Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a huge part of our team’s core philosophy. Our President and co-founder, Misti Jeter, is passionate about giving back and benefitting our local community, and she sets the standard here at Interceptor by BlackPearl for the whole team to get involved and contribute to our communities and the lives of those around us.
As a breast cancer survivor, Jeter has experienced hardship and come out on the other side with a determination to help others. Through her leadership, our team has focused on benefiting local and national organizations benefiting cancer and heart disease research, women’s health, and more. Jeter really sets the tone for our business, encouraging us to consider how we can use our time and resources to benefit those around us. We’re proud to say that this is an integral part of our company and what makes our team great. Whether it’s creating next-generation modular solutions or finding new ways to benefit a local organization, our team is constantly looking for ways to innovate and lead.
So you might be wondering, what does it have to do with tech, and why are we so passionate about discussing its impact? Let’s dive in.
What exactly is corporate social responsibility?
Corporate social responsibility is a business model that helps companies stay accountable to themselves, their stakeholders, and the people they serve (and, sometimes, the world at large). It’s a commitment to recognizing how what we do and the decisions we make impact the world around us—and taking accountability for it. Companies that are conscious of this impact usually make business decisions that don’t just benefit their company, but the public as well.
For many, a big focus and reason behind CSR is a need to benefit society and contribute positively instead of negatively (which can also be called corporate citizenship). Through these efforts, businesses can benefit the world around them while boosting their brand and attracting more customers.
Your efforts can look like a variety of things—whether that’s investing in energy solutions to combat climate change, addressing issues around diversity and inclusion in your industry, or learning how to better govern your resources. Here are just a few ways the Interceptor team brings this value into our business model.
The Interceptor is designed and manufactured in North America
One major way we’ve taken measures to bolster our environmental responsibility is by designing and manufacturing our product line in North America. Circumventing the supply chain crisis of the last few years might be reason enough for a business to look into local manufacturing solutions, but for our team, the value was intertwined with the core of our business model. How can we craft next-generation solutions while contributing positively to the world around us? Stop relying on time-consuming, cheap manufacturing and give our customers the quality they want while aligning with our core CSR values.
This way, we don’t have to spend tons of energy resources on overseas shipping costs. Our automated system alerts us when our manufacturer’s stock levels are low, so we can make purchases automatically, meaning our customers never have to wait or go without the products they need. And the high quality of our manufacturing facilities, combined with our robust design style, means Interceptor products won’t break and need to be replaced as often—which ultimately reduces tech waste, and helps our customers and the environment as a whole.
CSR helps our customers understand our values
We’re aware that there is a lot of waste associated with our industry. But when businesses partner with us for their modular solutions needs, they know that they are making a tech investment that won’t contribute as much to the fuel, water, and tech waste that is so prevalent with technology manufacturing.
When we set out to design our suite of products, we knew that our global responsibility would be a part of every aspect of the process. Some companies are more reliant on outsourcing, meaning they have less control over how their products are made, or they simply opt for cheaper designs that get replaced more often. We knew that we wanted to take a different path. Every element of our ideation process accounts for how our solutions can help our customers without harming our world.
Our first step was our core product—the Interceptor. We realized that a smaller, cleaner, and more compact design would benefit our customers while also reducing manufacturing effort and materials. The Interceptor itself is only ⅓ the size of a business card, and when the entire product line is put together, it’s still only the size of the average mobile smartphone.
We’re also working to craft lower-powered solutions that let your operations run on less power for longer. Streamlining our design and development and crafting lower-energy solutions were simply no-brainers when it came to reducing our overall footprint and the footprints of our customers.
Our CSR goes beyond products
While our products are carefully designed, developed, and manufactured in alignment with our CSR principles, our commitments go beyond our products. CSR plays a part in how we run our business. Our team spends time volunteering and giving back to our local community.
Through Jeter’s efforts and as a whole, we’ve contributed financially and through our volunteer efforts to organizations like the Montgomery County Food Bank, the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association of Texas, St. Jude’s Children's Hospital, and more. Jeter herself sits on the board for multiple charitable organizations and spends much of her free time volunteering. If you want to contribute to the community in a tangible way, join us at one of our next events!
Want to join us at our next event?
Check out what we have coming up in 2023!
- Annual Women Empowering Women Luncheon — January 26
- AHA Montgomery County Heart Ball — February 25
- CASA Speaks for Kids Gala — March 4
- AHA Go Red for Women Luncheon — May
