All public servants walk a fine line between maximizing operational revenue and maximizing the value to residents and constituents. That can be a difficult balance to strike in the best of times. When resources are low and the demand on general funds is high, it can feel impossible.
That’s where we work most effectively on your behalf. We help uncover opportunities to decrease the pressures on general funds and increase the revenue needed to ensure the quality of life and business for those in your community.
Developing smart solutions
At NBS, we believe it is essential to take part in improving our communities, and consider it a privilege to help improve the lives of others. With this program, we hope to make a difference and give back to our communities and build a better tomorrow.
As a company, we hope to inspire our employee-owners to embrace our CSR philosophy. We encourage our employee-owners to speak up about causes that are important to them so NBS can join them in supporting those endeavors and expand our community impact.
Our company’s approach to social responsibility is to proactively partake in initiatives throughout the year and make a positive impact in our communities.
Corporate Social Responsibility Program
There are four components that define our CSR plan:
- Philanthropy
- Volunteerism
- Environmental Efforts
- Diversity and Ethical Business Practices
By operating ethically and responsibly overall as a business and treating employees fairly and honorably, companies can demonstrate their social responsibility. At NBS, we strive to recruit and retain a qualified and diverse workforce, compensate our employee-owners well, and ensure our labor practices are fair, just, and inclusive.
In terms of philanthropy and volunteerism, we donate at least one percent (1%) of pretax profit to deserving organizations. We also volunteer our time and effort to deserving causes. All staff receive paid time off to volunteer for efforts of their choosing. In addition, each year collective decisions are made to sponsor various efforts, such as food drives as well as walk-a-thons.
Our Commitment to CSR
Giving Back
We give back to the local government community by committing a significant amount of time and resources to educate local communities, trade groups, the League of California Cities, the California Society of Municipal Finance Officers, the Association of California Water Agencies, and other relevant organizations on topics of public finances, revenues and related items. Our team members regularly participate in such educational seminars as well as publish articles and papers of interest for the public, local government staff, and elected community leaders.
We also are committed to being good stewards of the environment particularly in our use of resources. We know that minimizing our environmental footprint, being “green,” is good for our planet and our community. We work every day to reduce our impact on the environment, whether by increasing our recycling programs and use of recycled products or reducing travel and offsetting our carbon emissions. NBS first adopted an Environmental Policy Statement in 2006 and has revised it over the years. Our San Francisco office has been certified since October 2007 by the City and County of San Francisco as part of the Association of Bay Area Governments’ (ABAG) “Green Business Program.”
A sampling of initiatives that NBS supports include:
NBS donates to The Nature Conservancy “PLANT A BILLION TREES” campaign, planting a tree in honor of each one of our employee-owners. Environmental efforts are an important initiative in our CSR program and by planting trees and helping forests regrow where they have been severely degraded, we’re helping to ensure clean water, air, diverse species, and full, healthy forests for future generations.
NBS hosts a fundraiser campaign for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital matching dollar per dollar for each employee donation.
NBS hosts an online event via Charity Miles sponsoring miles to donate and support a charity for this program. Together we can change lives—one mile at a time. This year’s charity is the Walk to End Alzheimer’s.
CMOH operates a food pantry that serves hundreds of families in the Temecula Valley every month. NBS supports employee donations of food goods for this program and matches all contributions.
SF Parks Alliance endeavors to make better public spaces in every neighborhood across San Francisco. NBS contributes to this organization annually and our own Tim Seufert serves on the Board, satisfying his support of – and love for – the great outdoors.
Carbonfund.org recognizes NBS as a partner in Carbon Emission Reduction Programs!
NBS is 100% employee-owned!
To better achieve our overall company goal of helping communities fund tomorrow, some years ago NBS became an ESOP company, via an Employee Stock Ownership Plan.
All NBS team members become employee-owners after an initial vesting period. Empirical research has shown that ESOP companies perform better for their clients and employee-owners and provide improved benefits to staff and their families.
NBS underwent a thorough process to ensure our ESOP meets the high standards of broad-based employee ownership, and became a member of Certified Employee-Owned.
Once upon a time, there were three legendary California civic-minded engineers, with last names of Neste (Norman), Brudin (John), and Stone (Raymond). They formed a company, and creatively named it NBS. There was also a group of registered California engineers with a firm called Lowry & Associates. These firms eventually joined hands and became NBS/Lowry, a well-respected engineering firm based in the Inland Empire area of Southern California. Ultimately, the core civil engineers went their separate ways, but the moniker of NBS lived on, with a new mission of helping communities fund tomorrow. Much of the work done today at NBS has some roots in civil engineering and local government management, hence the name carries on. [It was suggested that NBS stands for No Better Service, but that is just an urban myth.]
What does NBS stand for?
Collection System Superintendent at City of Palmdale
I'm confident the city has made the correct choice with NBS moving forward. I have to add, the level of service we have received from the NBS team in just the last several months has completely outclassed the service I had previously experienced in this position.
Finance Director at City of Winter Springs, FL
It's been great to leave all the details at the doorstep of NBS and know that their comprehensive and competent approach will result in a well-vetted deliverable.