My wife inscribed this quote on a plaque for me as a gift. The profundity, yet the simplicity, of the message hits home for me. It also puts into perspective my priorities in life. We all have our fears and blinders. Sometimes we may get swayed by things that are short-sighted, but don’t really matter in the grand scheme of things. It is with this intent that we founded our business, and it is this perspective that we strive to achieve every single day.
Fear – Together with my business partner, Ken Waddell, we founded PULP SHRED in 2018, during one of the worst the economic downturns in recent times in Calgary. A year into our operations, we witnessed a global pandemic that lasted for over two years. Covid-19 has had, and the post-Covid period continues to have, a drastic impact on businesses and individuals. If anything, these past years and uncertainties have taught us to be even more resilient and creative with our limited resources.
What Matters – As a for-profit business, obviously, profitability matters. However, there’s more to life and business than just profits. Our business model is based on the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) philosophy – value services (profits), greener processes (planet), and social contributions (people). All three are an intrinsic part of our company DNA and value proposition. I’m blessed to work with some amazing people who are hardworking, understand the value of great customer service, and are dedicated to our greener vision.
Success – Pulp Shred is a multi-award-winning small business with the environment and the community at heart, raising thousands of dollars for local charities through Community Shred Events. To date, in partnership with our customers, we have successfully processed and recycled over 1000 Tonnes of shredded paper, cardboard, electronics, and organics saving over 17,000 mature trees from getting cut, freeing over 3,800 cubic yards of landfill space, and 4,300 CO2e. It gives me immense satisfaction that in our own little way, we are contributing towards the sustainability of our beautiful city.
PULP SHRED is an innovative company providing security, destruction, and recycling of our customers most confidential data, documents, products and assets. People’s privacy, secure processes, and tight chain of custody are foundational aspects of our business. We bring a new way of meeting customers’ privacy requirements without compromising the environment.
To achieve our greener vision, we’ve developed a proprietary video verification software. This unique, made in Calgary, technology provides customers the ability to remotely view their shredding process without harming the environment. Combined with our inhouse barcode asset management, tracking, and reporting system, we ensure tight chain of custody providing tracking, date & time stamping at every touchpoint.
Being innovative is not always about the next big shiny idea or tech. It is about the mindset – of continuous improvement and growth. Not all will go as planned and one must be prepared for setbacks. These are the learning moments and it’s the process that matters. Our continuous drive to improve and better ourselves and our services & products is what keeps us going.
As the greener alternative for confidential data destruction, we challenge the environmentally destructive mobile shredding truck business model. Bring it on!
