Business Plan of the Rebuild Hub: Innovating for a Triple Bottom Line

The objective of this thesis study is to develop a business plan to establish a social enterprise for a client organization, the Pacific Community Resources Society (PCRS). This local, non-profit organization provides community resources and job training programs for individuals who are often vulnerable or marginalized from communities in the Lower Mainland.The City of Vancouver and PCRS are currently collaborating on a joint project to advance the local deconstruction and the reclaimed building material industries. The joint venture aims to fulfil a dual mission: a) to divert construction/demolition waste from landfills by promoting building material reuse and recycling, and b) to provide green job training and employment opportunities to youth with barriers to employment. The former mission directly addresses City of Vancouver’s key priorities of becoming the greenest city in the world by 2020 and fostering a green economy. The latter underscores PCRS’ core commitment to providing employment and life skill training for underemployed youth at the inner city.The goal of this thesis study is to design a business plan to create a social enterprise that will fulfil the partnership’s dual mission. The needs of the client organization and their partners were assessed and a strategic analysis of the local deconstruction and used building material retail industries was conducted. After evaluating strategic options, this thesis study proposed to develop a business plan to establish a multi-centre retail operation named The ReBuild Hub. This operation will include: a) a retail centre to sell salvaged building material; b) a deconstruction centre to offer deconstruction services, and c) a training unit that will train “at risk” youth hand-on skills in the construction and trade industry using the 2 operation units as training sites. Collectively, these three units will be positioned to advance the mission of the partnership and to achieve a triple bottom line profit.