Most organizations are built on a clear set of values. The challenge is sustaining them. As operations grow and priorities compete, these values can quickly become static statements rather than active decision-making tools. The real work is ensuring they remain embedded in how the organization operates every day.
That’s where a framework helps. The Benefit Corporation for Good (BCFG) designation doesn’t just ask companies to declare their values. It tests them. Every year, an outside auditor measures the organization against its own commitments across eight standards and a 60-question assessment that examines how decisions get made, how people are treated and what impact the organization is having on the communities around it.
Richie Turley, Director at FireWise Consulting & Learning Academy, appreciated this distinction from the start: “A lot of companies say they’re values-driven,” he says. “BCFG is one of the few frameworks that actually tests it.”
Why the Outside Check Matters
The fire service understands the value of an outside check. Inspectors document. Investigators reconstruct. After-action reviews test assumptions against evidence.
The BCFG annual audit creates a moment every year where the question isn’t “do we believe in our values?” but “did we actually live them?” Those are different questions. The second one is harder to answer comfortably, which is exactly why it matters.
For Richie, that external accountability is personal. “It puts our values on paper and gives me something real to point to when I tell my family this is the kind of business I want to build.” Most business owners think about legacy eventually. The outside check just makes sure you don’t wait too long to start working toward it.
What Our 2026 Score Shows
FireWise has held the BCFG designation since 2021. Our 2026 assessment came back with a comprehensive score of 97%.
FireWise Consulting’s 2026 BCFG certification scores across all eight standards
We scored 100% in four standards: community, environmental, strategy and balance. Customer came in at 98%, leadership at 97% and values at 95%.
Diversity was our lowest score at 89%. We could leave that number out of a post like this, but that would miss the point of the whole exercise. An outside audit exists to show you where the gaps are, and this one gave us a specific place to focus before next year’s assessment.
Tom Hering, co-founder of BCFG sees that kind of transparency as the real value of the designation. “Trust has become a business requirement,” he says. “Customers and employees want clarity about what companies stand up for. BCFG helps organizations move from good intentions to real accountability.”
Purpose and Profit Working Together
BCFG reflects an idea Tom explores in Putting Soul Into Business: purpose and profit reinforce each other. Financial sustainability allows a business to keep serving its people and community.
As Richie says: “Profit is how we keep going. Community safety is what we’re here to do. BCFG keeps those two from drifting apart.”
Tom describes values as a practical guide to decisions: “Does this build trust? Strengthen our team and community? Support long-term growth?” he says. “When those questions guide everyday choices, financial sustainability becomes stronger, not weaker.”
In the fire service training world, that balance shows up constantly. FireWise’s clients are fire chiefs, inspectors, investigators and training officers, along with the housing providers, property managers, CAOs and municipalities who share responsibility for fire safety. Serving them well isn’t a soft goal. It requires credibility, quality and commitment to the work. Success goes beyond completed contracts to safer crews, better-equipped departments and confident professionals.
The People Who Bring Our Principles to Life
Our commitment comes to life through Julie, Vraya, Tom and Nadine, alongside our subject matter experts, associates and technical support advisors. Their care, expertise and everyday decisions shape how we support one another, serve clients and contribute to the community.
The assessment helps connect that work to shared principles. As Tom Hering observes: “The biggest shifts are internal,” he says. “Decision-making becomes clearer, teams feel more connected to their work and departments become more aligned.”
Julie Turley, Business Manager at FireWise, sees that connection in how we operate: “Caring for our people, the communities we serve, and the impact we have on the planet is built into how we operate,” she says. “I appreciate knowing that I work for a company that truly shares those values.”
It also shows up in small, practical choices. Julie explains: “When we plan in-person events, we think more intentionally about minimizing our impact. Whether that’s bringing reusable water bottles, carpooling, or using less paper.” For Julie, the designation also carries personal weight. People spend a significant portion of their lives at work, and whether the organization they work for reflects what they genuinely care about is not a trivial question. Knowing those values hold up under an outside audit gives her a clear answer.
Giving Back Together
Our commitment extends beyond training and consulting.
A few members of the FireWise team spending the day at the Central Okanagan Food Bank
Recently, our team spent a day volunteering at the Central Okanagan Food Bank. It was a chance to contribute locally and spend meaningful time together.
We’ve also participated in Movember for several years, raising more than $8,000 last year for men’s health research. Alongside these efforts, we invest in fire service education and leadership development beyond our courses and consulting contracts.
Giving back reflects our appreciation for the industry and communities that have supported us. BCFG helps us stay committed and accountable.
A Commitment That Fits the Fire Service
“Fire and life safety organizations already operate from a mission of service,” Hering says. “The BCFG framework simply helps make those values visible across the entire business. It turns mission into culture.”
The professionals we serve know that culture shapes communication, learning and safety. Bringing that same accountability to our business is a natural extension of our work.
BCFG keeps us measuring our progress, examining our decisions and being honest about where we stand. Hering describes the long-term goal as helping to “make purpose and profitability a normal expectation of business, not an exception.”
For FireWise, that means building a business our team, clients and communities can rely on for the long haul.
Learn more about our Benefit Corporation for Good status and read our 2026 annual report for more information.
