PUBLISHED 11/2021
BLOG - B CORP: HOW TO USE YOUR BUSINESS AS A FORCE FOR GOOD?
“The journey towards our sustainable future is not a simple one. We need to take this path together and utilize the power of collaboration and collective action to create a positive impact.”
On November 24-25, B Lab Europe hosted the 2021 European B Corp Summit that brought together the community of the European B Corps. The essence of this gathering was the ‘Power of Collective Action’. This two-day event explored and discussed systems change, climate action, constant improvement and the potential of an ever-evolving community of B Corps.
The pragmatic discussions within this event put forth the need for new ecosystems and lifestyles that can give rise to new opportunities and are the way forward for a sustainable future. The companies need to include holistic strategies system change towards climate action, including partnerships, coalitions, institutional collaboration, and a network of communities.
What is a B Corp?
Our current economic model fails to solve the social and environmental crisis. The time has come where companies have to lead and create an impact towards the ‘triple bottom line’ to be a force for good. B Corp has emerged as a solution to the need for a new organizational form for businesses that incorporates measurable impact on people, planet, profit and purpose and holds it to its highest standard.
B Corp or B Corporation are certified businesses that have been assessed by the highest standards of verifiable social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. The B Corp certification focuses on a holistic set of five impacts: Governance, Community, Workers, Environment and Customers.
There are over 4276 B Corporations in 77 countries spanning over 153 industries, and over 140 B Corp companies are in France itself. The B Corp. community is on the frontline to drive the change of our global economy.
As a part of this community are some of the biggest corporations such as Natura & Co, Ben & Jerry’s, Body Shop or Patagonia, but also powerful SMEs such as O MY Bag or Mondora, amongst many others, have also joined the movement to play a role in transforming the economy.
Why B Corp?
Becoming a B Corp is part of the solution for business. B Corp Certification can give companies a competitive advantage and be perceived as favourable by consumers and investors.
Patagonia was one of the early birds to get certified as a B Corp in 2012, being the first enterprise in California to sign up for B certification. Patagonia’s core values make them a leading company committed to social responsibility principles. The company reaping around $1 billion in annual revenue, has been a business success while consistently providing for the needs of customers, the environment and society. While it is popular and trusted amongst customers due to its core values and actions, it is also been ranked by Fortune in 2019 as the No. 100 on its annual list of the Best Companies to Work For due to their inclusive and equitable workplace initiatives.
In a time when many companies are accused of ‘greenwashing’, B Corp certification holds the highest standards towards assessing the commitments, impact and transparency of these companies. B Corporations are greatly benefiting the small and medium-size enterprises in fulfilling their values to actions.
Mondora, a software and advisory company, aims to create benefit for all stakeholders by designing and building software solutions that maximize positive impact. In 2021, Mondora was listed among the top 5% of over 4,000 B Corps in the category of Governance.
Key Steps to Becoming a B Corp
The objective is to make the right decisions for everyone, everywhere, every day toward a positive impact. B Corp certification shows the commitment a company has to be a force for good. Any for-profit company which has at least one year of operations can apply for the B Corp Certification. The B Corp certification is not sector-specific and doesn’t focus on the product or service offered; instead, it focuses on how the business runs, how the employees are treated, and how it impacts the environment and the community.
To be certified by B Lab, businesses must achieve a minimum score across various sectors, including environmental, social and legal standards and transparency and accountability parameters. The certification process is mainly divided into three stages: Assessment, Legal and Verification.
The certification process
The process starts with a self-assessment platform called the B Impact Assessment (BIA). On this free, confidential platform, companies can measure and manage their positive impact on their workers, community, customers and environment. The questionnaire may require additional transparency requirements or, in some cases, require correction before being eligible for certification. The feedback from this assessment helps the company create an improvement plan with free resources and a custom improvement report from this platform.
Certified B Corporations are legally required to evaluate the impact of their decisions on all their stakeholders. B Lab allows medium to large companies to change their corporate structures or by-laws to complete the legal requirement after the certification.
After the assessment, the companies can submit the assessment for the review process; afterwards, companies must undergo a multi-step verification process to see if they meet the 80-point bar for the certification. Companies also have to provide documents to support verification before the Assessment Review takes place. If the company scores 80 points or above after the verification process, then the company get certified as a B Corp and be part of the paradigm-changing B Corp community.
Conclusion
This is not the end of the journey; businesses need to uphold their level of commitment and continue investing in the business of tomorrow.
@Goodness & Co, we are here to support businesses in their sustainability journey and help them cross the bridge from impactful values to impactful actions, which can include becoming a B Corporation.
