — they tend to stick around. Six out of 10 workers say their employer's purpose is one of the main reasons they stay, and staff are 12 times more likely to recommend a purpose-led company to others.
The result is a virtuous circle. Happy employees and higher retention mean better outcomes for customers, which boosts shareholder return and grows the tax base for the host jurisdiction. In our case, it also opens the door to keep expanding and innovating in that market.
For businesses with an anchor presence, there can be a groundswell effect, too. Think of a Starbucks or a Whole Foods coming to town. We've found as a campus revitalizes the surrounding region, it attracts local businesses that want to be close by. More local jobs and tax revenue follow.
In fact, the economic spinoff from our sector is huge. For each direct job in the U.S., data centers support more than six others. Much of that work is in places like Virginia, where data centers' total employment impact grew 32% from 2017-21, to some 86,000 jobs.
A halo effect with customers is another benefit. Many of our clients are socially conscious, and they want to know we're going the extra mile by doing good in the community. They're not alone: Almost eight of out 10 consumers prefer to purchase from companies that aim to make the world a better place.
At first glance, it might seem like being a good neighbor has no immediate impact on a company's balance sheet. But failing to respect and listen to the local community will cost a business time, money, employees, or customers, versus driving value by investing in things that lay the foundation for long-term success.
Ultimately, everyone wants to feel good about where they work. But the real payoff for being a good neighbor? Building a business that will live as long as those trees we're planting.
