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A Supplement to
2 Down, 48 To Go
It’s OK to Love a Bank
How Do You Get a Tax Break?
Big and Thinking Bigger
Race to the Top
Recognize the Power of Collaboration
Benefit Corp Legislation Moves Across the Country
First, Show You’re Worth It
How Benchmarking Performance Leads
to Continuous Improvement
Sunrise Community Banks and New Resource Bank
Michigan’s Cascade Engineering
Guayaki, Numi and Traditional Medicinals
2011
If Not Now,
When?
The Case for B Corp
2011 B Corporation Annual Report
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The Nature of our
CORPORATE DNA
Leadership has always been in our DNA.
For the past century, Wendel Rosen has been a pioneer
in hiring practices, sustainability and social responsibility.
In 2003, we became the first law firm in the country to be
certified as a green business.
In 2010, we became a certified B Corp to promote a
whole new way of doing business, one that seeks to
enrich the world around us, rather than merely enriching
the bottom line.
We don’t shy away from being leaders; it’s just in our
nature. From being founding members of green industry
trade organizations, to educating companies on climate
change regulations, to helping clients find opportunities
in emerging sustainable marketplaces, Wendel Rosen is
setting the pace for leadership in the legal industry.
Proud to be a Certified B Corporation.
wendel.com
Table of Contents
Building a
New Sector
of the Economy
4
Table of Contents:
27 Building Healthy Ecosystems
NSU and Equilibrium Bring New Meaning to
Ecosystem Finance
5
Letter from B Lab Leadership Team
6-7 B Lab Progress Summary
10-13
14-17
16-19
30 Gaining Cooperative Advantage
Guayaki, Numi and Traditional Medicinals Recognize
the Power of Collaboration
If Not Now, When?
The Case for B Corp
2 Down, 48 To Go
32-34
Better Companies make Better Products
36-37
B Corp Index
The Road to a New Economy
20 A Little Love
Philadelphia Creates First B Corp Tax Break
22-24
28 It’s OK to Love a Bank
Race to the Top
How Benchmarking Performance Leads to
Continuous Improvement
26 Old School Leader of the New Economy
Cascade Engineering is Big and Thinks Bigger
B Corp Ad Campaign Resonates with 17 Million
38 Profiles of Impact
38 39
40
42 43
44
45
Environmental Impact | Re:Vision Architecture
Employee Impact | The Redwoods Group
Environmental Impact | Sungevity
Community Impact | hessnatur Community Impact | TS Designs
Consumer Impact | Emerge
Consumer Impact | Freelancers Insurance Company
46 Declaration of Interdependence
Letter
From B Lab Leadership
For the first time, things are firing on all cylinders.
B Lab’s vision is to build a new sector of the economy that uses the power of business to solve social and
environmental problems. We do that through three interrelated efforts, and right now all three have
significant momentum.
The foundation of our work is growing the community of Certified B Corporations. B Lab certified 75
percent more B Corps in 2010 than in 2009, and the average size of company is increasing. Leaders
in large-scale sustainable manufacturing (Cascade Engineering p 26), regional sustainable ag (Farmers
Diner), and social enterprise (Freelancers Insurance Company p 45) have joined our movement to create
a better way to do business.
And, with the help of B Corp media partners—Ogden Publications, Care2.com, and Sustainable Industries—
we’re now in the middle of a national ad campaign that reaches 17 million values-driven consumers and
business leaders (check it out on p 32). And thanks to B Corp BBMG, we know the campaign resonates
with consumers; more than 90 percent say they’ll look out for the featured B Corps the next time they go
shopping—or at least that they want to learn more about them.
There were no balloons falling from the ceiling, but in 2010 we saved B Corps more than $1,000,000 through
the heavy discounts they received as a result of their certification from folks like Salesforce, NetSuite and Intuit.
That is all exciting, but here’s what’s inspiring.
The community of B Corps has become a potent constituency for game-changing legislation that creates
new rules for a new economy.
After the latest round of economic and environmental crises, it’s clear we need systemic solutions to the systemic
problem that places the interests of shareholders over the interests of workers, community and the environment.
In 2010, Benefit Corp legislation passed in Maryland and Vermont creating a new corporate form which
redefines fiduciary duty, and holds companies accountable to create a material positive impact on society
and the environment as measured by an independent, transparent third party standard.
11 companies registered as Maryland Benefit Corps on the legislation’s first effective date! And now nine
states are moving forward with legislation for 2011 (find out which on p 14). As you’ll read on p 16-17,
economists, attorneys, policy makers, and business leaders agree that Benefit Corp legislation is a needed
and powerful tool for entrepreneurs and investors to build the businesses of a new, more sustainable and
inclusive economy.
Of course, this new economy needs capital to grow. Flip over this B Corp Annual Report and learn about B
Lab’s efforts to help scale what JP Morgan calls the emerging asset class of impact investing. We can’t build
an asset class called impact investing without credible, comparable metrics on impact.
Thanks to everyone whose hard work and leadership has generated all this momentum. We are looking
forward to the many breathless and exciting days ahead.
Be the change,
Jay, Bart, Andrew and the team at B Lab
5
B Lab Progress Summary
Moving Forward
Progress
Summary
Gaining Momentum
6
Certifications are up more than 75
percent in 2010 vs. 2009, bringing
us to 370 B Corps from more than 60
industries. Meet some on p 38-45.
Making CFOs Happy
+75%
Resonating with Consumers
B Corps are saving more than
$1 million dollars per year
through heavy discounts on
services such as Salesforce.com
CRM platforms, NetSuite ERP
software and Intuit Quickbook
licenses. Read more on p 11.
Generating Press
B Corps have been featured in more than 70 articles and countless
blogs by diverse media outlets.
B Corp Ad Campaign
llion
Resonates with 17 Mi
More than 90 percent of consumers tested say they’ll consider
purchasing from B Corps featured in the B Corp ad campaign,
or at least want to learn more about them. The campaign runs
through 2011 and reaches 17 million values-driven consumers. The
headline: “Better Companies Make Better Products. B Corps are
Better Companies.” Read more on p 32.
B Lab Progress Summary
Moving Forward
Driving Capital to Impact
Passing Legislation
Benefiting the world’s
most pioneering social
entrepreneurs
Maryland and Vermont passed Benefit Corporation legislation
with broad bipartisan support in spring 2010. Nine other states
are moving forward in 2011. The City of Philadelphia passed
legislation creating the country’s first B Corp tax break. Read
more on pg 16-20.
Number of Certified
B Corporations
+75%
increase from
250
+63%
increase from
’09-’10
2000
212
1,913
1500
150
994
125
1000
100
year
3,114
3000
2500
’09-’10
200
7
Number of Businesses Using
the B Impact Rating System
370
300
The GIIRS Pioneers—25 leading funds with assets of $1.2
billion—agreed to have their 200 portfolio companies across
30 countries in North America and emerging markets get
GIIRS-rated with B Lab’s new GIIRS impact rating system.
USAID, Prudential Investments, Deloitte, and Rockefeller
fund B Lab to accelerate development and adoption of GIIRS.
Flip this report over to get full coverage.
2008
2009
2010
year
2008
2009
2010
Brian Back
On the Business Side:
Founder & President
[email protected]
Amy Hillman
Business Team Director, Portland
[email protected]
On the Editorial Side:
Christina Weber
Senior Account Executive, Bay Area
[email protected]
Todd Woody, Editor
[email protected]
Celeste LeCompte, Managing Editor
Brandon Madsen
Account Executive, Puget Sound
[email protected]
Katie Kerr, Contributing Editor
Lindsay Clinton, Contributing Editor
ISSP is the premier global professional
association supporting sustainability practitioners.
Jerrod Modica, Design Editor
Contributors:
Lindsay Clinton, Jay Coen Gilbert, Eileen Garvin, Jodie van Horn, Katie Kerr,
Celeste LeCompte, Beth Richardson, Craig Rubens
Illustrations by Tim Gough (www.timgough.org)
Creative Direction + Design
T2AP Creative Team (www.t2ap.com)
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Reprints
8
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A Supplement to
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LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT 101
A SIMULATED APPROACH
June 2011 - Tuesdays 1:00pm PT
> Learn the steps involved to
complete a simple life cycle
assessment in a business simulation.
PRACTICAL TOOLS AND
METHODS FOR CHANGE
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May 2011 - Mondays 12:00pm PT
> Learn sustainability techniques
and change processes to help you
learn when and how to apply them
successfully.
CONFERENCE
September 21 - 23, 2011 |
Portland, Oregon
> ISSP’s first annual summit focusing
on transforming sustainability into
standard practice.
JOIN NOW!
As a member of ISSP, gain access to the most up-todate information and resources in the field. Become a
member today! Build your skills and knowledge! Bring
your organization forward! Make a difference!
ISSP is a non-profit, member-driven
organization co-founded by
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Certified B Corporation.
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Someday everyone
will bank like this.
New Resource is the bank for people who are leading the way to a more sustainable world.
We’re proud to support innovative sustainable ventures with resourceful bankers who know what
mission-driven businesses need to succeed.
E-mail [email protected] to find out how we can help.
www.newresourcebank.com
If Not Now,
When?
The Case for B Corp
10
“[B Corps] might turn out to be like civil rights for blacks or
voting rights for women — eccentric, unpopular ideas that
took hold and changed the world.” –Esquire Magazine
If Not Now, When?
The Case for B Corp
There are many reasons businesses pursue B Corp certification,
including some you may not expect.
Making CFOs happy
For many of the more than 370 certified companies, the decision
is about more than improving their image—it’s about improving
their bottom line. In 2010, the community of B Corporations
collectively saved over $1 million by tapping more than 40 B Corp
service partnerships. The best part is that these savings recur annually.
Participating partners include Salesforce.com, Intuit, NetSuite,
CSRWire, law firms, web design consultancies, and more. The benefits
can really add up. Rally Software, Betterworld Books, iContact each
save over $100,000 per year.
Investors are interested
“We raised capital and our lead investor was also a Certified B Corporation,”
David Murphy, CEO of Better World Books, says. The B Corp connection
meant “access to capital from mission-aligned investors.”
Even for investors outside the B Corp community, companies that earn a
high score on the B Impact Rating System have proven attractive.
“The B Score crystallizes the conversation and gives investors a sense of what we
are up to,” explains Tod Murphy, founder of sustainable ag icon the Farmers
Diner in Vermont. In the company’s latest fundraising round to finance
growth to new markets, several investors specifically asked for the results
of the Diner’s B Corp Impact Assessment as part of their due diligence.
Farmers Diner is now in the process of closing $1.5 million in funding, with the
participation from investors who reviewed his B Corp certification.
This is not an isolated example. Email marketing firm iContact was a
month away from closing a $40 million Series B venture capital round
when it received its B certification in June 2010.
“JMI, our investor, saw iContact’s focus on social and environmental
responsibility as a point of differentiation with our competitors and a
driver of long-term growth,” says iContact Founder and CEO Ryan Allis.
B Corp certification provides an impartial, third-party verification that
investors seek when assessing a company.
top 5 reasons to become a Certified B Corp
1
Increase Profits
2
Attract Investors
3
Generate Press
4
Preserve Mission
5
Build a Movement
BetterWorld Books, Rally Software, and iContact each save more than
$100,000 dollars annually as a direct result of their certification
Three investors from Keiretsu Forum (the world’s largest angel
network) asked the Farmers Diner for its B Score before investing
in a $1.5 million round to fund growth.
BikeStation, DripTech, Eleek, Fair Trade Sports, the Redwoods
Group, Source44 and Sustainable Harvest were all recognized as
America’s Most Promising Social Entrepreneurs by BusinessWeek.
Rubicon Programs required B Corp certification for the spin-off of
its iconic for-profit social enterprise, Rubicon Bakery.
The B Corp community has been an effective political constituency
for Benefit Corp Legislation in eleven states, and a driving force
behind the emergence of impact investing as an asset class.
11
If Not Now, When?
The Case for B Corp
Attracting talent, customers and partners
the time is now
One thing that investors and CFOs both appreciate about the B Corp approach
to doing business is its impact on employee satisfaction and retention.
For the first time, the business and leadership case for B Corp certification
are coming together at the same time. As a result, B Lab certified 75
percent more B Corps in 2010 than in 2009.
“Our B Corp status has paid dividends for us, specifically in the areas
of maintaining mission, generating leads and attracting talent,” says Rob
Altieri, founding partner at One Village Coffee in Pennsylvania.
“We found our customer service manager through the B Corp Jobs
Board, and because of her unique combination of talents—her interest in
sustainable business and her background in international food systems—
we have seen our customer retention and satisfaction markedly improve,”
Altieri says. Happy employees beget happy customers.
12
B2B B Corps have had similar experiences. “Two of the drivers of our
business are partners and resellers who help market and sell the iContact
product through their networks,” says Allis. “Since we got certified, we
have received numerous calls from partners who want to work with us
because we are a more responsible company. Over time, we believe B
Corp certification has the potential to serve as a real differentiator with
our competitors.”
The power of collective action
For many, though, being a B Corp is about more than simply improving
the individual company’s bottom line. “We’re making a big difference
with our business, and we’re out to change the world—but no one
company is going to do that alone,” Better World Books’ Murphy says.
“Rather, it’s the whole movement of social enterprise taking root and
sweeping the globe that will create broad and meaningful change.”
Collectively, B Corps represent a potent political constituency. In 2010, B
Lab and the community of Certified B Corporations joined forces to pass
legislation in Maryland and Vermont to create a new class of businesses
known as “Benefit Corporations,” which have a legal responsibility to
work for the good of stakeholders, as well as for the profit of shareholders.
Nine other states are drafting legislation in 2011, thanks to the combined
power of B Corps across the country (see article see p 14).
Becoming recognizable as a community of businesses adhering to rigorous,
transparent, independent standards allows policy makers and consumers to
support B Corps more easily. They can separate the authentic businesses from
the ‘me-too’ claims of every company that says they’re green, responsible, or
sustainable. This is why the Philadelphia City Council approved the first
tax break in the country for certified sustainable businesses (see article
see p 20) and why consumers resonate so strongly with the new B Corp
national ad campaign (see p 32).
2011B Corporation Annual Report
And there’s plenty of room to grow. Nearly 6,000 companies are
using the B Impact Assessment for benchmarking their social and
environmental progress (see p 36), even before becoming Certified
B Corporations. As they see improvement in their B Score—and
their bottom line—more and more businesses are poised to become
full members of the B Corp community and lend their voice to its
leadership.
Benefit Corp Legislation Has Gained
Significant Momentum
• MD and VT passed Benefit Corp legislation this Spring.
• Nine other states are moving forward.
The First B Corp Brand Campaign
Has Launched
• 17 million passionate, conscious consumers will be reached
through partnerships with Ogden Publications, Care2.com and
Sustainable Industries.
Media Attention Is Accelerating
• Media interest is increasing, with coverage by outlets including
Forbes, BusinessWeek and CNN.
New Tools Are Driving Investment
• GIIRS, the first ratings agency of the social and environmental
performance of enterprises seeking investment capital, will drive
mission-aligned investment into the community.
It’s Always the Time to Save
• 40+ service partnerships create $1,000,000 in annual hard cost
savings for B Corps.
If Not Now, When?
The Case for B Corp
Help us recruit B Corporations
in these states!
Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Indiana, Mississippi,
Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire,
North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah,
West Virginia, Wyoming
13
“In this competitive market, being a B Corp
helps to distinguish us from the rest of the pack.”
“We’re making a big difference with our company,
but no one company is going to change the world alone.”
–David Murphy, Better World Books
–Andy Shallal, Busboys and Poets
“We are living in a world where authenticity and
transparency will become a necessity for business.
B Corp certification ensure that.”
–Kyle Berner, FeelGoodz
“We got one of our best clients because we are a B Corp.
Mission Markets was about to sign a check to another web
development company, but when they heard we were a B
Corp, they decided that they had to hire us instead.”
–Elissa Miller, Singlebrook Technology
The Road to a
New Economy
B Corps are certified by B Lab to meet rigorous
independent, and transparent social and environmental
performance standards.
B Corp certification is to sustainable business what LEED
certification is to green buildings or Fair Trade certification
is to coffee.
There are 370 Certified B Corps from 60 industries.
Benefit Corporations
14
B Lab is working to pass Benefit Corporation legislation in all 50 states.
Benefit Corporations are a new class of corporation that meets higher
standards of performance, accountability and transparency.
B Lab is a nonprofit dedicated to harnessing
the power of business to solve social and
environmental problems.
Benefit Corporation status gives businesses legal protection to consider all
stakeholders and requires them to create a material positive impact on society
and the environment, as measured by an independent third party standard.
Two states passed legislation in 2010; nine more are moving forward in 2011.
Standards
B Lab’s Global Impact Investing Ratings System aims to drive investment
capital toward impactful businesses.
GIIRS ratings provide investors with standardized impact metrics for an
emerging asset class, helping fund the world’s leading social entrepreneurs.
GIIRS ratings are like S&P ratings but for impact instead of risk.
200 companies and 25 funds across 30 countries will complete the GIIRS
World Beta in spring 2011.
The Road to a New Economy
Standards
Legal Infrastructure
The B Corporation Growing Community
Quality Jobs
Standards
Standards
Strong
Communities
Standards
Standards
Standards
Standards
Standards
egal Infrastructure
Healthy
Environment
Standards
Standards
Fueled by
Impact Investment
Standa
15
Standards
Standards
Standards
Poverty
Alleviation
2 Down, 48 To Go
16
The small state of Delaware has long been the place for big businesses to
incorporate, but, as mission-minded companies have found out the hard
way, Delaware is no place to put social good before shareholder value.
In 2004, Craigslist sold 28.4 percent of the company to eBay. Three years
later, eBay filed a lawsuit to stop Craigslist from implementing a policy to
prevent the online shopping site from acquiring founder Craig Newmark’s
remaining shares when he dies and potentially overriding Craigslist’s
community-minded mission.
But thanks to the work of B Lab and its partners, corporations can now be
protected from shareholder litigation in the name of profit maximization. Benefit
Corporation legislation, which creates a legal framework that allows companies
to keep their founding values, not just shareholder value, at the forefront, was
passed in Maryland and Vermont with strong bipartisan support last spring. The
legislation safeguards a corporate purpose that seeks to create public benefit, not
just private wealth. Corporations operating in any state can re-incorporate in
Maryland or Vermont and avail themselves of this protection.
Last year, on Sept. 9, a Delaware judge ruled in eBay’s favor, stating that
stockholder wealth maximization is the only end game for Delaware
corporations. In the decision, he wrote: “Directors of a for-profit Delaware
corporation cannot deploy a [policy] to defend a business strategy that
openly eschews stockholder wealth maximization—at least not consistent with
the directors’ fiduciary duties under Delaware law.”
The legislation requires officers and directors to consider all stakeholders
in major business decisions, and it provides increased accountability, as
shareholders are able to enforce that higher standard of consideration.
In addition to this change in fiduciary duties, Benefit Corps are required
to “create a material positive impact on society and the environment” as
measured by—and publicly reported using—a recognized, independent and
transparent third-party standard.
“If it wasn’t clear before, it is crystal clear now. If you want to maintain the
social mission of your company, don’t incorporate in Delaware,” B Lab cofounder Jay Coen Gilbert wrote in a September Forbes article.
The law, initially drafted by attorney Bill Clark from Drinkle Bidder and Reath,
LLP, in coordination with B Lab, is moving forward with broad bipartisan
support in nine states in 2011, including passing unanimously in both
2 Down, 48 to Go
legislative houses in New Jersey and in the House of Delegates in Virginia.
“Today marks an inflection point in the evolution of capitalism,” said Jay
Coen Gilbert on the day Benefit Corporation legislation first passed. “With
public trust in business at an all-time low, this represents the first systemic
response to the underlying problems that created the financial crisis.”
“Today marks an inflection point in
the evolution of capitalism.”
Eleven companies registered as Benefit Corporations on Oct. 1, the day that
legislation went into effect in Maryland. Among them were Emory Knoll
Farms, a green wholesale nursery that propagates plants for the green roof
industry, and The Big Bad Woof, a sustainable pet supply chain.
Tebabu Assefa, founder of coffee-roasting startup Blessed Coffee, was
also inspired by the ability to turn public benefit practices into official
obligations. Assefa’s for-benefit operating plan has two aspects: first, he
has committed to handing 50 percent of profits from wholesale coffee
roasting back to the Ethiopian coffee cooperative from which he sources
his beans to help fund social programs for 140,000 small growers.
Second, 50 percent of the profits from Blessed Coffee’s retail shop will
go to the Takoma Park neighborhood in which Assefa lives, in order to
fund schools and cultural engagement, and to feed people in need.
“Policy gives credibility and boosts people’s confidence in the possibility
of business making a difference,” says Assefa. “Now my founding
principal—social benefit—will be legally protected.”
Assefa thinks that becoming a Benefit Corporation will give Blessed
Coffee marketing visibility, and he believes that awareness about this new
kind of business is growing rapidly.
“There was no publicity before, but now we who are walking the walk are
bringing this to the forefront,” he said. “For the very first time, business
is a vehicle to empower people to bring out their passion. The Benefit
Corporation is giving heart to business.”
What is a Benefit Corporation?
A new class of corporation that:
1. creates a material positive impact on society and the environment
2.redefines fiduciary duty to include non-financial interests in decision-making
3.reports on its overall social and environmental performance using
recognized, third party standards
How does becoming a Benefit Corporation
benefit my business?
Provides clarity that fiduciary duty includes creating a material positive
impact on society and the environment
Offers legal protection to directors and officers to consider
the non-financial interests of the workforce, community, and environment
Helps maintain mission over time
Creates a marketing opportunity to differentiate the business
Makes it easier to become a Certified B Corporation and thus benefit from
40+ Service Partnerships, saving companies $1MM/year.
Why are Benefit Corporations important
to the sustainable business movement?
Remove legal impediments to the use of sustainability and social innovation as
a competitive advantage
Legitimize and accelerate development of a New Economy by providing legal
recognition for businesses that adopt higher standards of corporate purpose,
accountability, and transparency be held accountable to create value for both
shareholders and society
Create a platform for policymakers to provide a variety of tailored tax,
procurement, and investment incentives for private sector businesses
addressing public benefit objectives
What’s the difference between a Benefit
Corporation and a Certified B Corporation?
Becoming a Certified B Corporation is one way to meet
the Benefit Corporation statutory requirements to:
1. create a material positive impact on society and the environment
2.report on overall corporate social and environmental performance
using an independent and transparent third party standard
9 On The Way
17
2 Down, 48 to Go
Policymaker:
Jamie Raskin
Maryland State Senator
Why did you decide to sponsor
Benefit Corp legislation?
18
We need a new business model, don’t we? The corporations we’ve got
are told by law that they have to pursue one exclusive objective, which is
to maximize profit. And that singular command is not only inconsistent
with the broader yearnings of so many people in business, but it also
has proven to be a deeply troubling public policy that creates terrible
incentives and results. Think about the BP Oil spill, the collapsing
mines of the Massey company in West Virginia and the multi-trillion
dollar nightmare on Wall Street.
We need a business model for companies that want to change the way
that business thinks and acts in the world. They should have the right
to choose to act with a muscular social conscience as well as a profitmaking intention. That means we have to structure the opportunity for
them to build a public interest commitment right into the DNA of the
corporation. I meet small businesspeople, progressive entrepreneurs
and green innovators all the time who want to commit their resources
and enterprises, not only to their own bottom lines but also to their
communities. I’m delighted that we’ve opened up the corporate law in
Maryland to make it possible. The law is the great teacher, as Brandeis
once said, and there’s a deep lesson in the benefit corporation law.
What do you hope happens as a result of passing
Benefit Corp legislation?
Well, a year ago, my hope was that, in the first year, a dozen businesses
would incorporate this way. This happened on the first day! That stunned
me. I’m convinced that, within a year or two, we will have a national
business reform movement that everybody’s talking about. It’ll be on the
front page of the Wall Street Journal and BusinessWeek. And investors, workers
and consumers will ask, ‘Are you a Benefit Corporation or not?’ And
if you’re not, ‘How come?’ And, “What are you doing to reinvest in
the community that gives you life?” At that point, we might even dream
that the Benefit Corporation movement will overtake the profit-only
companies and become the dominant stream within American business.
Attorney:
William Clark
Partner, Drinker Biddle
& Reath LLP
Why are Benefit Corporations necessary?
In a regular corporation, the directors are required to maximize the
value of the enterprise for the benefit of its shareholders. In a Benefit
Corporation that rule is changed and the directors have an obligation to
consider the interests of other constituencies beyond just the shareholders.
What’s been the reaction of other attorneys?
I’ve met with colleagues in bar associations in a half dozen states, and
I think a lot of people, when they stop to think about empowering
businesses to promote a broader purpose, actually believe it’s the right
thing to do. In a way, it’s a very conservative notion. We’re not pushing
the government to get involved. We want the business community to work
out the answers—from how to consider these diverse interests to what is
a credible third party standard for measuring and reporting corporate
social and environmental performance.
What is the implication for the role of government?
Personally, I’m pretty conservative. I like this approach because it’s
voluntary, not imposed. I think government can’t solve all our problems
and the private sector is a much bigger player in the economy anyway. If
we can help businesses behave in a different way, we can actually harness
the power of the free market to make social changes.
2 Down, 48 to Go
Economist:
Michael Shuman
Research Director,
Cutting Edge Capital
How will Benefit Corporations affect the market?
It increases market efficiency. It is an axiom of a market economy that
it functions more efficiently when consumers have the best information
possible. Benefit Corp designation helps match consumers and investors
with companies that share the values of creating quality jobs that improve
the quality of life in our communities.
How will Benefit Corporation legislation impact
the economy?
The legislation boosts state economies. It will drive more residents to buy
goods and services and more investors to place money in local companies.
Local purchasing and local investing boost local jobs. There is a growing
body of evidence that locally owned companies, compared to absentee
owned businesses, generate more income, wealth, jobs, tax receipts,
charitable contributions and lower carbon footprints.
19
Businessman:
Jeffrey Hollender
Founder, Seventh Generation
Why did Seventh Generation support Benefit
Corporation legislation?
Society is in the midst of a responsibility revolution. Benefit Corp
legislation provides much-needed legal infrastructure to accelerate
this revolution—a revolution which requires a responsibility to all
stakeholders, and a responsibility to radical transparency. Why is this important now?
In an age when everyone claims to be green or responsible, higher
standards of accountability and transparency are the best way to separate
the authentic companies from those that just pretend to be. What will Benefit Corporation Legislation cost?
Why would you recommend this to another
founder or CEO?
There is virtually no cost. It would be difficult to identify another proposed
measure that would deliver as much “economic stimulus” at as small a cost.
This is a big deal. First, you need to protect your mission as you grow
your business. Second, you have a chance to be a part of history.
A Little Love
Philadelphia creates first B Corp tax break
Philadelphia Creates
First B Corp Tax Break
As 2009 came to a close, Philadelphia became the first city in the U.S.
to pass a law awarding a tax break to certified sustainable businesses. The
$500,000 pilot program goes into effect in 2012, and during a five-year
pilot phase, 25 sustainable businesses per year can apply for a $4,000 credit.
How do you get a tax break?
First, show them you’re worth it.
20
B Lab’s Testimony to the City Council of Philadelphia
B Corps Help the City...
1. Preserve the Environment
33% of B Corps make products that preserve the environment
72% of B Corps use renewable energy
B Corps are 30 times more likely to work in a green building
2. Strengthen the Community
74% of B Corps have a charitable partner
B Corps are 30 times more likely to donate 10% of profits or more to charity
9 out of 10 are owned by local residents
3. Serve the Underserved
47% of B Corps employ more than 50% women
B Corps are 3 times more likely to be women or minority-owned
69% of B Corps have suppliers in low-income areas
4. Create Quality Jobs
95% pay a living wage to ALL employees (part time or full time)
B Corps are twice as likely to offer health insurance to all employees
and have a retirement plan
9 out of 10 have “satisfied or engaged” employees
While the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability has the authority to recognize
other certifications, B Corp certification is the only certification recognized
directly in the city ordinance as meeting the City’s definition of a certified
sustainable business.
“Philadelphia is focusing on attracting sustainable businesses,” says
Councilman James Kenney, who sponsored the Sustainable Business Tax
Credit. “One way is by providing this tax exemption to companies that
meet social and environmental performance standards. This incentive
makes Philadelphia even more competitive and appealing to these types
of businesses, and in turn, these companies will bolster our economy,
provide more jobs, and prove beneficial to our neighborhoods.”
Conversations regarding similiar tax incentives have also begun in Portland,
Ore., and Washington, D.C. Philadelphia’s leadership will hopefully
inspire other cities to recognize sustainable businesses and implement
their own tax, procurement, investment or other incentives, similar to how
passage of Benefit Corporation legislation in Maryland and Vermont has
led to the introduction of that law in other states (see p 14-17).
The Sustainable Business Tax Credit dovetails nicely with Benefit Corporation
legislation, which enables corporations to amend their charters to include and
protect public benefit within their governing principles. Growing interest in
the adoption of both measures across the country demonstrates a move by
governments to legitimize and strengthen the sustainable business movement
through policy.
Municipalities with goals to stimulate quality job growth and sustainable,
inclusive economic development can hasten progress toward their targets
by fostering a thriving community of B Corporations. The tax break helps
small companies deliver social benefit as well as profit, a win-win for any
local community. As the numbers show, those gains will repay a city’s
investment many times over. And, as they say, you’ve got to give a little
love to get a little love.
Proud
to be a
B Corp
Race
to the Top
How Benchmarking Performance
Leads to Continuous Improvement
Leadership Requires Continuous Improvement
B Corps span a variety of industries, and each one is at
a different stage on the path to sustainability. However,
they are all using the B Impact Assessment to improve
and communicate performance.
22
Race to the Top
How Benchmarking Performance Leads to Continuous Improvement
Reaching to
Achieve Certification
Norwood Marble and Granite provides residential and commercial
stone and tile fabrication and installation in the Mid-Atlantic region.
When Norwood first applied to become a B Corp, its B Score of 72.9
fell short of the minimum (80) required for certification. However,
the company was committed to becoming certified. Using the B Impact
Assessment as a guide, it implemented several key changes over the
course of a year, increasing its score by 13 percent. Today, Norwood and
its 35 employees are proud members of the B Corporation community
with a score of 82.4.
Improving water efficiency in its manufacturing process was a triple winner
for Norwood. The company uses thousands of gallons of water per hour in
its manufacturing process, but only a fraction was being recycled because
of an inadequately sized system. Norwood invested in a second-hand
system with three times the capacity and resold the previous system, which
offset the cost. Today, Norwood recovers 98 percent of the water used
in its manufacturing process. The more efficient system saves $500 per
month in electric bills and $10,000 per month in water bills. The change
boosted Norwood’s B Score, getting it halfway to certification, and more
importantly, now prevents 1 million gallons of surface run-off monthly,
creating savings for the municipality and the company.
“We found the assessment tool even more valuable
than a measure. It reads like a manual; in every section
there are lessons that a company can learn.”
To earn the remaining points needed for certification, Norwood
worked with B Lab’s Standards Team to implement several other
policies and programs to improve its overall social and environmental
performance. These included creating a community service program
that gives employees time off to volunteer, extending maternity leave,
and creating an employee working group to identify further areas for
improvement. These changes, which earned the company a 3.6-point
B Score increase, will preserve Norwood’s values as it grows and its
management changes over time.
According to Executive VP John King, the increased focus on
sustainability has improved employee morale. Sharing goals and
becoming involved in the greater Washington, D.C., area has brought
new energy to the work environment. “Immediately there was a team
emphasis on, ‘What can we do as a company to conserve and further
protect the environment?’ ” says King.
Norwood is still in the early stage of improvement, and it has big plans for
the future. “We’re looking at every single aspect of the company,” King says.
Next up is minimizing machinery’s energy consumption. The goal is to
simultaneously lower costs and Norwood’s carbon footprint. These savings
will be reflected both by a 2-point increase in their B Impact Score and
a marked improvement in the financial and environmental bottom line.
72.9
Starting Score
Point Increase
Redesign corporate mission to include commitments
to social and environmental impact; create specific
instructions on it during employee training and
establishing an employee working group to oversee
social and environmental performance
Total Score
+2.1
75
+1.8
76.8
Support local economies by implementing a Local
Purchasing Policy and engaging current suppliers on
their purchasing practices
+3.0
79.8
Start offering 3-5 weeks maternity leave and up to
2 weeks paternity leave
+0.9
80.7
Write and implement official Employee Handbook,
including a Discrmination & Harassment policy
+0.6
81.3
Create an official corporate environmental policy, and
implement plastic, glass and metal recycling and energy
conservation techniques throughout the facilities
+1.1
82.4
Write and implement policies to give employees time
off for community service, paid time off to vote, and a
minimum bar for corporate charitable giving
Total Score After Changes
+9.5
82.4
2010
23
23
Race to the Top
How Benchmarking Performance Leads to Continuous Improvement
24
Setting Goals
Institutionalizing
Leadership
iContact, a North Carolina-based email marketing firm delivering
on-demand software to help companies and nonprofits communicate
more effectively, has invested considerably in sustainability. Falling
about 10 percent short of a qualifying score on its first attempt, the
company reassessed its entire social and environmental policy. After
implementing several changes over the course of a year, iContact
earned a score of 85 and was certified as a B Corporation in June 2010.
GoLite is a Boulder, Colo.-based producer of lightweight clothing and
equipment for active, outdoor sports and has been a recognized leader in
sustainability since it was founded 12 years ago by husband and wife team
Kim and Demetri Coupounas. While all of GoLite’s products are by nature
“greener” (lighter products = less materials = less carbon, less toxics, less waste),
the company is working hard to reduce the environmental impact of the
products it makes.
“In our pursuit to be as socially and environmentally positive as possible,
we decided B Corp certification was something to aspire to,” Matt
Kopac, iContact’s corporate responsibility manager, says. “We found
the assessment tool even more valuable than a measure. It reads like a
manual; in every section there are lessons that a company can learn.”
Part of this work has included a major shift towards the use of what they call
Environmentally Preferred Materials (EPMs) in their products. In the 2010
product line, more than 67 percent of the materials in GoLite products (by
mass) are made of EPMs. The goal is to use 100 percent EPMs by 2015.
Using the assessment as a guide, iContact found key knowledge gaps in
its organization. A comprehensive and transparent environmental audit,
itself worth 2.4 points, identified energy usage and travel as the two areas
with the greatest inefficiencies. Kopac worked closely with the facilities
manager to identify key areas for improvement. He then went to the CEO
and directors to ensure buy-in and approve up-front expenditures.
iContact focused first on reducing unnecessary travel and increasing the
sustainability of its suppliers to gain more than 3 points. Despite rapid
growth, in the first quarter of 2010, iContact employees traveled 83,404
fewer miles than in 2009, saving about $11,000 and cutting carbon
emissions by 48 percent. The company has also invested in more sustainable
products, upgrading janitorial supplies to environmentally preferable
cleaning products and using compact fluorescent bulbs. iContact now relies
on local, environmentally-responsible suppliers. In total, the company was
able to reduce per-employee energy use more than 15 percent.
iContact has seen additional internal and external benefits from these
changes. Employees have become more engaged, forming monthly
work groups to identify further areas for improvement. Better yet,
“organizations and customers are mentioning iContact being a B Corp
or having a robust CSR program as a reason why they chose us over our
competitors,” Kopac says.
In the next year, iContact aims to raise its B Impact Rating by 5 additional
points to move closer to the B Corp community average of 107.8.
“If we really are a triple bottom line business, then having specific
objectives for our social and environmental responsibility needs to be
right up there with the rest of the goals we set, ” Kopac states. “Our
B Impact Score is a way of being able to quantify our improvements.”
With revenue doubling in the past two years, the Coupounases needed a
management tool to help ensure that GoLite’s positive impact grows along with
its revenues. And, after achieving B Corp certification two years ago, GoLite
identified the B Impact Assessment as the best way to help it maintain its
sustainability leadership in its industry. Already meeting the A+ reporting
standards set by the Global Reporting Initiative, GoLite began using the B
Impact Assessment as the framework for its annual CSR reports.
“It takes a standard as deep and high-quality as B Corp’s to help a company’s
management see gaps in their approach so that they can make corrections as
they continue on their path to sustainability,” Kim Coupounas, co-founder
and chief sustainability officer of GoLite, says.
While many programs targeting social and environmental issues existed, few
were formalized in the company’s operating procedures and management
structures. This prompted GoLite to institutionalize domestic partnership
benefits, extend maternity leave and make its ownership structure
transparent, using several of the best practice resources embedded within
the B Impact Assessment.
The process raised GoLite’s B Score from an already high 120 to 125,
placing it in the top quartile of all Certified B Corps. But Coupounas says
she believes the real payoff will come in helping the company stay on course.
“This was really about the maturation and professionalization of our
company during a major growth phase.”
Despite their differences, these three B Corporations are united by their efforts
to use the B Impact Assessment to continue to improve their environmental,
social and financial performance. This means success for everyone: the
companies, the community and the environment.
Stay Inspired By Nature
Photo by ChaseJarvis.com
Relax
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Old School Leader of the New Economy
Old School Leader
of the New Economy
A western Michigan plastics firm with deep roots in the automotive industry
might not sound like an obvious candidate for B Corporation certification.
However, Cascade Engineering, a 37-year-old family of nearly a dozen
manufacturing and marketing companies that employs over 1,000 people, is
a leading example of old industry taking its place in the new green economy.
26
“Fred Keller is the Ray Anderson you’ve never heard of,” says Jay Coen
Gilbert, cofounder of B Lab, referring to Interface’s widely known leader.
For Cascade, B Corporation principles were not a radical shift from its
core principles—“the three Ps: people, planet and profit,” says Chief
Administrative Officer Kenyatta Brame. So when Cascade Engineering
received its B Corporation certification this October, it didn’t so much
mark a change as the next step.
As an engineer working for a big firm in Grand Rapids, Mich., Keller saw
his colleagues trying to get ahead—at any cost to the environment and their
coworkers—and he didn’t like it. “From the beginning, Fred wanted to start
a company that treated people with dignity,” says Brame. Over the years
Cascade has translated respect for workers into things like the Welfare-toCareer Program, which brings people off welfare and into its workforce,
and the Health Horizons wellness program, which offers its employees
reductions in health care costs in return for documented healthy activity.
Founded in 1973, Cascade Engineering soon started manufacturing
injection-molded products for automotive and commercial furniture
markets with a strong focus on lean manufacturing and innovation. Today,
that lean, innovative ethic translates into resource efficiency that supports
the company’s ongoing sustainability initiatives. Since 2005, the company
has reduced greenhouse gas emissions, water use, and landfill waste and
increased its use of recycled materials. In 2007, the company’s corporate
headquarters were certified as LEED Platinum by the U.S. Green Building
Council, and Cascade has been recognized by the State of Michigan as a
Clean Corporate Citizen.
Cascade grew significantly during the mid-1980s, when business was
booming for the Big Three automakers and for its manufacturing partner
Herman Miller, another large western Michigan company with industryleading sustainability practices. The company has now diversified into a
wide range of industries, from transportation to renewable energy, high
tech and waste management.
“Fred Keller is the Ray Anderson
you’ve never heard of.”
Several new efforts extend the company’s commitment to sustainability:
The Swift Wind Turbine, a 1.5-kilowatt rooftop turbine, is the first quiet,
structure- or pole-mounted turbine to enter the marketplace. It can be
used in residential, commercial or industrial settings and is notable for
its quietness, aesthetic, minimal vibration and simple installation; the
HydrAid BioSand Water Filter, which was developed in partnership with
International Aid to bring affordable clean water to emerging markets;
and Quest Sustainable Solutions, a consulting firm that trains other
companies in corporate culture, workforce diversity, environmental
management, leadership development, safety and sustainability.
As one of the first large B Corporation manufacturers, the company
knows it has a unique opportunity to educate its suppliers and contractors
about what it means to be a B Corp. Cascade plans to use the B Corp
platform to lead beyond its supply chain and industry. In fact, Keller has
been helpful in getting Benefit Corp legislation introduced in Michigan
(see p 15-18). Keller’s ability to convene influential business leaders and
get the ear of political leaders on both sides of the aisle has been crucial
to building the coalition needed to pass legislation to make good old
Michigan a leader of the new economy.
According to Keller, “B Corp is an important part of our plan for
sustainable economic development in western Michigan and, for that
matter, the whole state of Michigan. This is an opportunity for Michigan
to lead the rest of the country.”
Building Healthy Ecosystems
NSU and Equilibrium Bring New Meaning to Ecosystem Finance
Building Healthy
Ecosystems
NSU and Equilibrium
Bring New Meaning to Ecosystem Finance
Natural Systems Utilities (NSU) builds water
management systems that depend on natural
ecosystems for inspiration and support. So it
seems fitting that NSU has found support within
its own natural environment—the B Corporation
community.
In May 2010, NSU, received a $2 million
commitment from Oregon-based holding
company Equilibrium Capital Group, a B
Corporation since 2009 (and a GIIRS Pioneer
Fund, see p 23 in the GIIRS Progress Report).
The partnership between NSU and the
impact investment firm demonstrates how B
Corporations can drive change and innovation
at an exponential level through strategic
collaboration with each other.
Launched in 2008, NSU plans, designs, builds
and operates on-site water supply, wastewater
treatment and reuse systems for residential,
commercial and industrial development. But
rather than applying traditional reduce, treat
and remove methods for water management,
NSU reuses wastewater within its projects by
redistributing it to natural functions within
each local system. “We manage the local water
ecology in a manner that mimics how it has
evolved for millions of years in nature,” said
Founder and CEO Dominic Kulik.
For example, at the Jackson Meadows residential
community in Marine on St. Croix, Minn.,
NSU’s system uses wastewater to irrigate 250
acres of vibrant green space adjacent to a cluster
of 63 homes. The development also includes one
of NSU’s signature treatment wetlands, which
create habitat for native plants and wildlife to
thrive while redistributing wastewater. Jackson
Meadows has become a national model for
conservation and community. The project not
only saves water and energy, it also avoids the
ecological imbalance that follows the shifting of
high levels of wastewater from communities to
large treatment centers.
NSU has developed and continues to manage
nearly 90 water, wastewater and re-use
systems that serve nearly 5,000 homes and
many institutional customers in urban,
suburban and rural settings.
Dave Chen, founder of Equilibrium
Capital Group and a B Lab board member,
discovered NSU through one of his portfolio
companies. Equilibrium Capital Group
invests in asset management firms that deal
with things like green building, resource
efficiency, energy and agriculture. NSU’s
focus on water piqued Chen’s interest, as
the firm was developing an investment thesis
in distributed water. He also saw the three
ingredients that he seeks in any possible
addition to Equilibrium: authenticity,
passion and a potential for scale.
Equilibrium Capital committed $2 million
in investment in NSU to help the company
develop a water asset portfolio, which will
be available for its investors in 2011. “They
translated our water resource management
experience and track record into a financial
product,” Kulik says.
“The partnership between
NSU and Equilibrium
Capital Group demonstrates
how B Corporations can drive
change and innovation at
an exponential level through
strategic collaboration with
each other.”
NSU will be the first water asset offering in
the Equilibrium portfolio, but it fits neatly
with Equilibrium’s investment approach,
which looks to create financial instruments
tied to sustainably managed resources.
“Institutional investors will increasingly look
for hard asset products for their portfolios
that map to sustainability,” says Chen. “NSU
not only implements a sustainable way of
approaching water assets, but they have made
a commitment to build their company along
this ability to balance both financial returns
as well as a responsibility to the environment
and community.”
2010
27
It’s OK to Love a Bank
Sunrise and New Resource Banks Put Money to Good Use
It’s OK to
Love a Bank
Sunrise and New Resource Banks
Put Money to Good Use
Following the financial
meltdown and bank bailouts,
two B Corps are showing that
it’s OK to love a bank.
28
Sunrise Community Banks, which operates
three banks in St. Paul, Minn., is one of only
62 certified Community Development Financial
Institution banks in the nation. The familyowned company, which is devoted to serving
economically distressed neighborhoods, has 150
employees. It serves about 20,000 customers with
total assets of $609 million.
In addition to traditional banking services
for individuals and small businesses, Sunrise
offers a socially responsible deposit fund.
“We tell people, ‘If you check this box, your
dollars are going to be used for affordable
housing development, nonprofit lending, small
business and community facilities like churches
and daycare centers,’” says Chief Corporate
Responsibility Officer Nikki Foster. About 90
percent of deposit dollars are in that fund.
A recent initiative demonstrates the bank’s
dedication to serving the special needs of the Twin
Cities most vulnerable communities.
During the last two decades, many Somalis fleeing
civil war settled in the Twin Cities. The only way
for the large refugee community to send money
home was through money service businesses, which
operate through cooperation with a bank. After
the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the banks saw a host
of increased regulations when sending funds to
countries deemed hot spots for possible terrorism.
Traditional banks fled, and the money service
businesses all but disappeared.
“We are a bank with a mission to
promote sustainable living.”
Knowing that the service meant survival for Somali
families, Sunrise stepped in, setting up a muchneeded money service business that complies with
stringent homeland security regulations. The
partnership has been so successful that the bank
recently opened a micro-branch in the heart of
the Somali community.
In California, New Resource Bank fulfills
its mission of community service with equal
passion. “We are a bank with a mission to
promote sustainable living,” said President and
CEO Vincent Siciliano.
Though small—one branch, 32 employees and
total assets of $158 million—New Resource goes
after its mission in big ways. Any bank can get
its offices LEED certified (NRB’s has a Gold
rating), but NRB goes further.
The bank was the first to offer home loans
for solar energy retrofits, which are distinct
from traditional home improvement loans
since the money is earmarked for the
sole purpose of a residential solar energy
upgrade. NRB also offers a Solar CD, an
investment product that allows people to put
their money into the solar power industry.
New Resource has provided loans to a range
of exemplary sustainable businesses, such
as packaging company Ecological Brands,
organic dairy Straus Family Creamery and
streetlight retrofitting company Tanko
Streetlighting Services. “New Resource Bank
only makes loans to sustainable businesses,”
Siciliano says. “They can be anywhere on the
sustainability spectrum, they can be learners
or leaders, but what is important is that they
are on that playing field.”
Both banks say being a Certified B Corporation
is important for them and their customers.
According to Siciliano, “As a B Corporation,
New Resource Bank is able to separate itself as
a sustainable leader in our industry and to set
an example in our community.”
Foster says the B Lab evaluation process has helped
Sunrise push itself to better serve its community.
For example, being asked to quantify purchasing
dollars that go to local businesses allowed the bank
to go a step further and write policies to cement
such habits. As she says, “It is a constant reminder
of practices we can do to show our dedication to
the community.”
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Gaining Cooperative Advantage
Guayakí, Numi and Traditional Medicinals Recognize the Power of Collaboration
Gaining
Cooperative
Advantage
30
Guayakí, Numi and Traditional Medicinals
Recognize the Power of Collaboration
Guayakí, Numi Organic Tea and Traditional
Medicinals have a lot in common: all three focus
on natural foods, health and wellness; they’re
all based in California; and they all adhere to
admirable standards of organic production, fair
trade, local sourcing and sustainable business
practices. They’re also all B Corps.
Many B Corps seek good company and to share
best practices. Guayaki, Numi Organic Tea and
Traditional Medicinals have all recognized in
each other business leaders that share a head for
business and heart for to mission. The three companies attribute much of their success
to the camaraderie and good spirit among them. “We
are a perfect example of what B Lab wants for their
companies,” says David Karr, cofounder of Guayakí.
“We are all about the mission, we are not about the
competition,” agrees Numi CEO and Cofounder Ahmed
Rahim. “It is what we are in business for—collaboration.”
Their collaboration takes many forms: sharing
buyer contacts, best practices and emerging market
opportunities. They have held events together, and
Traditional Medicinals has co-packed product for
the other two. Working together, they extend their
reach and achieve far more than they could alone.
“I think what is most beneficial about these kinds
of relationships has to do with a willingness to be
open and transparent with each other and share
best practices,” says Traditional Medicinals cofounder Drake Sadler.
Established in 1974, Traditional Medicinals
offers natural health products, and like Numi
and Guayakí, uses organic, fair trade and locally
sourced ingredients. Some of their products
have gained mainstream popularity, helping
it recently earn shelf space in 25,000 new
pharmacy accounts with companies like Walgreens
Pharmacy and Rite Aid. Traditional Medicinals
is also employee-owned (an ESOP), and Sadler
counts that achievement as a main strength for the
stability of the company.
While Traditional Medicinals is the oldest
company in the group, Numi was the first to
tap into the power of the B Corp community.
Founded in 1999 by Rahim and his sister Reem,
Numi produces organic tea in bags, loose leaf and
bottles and is best known for introducing unique
varieties like Rooibos, Puerh and flowering teas to
the North American market. Rapidly expanding,
it experienced double digit growth in 2010.
“For Numi, being one of the B Corporation
pioneers has allowed us to lead the way,” said
Rahim. Bringing other companies into the
B Corp family is an important part of that
leadership. It was Numi who introduced Guayaki
to the B Corp concept.
Established in 1996, Guayakí employs about 35
people and produces yerba mate (a popular South
American alternative to coffee) products using
certified organic, fair trade and shade grown
mate. It employs a model it calls “market-based
restoration”—purchasing directly from growers in
Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil who are dedicated
to reforestation of the rainforests in which they
grow. The model has helped restore about 17,000
acres of rainforest, earning Guayakí recognition
at the 2010 Clinton Global Initiative conference.
With sales for 2010 at $12.5 million, up 20 percent
over last year, the company is thriving.
Individually, these companies are creating positive
change, and working together amplifies that impact.
Apart from contributing to the success of each
company, these three firmly believe collaboration
will help change the business landscape as a whole.
Karr states, “Our grand hope is that the movement
gains a lot of traction so everyone wonders why
every business can’t be a B Corp.”
Resonates
B Corp Ad Campaign
with 17 Million
32
Research Results:
Conscious Consumer
s:
pany T
hroughout 2011, B Lab is running its first national ad
campaign on behalf of the community of Certified B
Corporations. With the help of marketing, branding
and media companies within the B Corp community,
the campaign will reach 17 million conscious consumers and invite
them to support “a better way of doing business.” The campaign was
developed by B Lab and its long-time partner T2AP Creative Team.
Research conducted by award-winning branding firm BBMG shows
that less than 1 percent of consumers trust company advertisements or
statements made on product packaging when deciding if a company is
or does what it claims. Instead, they trust their own research and rely
heavily on information provided by third-party organizations. B Corp
certification provides a transparent means for consumers to assess
products and companies, and the new campaign will tap into this demand.
“The B Corp campaign resonates because consumers increasingly
care about the companies that stand behind the products,” says
Raphael Bemporad, co-founder at BBMG. “Beyond the value of a
trusted third-party seal, the transparency requirements for B Corp
certification make it easier for consumers to do their own research to
distinguish good companies from just good marketing.”
com
Care about the product and the
pany claims when
73% consider both product and com
making a purchase
s
Trust third parties or themselve
(57%-100%)
Consumers are much more likely
ads
parties or themselves than company
to trust third
Don’t trust companies
advertisements or
Almost no one (<1%) trusts company
trying to understand
n
whe
g
agin
pack
on
statements made
what it says
if a product or company is or does
After viewin
g the ads fo
r the B Co
more than
rp campaig
90% say th
n,
ey’ll look o
B Corps ne
ut for the fe
xt time the
atured
y go shopp
want to lea
ing, or at le
rn more ab
ast
out them.
Better Companies Make Better Products
The Makin
g of a Cam
paign
Bart Houlahan
Co-Founder, B Lab
Office: 610.296.8283
Mobile: 610.745.7905
Email: [email protected]
www.bcorporation.net
www.giirs.org
Funds and Su
pports
Spreads the W
ord B2B
CREATIVE TEAM
ps and
Develo
Tests the Campaign
s
Design
Informs Their Re
aders
Creates the Viral Video
Builds the Audience Online
The campaign will be launched across the platforms of nearly a half-dozen
B Corp media companies including Care2.com; Sustainable Media Inc.,
publisher of Sustainable Industries; Celilo Group; and Ogden Publications,
publisher of Mother Earth News, Natural Home and Utne Reader.
“It’s a process of exploration to see what the audience finds compelling,”
explains Bryan Welch, publisher and editorial manger of Ogden
Publications, which has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars of ad space
for the campaign. What BBMG’s research shows is that this audience finds
B Corps compelling. BBMG’s research shows that 90 percent of consumers
who saw the B Corp ads said they would look out for the advertised B Corps
the next time they go shopping or at least wanted to learn more about them.
Beyond consumer impact, the campaign will influence business-tobusiness interactions as well. Media outlets like Sustainable Industries are read
widely by industry leaders who make decisions for their companies. The
campaign will appeal to the whole person, inviting them to support a better
way to do business at home and at work. “In the arena of sustainability
and social justice, there’s no distinction between those who are interested
personally and those interested professionally, which is part of the beauty
of what we’re doing,” Welch adds.
The branding campaign will also include an online component with individual
ads for each of the more than 70 participating B Corps (see following page).
Consumers can enter different virtual rooms of a home or office (kitchen or
family room or conference room), click on a company’s product or logo and
compare a set of third-party validated facts about each B Corps’ social and
environmental performance with questions about the employee, community,
or environmental practices of generic competitors.
“We want to help consumers to
separate good companies from
good marketing.”
The campaign will also extend to video, thanks to Free Range Studios, the
folks behind the successful “The Story of Stuff” series. “For a long time, the
story that has been told in our culture is that businesses have one bottom line
and the choices businesses make, sometimes harmful, are in service of that
single bottom line,” says McArthur, partner at Free Range. “Free Range is
pleased to be a part of the process of reframing business and what it can do.”
33
Better Companies Make Better Products
70+ B Corp
s Participa
34
The brands featured in the ads themselves are also working to help push the
campaign forward. “Because we are already a print advertiser, we are able
to get better advertising rates and extend the B Lab campaign,” says Sarah
McGinley-Smith, director of corporate communications at King Arthur
Flour. “It’s our responsibility to do what we can to increase awareness of the
B Corporation status. It makes our own involvement more valuable and
helps further the cause.”
There is a strong resonance between what conscious consumers want and
what B Corps and B Lab are doing–they want to be inspired that there is
a new way of doing business and also empowered with the tools to assess
just how sustainable and accountable companies are. “We want to help
consumers separate good companies from good marketing,” says Jay Coen
Gilbert, co-founder of B Lab. B Lab’s hope is that the campaign will help
consumers determine which companies are truly better and they’ll see that
B Corporations are the better companies.
ting in the
Campaign
Alima Cosmetics,
Inc.
King Arthur Flour
Atayne, LLC
Method Products,
Barber Gale
Inc.
Morning Indigo/Sk
Barkwheats Dog Pro
in Care for
ducts
Athletes
BBMG
Nest Collective
Benchmark Asset
Management
New Leaf Paper
Betterworld Teleco
m
New Resource Ba
Better World Books
nk
nrg::seattle
Bay Point Benefits
Numi Organic Tea
Bikestation
Ogden Publications
Care2
One Village Coffee
CSRwire
Social(k)
Culinary Collective
Revolution Foods
Dancing Deer
Philantech
Dansko, LLC
PICnet
Dharma Merchant
Services
Rimon Law Group
Dzambuling Import
s
Plum Organics
e3 Bank
PREM Group
ECOBAGS
Re:Vision Architectu
Elemental Herbs
re
RSF Social Financ
Essential Living Fo
e
ods
Sambazon
Ethical Bean Coffee
Salt Spring Coffee
Fair Trade Sports,
Inc.
Saul Good Gift Co
Free Range Studio
s
Seventh Generatio
Give Something Ba
n
ck
Singlebrook Techno
GoLite
logy
Siw Thai Silk, Inc.
goodfocus, llc
Southern Energy Ma
Greyston Bakery, Inc
nagement
.
SpeakShop
Green Awakening
Sunlight and Powe
Green Building Se
r
rvices
Sustainable Harve
Green Retirement
st
Plans, Inc.
Sustainable Indust
Greenerprinter
ries
Sustainable Soluti
Guayaki
ons
Traditional Medicina
Hanson Bridgett LLP
ls
TS Designs, Inc.
Herbalist & Alchem
ist
Turtle Love
Human Investing
UnCommon Good
iContact Corp
s
Untours
Impact Makers, Inc
.
Vedante
Indigenous Designs
Corporation
Wendel Rosen
Inspire Commerce
Working Excellence
KINeSYS Inc.
Yikes
:
t
Impact Area
B Corp
Employees
index
B Corporations score 25% higher than other
sustainable businesses on the B Impact Rating
System, which assesses corporate impact
on employees, consumers, community
and the environment.
1
+25%
Total Score:
36
(200 pts avail)
108
Other Sustainable Businesses
49%
Compensation and Benefits
56%
49%
Employee Ownership
36%
18%
Work Environment
71%
65%
61%
42%
60%
41%
51%
45%
Suppliers
62%
51%
Local
54%
53%
Diversity
28%
29%
Charity / Service
44%
28%
53%
48%
Facilities
62%
49%
Energy Use
36%
17%
Supply Chain
44%
19%
Manufacturing
50%
33%
71%
61%
70%
73%
55%
Consumers
Beneficial Products or Services
Environment
That have voluntarily completed the B Impact Rating System.
86
Total Score:
(200 pts avail)
Certified
B Corporations
Other Sustainable Businesses Other Businesses
(OSBs)
(OBs)
Certified B Corporations have
earned at least an 80 on the
B Impact Ratings System and
have modified their articles of
incorporation to consider their
stakeholders, as well as their
shareholders, in their decision
making process.
These companies have self-selected
to complete the B Impact Ratings
System, indicating interest in
sustainable business.
Data Set: 370 companies
Data Set: 1,017 companies
Company Size: Varied;
typically between 0-200
full-time employees.
Company Size: Varied
Data Verification Level: B Lab
staff reviewed; documentation
required for heavily weighted
answers; 1 in 5 reviewed on-site.
Data Verification Level: 978
not verified (thus actual results
may be lower); B Lab staff
reviewed 93 companies.
Other Businesses are intended
to represent the majority of the
business sector.
Accountability
Governance / Accountability
Transparency / Reporting
Data Set:
?
Company Size: Most studies
referenced have data sets of
small private business with
0-200 full-time employees.
Data Verification Level:
?
B Corps OSBs2
56%
Community
B Corporations
% points available in
B Impact Rating System
75%
B Corp INDEX
Metrics
B Corp INDEX 1 Comparable
on Corporate Impact
% companies for whom this is true
B Corps
OSBs2
OBs
?
Grew jobs by more than 5%
53%
48%
Pay bonuses to non-executive employees over the prior year
62%
46%
?
Cover at least some of health insurance premiums for individuals
88%
54%
?
Extend health benefits to part-time and flex-time employees 3
43%
43%
26%4
Fund a 401(k) plan for employees
56%
64%
?
Have >5% of company owned by non-executive employees
24%
26%
?
Measure employee satisfaction/engagement at least every two years
69%
32%
?
>50% of employees provided paid professional development opportunities 6
20%
4%
?
?
We Don’t Know
Have >50% products/services that solve a direct social or environmental issue
(eg. microfinance, energy-efficiency technology)
42%
?
?
Have >50% of revenues from providing beneficial products/services to the poor
5%
?
?
Derive >50% of revenues from products made from sustainable input materials
(eg. PCW recycled paper, reclaimed metal housewares)
28%
?
?
Target >10% of products and services to the nonprofit sector to further its mission
12%
?
?
Have >25% of significant suppliers that are certified to meet specific social/
environmental criteria 7,8
41%
29%
?
Patronize >10% of significant suppliers from low-income communities 9
28%
25%
?
Have >50% of products or input materials that are certified to meet fair trade sourcing practices
31%
34%
?
Have >40% of significant suppliers that are local independent businesses
46%
48%
?
Are majority owned by women or ethnic minorities
35%
46% 28.2%12
Have >30% of management from previously excluded populations 10
47%
37%
?
Donate >10% of profits or 1% of sales to charitable organizations
29%
17%
?
Allow >20 hrs/year of paid time off for community service
22%
15%
?
Actively recycle at least one output material
95%
88% 45%13
Work in at least one facility that meets green building standards 14
35%
44%
?
Specify that >75% printed materials have recycled paper content, FSC-certified
paper, or soy-based inks
68%
46%
?
Reduced energy usage compared to revenues
28%
25% ?
Generate renewable energy on site
23%
17%
?
Have >25% of their revenue from products that have gone through a life
cycle assessment in the last 3 years
29%
25%
?
Have >25% of their transport vehicles or outsourced fleet that are clean
or low-emissions vehicles
38%
15%
?
11
15
41%
32%
?
Appoint an employee or working group to be responsible for achieving mission
71%
67%
?
Regularly share company’s financial info with all full-time employees 16
69%
71%
?
Evaluate their managers in writing on social and environmental goals
73%
35%
?
Help their industry create social and environmental standards
83%
58%
?
Have a board or advisory body that includes at least one independent member
1. The B Corp Index represents 31 of 213 metrics used in the B Impact Rating System.
2. OSBs are Other Sustainable Businesses that have voluntarily completed the B Impact Rating System.
3. A part-time employee is defined as working 25 hours per week.
4. The Kaiser Family Foundation, 2010.
5. National Federation of Independent Businesses, 2006.
6. Includes continuing education classes, training by external consultants, and educational conferences.
7. Significant suppliers are the company’s largest suppliers that collectively represent approximately 80% of purchases
in dollar volume.
8. Includes Significant Suppliers where a majority of products are certified to meet specific social/environmental
critieria (e.g. FSC Certified paper).
Few ordinary businesses measure
impact, let alone use a common
yardstick, making it difficult to answer
the fundamental question: “How do
ordinary businesses benefit society,
not just shareholders?”
68%
37
of small businesses offer health insurance.
But how many actually cover premiums? 4
27%
of small,businesses offer an employee
retirement plan. But what % fund or
match it? 5
43%
of small businesses say they have taken
steps to reduce energy use 5. But how many
have reduced usage compared to revenues?
9. Low income communities is defined as communities where the median family income (MFI) for such tract
does not exceed 80 percent of statewide MFI.
10. Includes women, ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, and people living in low income communities.
11. OSB % likely includes in-kind donations and pro-bono services, in addition to charitable donations.
12. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy, 2006.
13. National Federation of Independent Businesses, 2007.
14. Green building standards typically include USGBC’s LEED Rating System, Living Building Challenge, or EnergyStar.
15. Independents are defined as non-management and non-material investors/owners (owning less than 5%).
16. Excludes salary info; must be shared at least once a quarter.
Environmental Impact: GREEN BUILDING
Profile:
Re:Vision Architecture
Highlights
B Impact Report™
38
When you think of green building, chances
are utilities aren’t the first client that comes to
mind. However, with the help of Philadelphiabased Re:Vision Architecture, Pennsylvania’s
largest electric and natural gas utility, PECO,
installed a 45,000-square-foot vegetated green
roof on its headquarters in central Philadelphia. The largest in urban Pennsylvania, the roof soaks
up more than 1.5 million gallons of rainwater
runoff annually, reduces air temperatures in
the summer and provides a habitat for wildlife.
Through this partnership, RVA brings green
building to a truly mainstream client.
“For us, it’s about removing barriers to green
building,” says Principal Scott Kelly.
At RVA, the architects’ job description goes
beyond traditional responsibilities to include
sustainability consulting, education and
even project fundraising. RVA’s immersion
approach, often including a community-based
Green Design Charrette to kick off a project,
means that every employee is a director of
sustainability, every project an opportunity to
inspire and educate other businesses to adopt its
triple bottom line approach. The entire project
is a collaborative process, exposing everyone,
from the client to the contractor, to a new
way to work. “All of the team members learn
so much and are so much more knowledgeable
about how to make more sustainable decisions
on behalf of the project and beyond,” Principal
Jenn Rezeli explains.
Consumers: >50% of projects meet Architecture 2030
Challenge; >75% projects incorporate water reuse systems/
renewable energy systems; 50-75% of projects built on
brownfields/infill sites
“ It’s about removing barriers
to green building”
Community: >60% of expenditures directed toward
RVA distinguishes itself even among other
firms with green buildings in their portfolio.
For example: more than 50 percent of RVA
projects meet the Architecture 2030 Challenge;
more than fifty percent of its projects are built
on brownfields or infill sites; more than 25
percent of its projects exceed local storm water
management codes by at least 40 percent; and
more than sixty percent of its suppliers are local;
and, not surprisingly, more than 75 percent of
its staff are LEED Accredited Professionals.
Employees: Living wage paid to all employees; 100%
of individual and family health insurance premiums covered;
Grew employee base >15% last year
Environment: Works in a green building;
Comprehensive systems conserve energy & water use;
Active program to minimize travel; Incentives for low-impact
employee commutes
local suppliers; >40% minority/women management; >75%
of employees take time off for community service; 100%
local ownership; Offers more than 20 hours paid time off for
employees to volunteer annually;
Find out more about our certification at:
www.bcorporation.net/revisionarch
RVA has gone well beyond Green Building 101,
and by acting as teachers, as well as architects, the
firm helps ensure that its sustainable buildings
become occupied by sustainable businesses, too.
Similar B Corps: Opticos Design, Inc | PREM Group | South Mountain Company | Green Building Services, Inc | REThink Development
Employee Impact: GREAT PLACE TO WORK
Profile:
The Redwoods Group
Highlights
B Impact Report™
Consumers: 100% focused on insuring YMCA’s, Jewish
Community Centers and nonprofits residential camps
Employees: All employees paid a living wage, >80%
individual/family health insurance premiums covered, Fully
funded retirement plan for all employees; Offers 6+ weeks
maternity leave; Offers health & wellness program and
counseling services
Community: Written commitment to donate at
least 10% of profits to charitable organizations; Matches
employees’ charitable contributions; Organizes company
service days throughout the year; Requires and pays for 40
hours a year of volunteering by all employees – over 4000
hours donated last year!
Environment: Provides incentives for low-impact
commutes; >50% materials printed on recycled/FSC certified
paper; Uses sustainable kitchen products
www.bcorporation.net/redwoodsgroup
“Serve Others.” That’s the stated goal of the
Redwoods Group, a property and casualty insurance
provider that serves exclusively YMCAs, Jewish
Community Centers (JCCs) and nonprofit
residential camps. The Redwoods Group seeks
to improve the quality of life in the communities
where it works by helping make these community
organizations stronger and safer.
“Year after year, people come back
to their jobs and they do them better
and better and better.”
One specific example is the company’s work to
eliminate drownings. The Redwoods Group staff
developed a program of improved lifeguard training
and effective performance management techniques.
Sharing these practices with customers has eliminated
drownings at the Redwoods Group–insured
YMCAs, JCCs and camps for the last two years.
This is down from a national average of 13 per year
at YMCA pools, and 3,500 nationally in the early
2000s. Additionally, those YMCAs that have worked
with the company for four or more years have an
injury rate 30 percent lower than new clients. How has the company accomplished such
improvements? On the job, employees are
empowered to find new opportunities to reduce
incidents at clients’ facilities. That goes far beyond
the charge of most insurers, and the approach has
produced some amazing results, not only for the
community, but for the Redwoods Group, as well. “Year after year, our people come back to their jobs
and they do them better and better and better,” says
Redwoods President and CEO Kevin Trapani. The
Redwoods Group’s 10-year turnover rate is under
5 percent, and employee satisfaction is consistently
high. “The key to having happy employees is, first, to
have a mission they care deeply about and, second, to
respect them by ensuring they have a great workplace
that meets their needs,” Trapani explains. Starting with an outstanding benefit plan that
includes 100 percent reimbursement for continuing
education, the Redwoods Group supports employees
personally as well as professionally. Employees
are required to volunteer 40 hours each year. All employees did so last year, collectively serving
more than 4,000 hours in the community. The
Redwoods Group also matches employee charitable
giving, and as a company, donates at least 10 percent
of its annual profits in addition to a much larger
amount from its foundation. “If we value human dignity, fairness, compassion
and personal responsibility, then we can’t run,”
Trapani asserts. “Social good and profit are not
mutually exclusive. We’re finished in our society
with the concept of either/or,” he says. “It is the
time of and/both.”
Similar B Corps: King Arthur Flour | Busboys & Poets | Dansko, LLC | iContact | Azavea
39
Environmental Impact: RENEWABLE ENERGY
Imagine driving down your street. You look up
and every home proudly displays solar panels.
Does this seem like a dream from the far-off
future? Not if Sungevity has anything to say about
it. Through its accessible technology platform
and leasing system, Sungevity has become one of
the fastest-growing residential solar providers in
the country. From 2009 to 2010, the company
expanded the capacity of its installed solar panel
systems tenfold. To date, Sungevity has sold solar
to more than 1,000 homes.
“Sungevity’s goal is to mainstream solar and
bring it to millions of homes across the United
States,” founder Danny Kennedy says.
Profile:
Sungevity
Two interrelated innovations might help
Sungevity achieve its goal. First, Sungevity’s
systems are designed, sold and engineered
remotely, both online and over the phone.
This eliminates time-consuming and costly
site visits, creating an average savings of 10
percent compared to the competition.
40
R E T I R EM ENT P L ANS
Mission-driven
organizations
choose Social(k)
socialk.com
blog.socialk.com
[email protected]
(866) 929-2525
Environmental Impact: RENEWABLE ENERGY
Highlights
B Impact Report™
Consumers: 100% of revenues come from residential
solar installations
Environment: Provides incentives to encourage
low-impact commutes; >75% paper used is recycled/FSC
certified; Uses nontoxic janitorial products, unbleached/
chlorine free paper products, and organic/sustainable
kitchen products
Employees: Living wage paid to all employees; 100% of
individual/family health insurance premiums covered; part-time
employees qualify for full-time health benefits; >75% employees
share ownership; Grew employee base by >15% last year
Community: Banks with a local community bank;
Offers time off to employees to do community service; >20%
minority/women management
www.bcorporation.net/sungevity
Second, Sungevity leases the panels to customers,
eliminating the barrier of upfront capital costs.
Customers pay a fixed monthly fee that, even
when combined with their traditional utility bill
(for night use or times when the home uses more
energy than the panels are producing), creates
significant and immediate savings for a majority
of Sungevity’s customers. Kennedy likes to call it
“saving money by saving the planet.” As Sungevity
offers lease systems for no money down to those
with good credit, it brings solar to households
that could not otherwise afford it. “ Sungevity’s goal is to
mainstream solar and
bring it to millions of homes
across the United States”
Sungevity has also created numerous “greencollar” jobs. More than 100 people are directly
employed in its Oakland, Calif. office, where
they design, sell and manage solar installation
projects. The company subcontracts with up to
200 installers across the country in its preferred
installer network. This creates valuable jobs in
multiple communities.
Sungevity is committed to bringing solar to every
family. Who better to set an example than the First
Family? Teaming with a variety of organizations,
Sungevity launched its “Solar on the White
House” campaign. The petition gathered more
than 50,000 signatures, and in October, the
White House accepted the challenge. The Obamas
will acquire solar panels this spring. Sungevity’s mission is daunting, to be sure, but
its innovative approach may just bring solar
panels to your neighborhood next.
Similar B Corps: Sun Light & Power | SunPower Builders | Southern Energy Management | Skala | Sustainable Solutions Unlimited
41
sustainable tradeshow displays &
banners from a certified green company
• “Latex” printing system uses only non-toxic, water-based inks
• Recyclable consumables (printheads, ink cartridges) & packaging
• Recyclable substrates
• Most tradeshow displays feature reusable stands
• Banners are hemmed & include free grommets for added durability
& easy installation
2800 7th Street, Berkeley, CA 94710
866.978.8547 • www.greenerprinter.com
15% discount for
B corporations!
SGP
S USTAINABLE G REEN P RINTING P ARTNERSHIP
SM
Certification ID: 0310-1268770021
SCS-COC-001228
Community Impact: GLOBAL
Profile:
hessnatur
Highlights
B Impact Report™
42
Many say Europe has long been a global leader on
sustainability. German-based apparel company
hessnatur backs up that claim. The company
has been a pioneer of sustainable business since
“long before being green was chic,” says Irene
Wilson, hessnatur’s U.S. representative.
Founded in 1976, hessnatur has a remarkable
history of increasing sustainability in its global
supply chain. The company has always used
natural fibers* exclusively, and it quickly worked
to develop organic sources with suppliers.
Today, hessnatur’s organic production projects
can be found throughout the world, from cotton
in Egypt to silk in China and alpaca in Peru.
Currently, 100 percent of hessnatur’s cotton
is organic, and only the limited availability of
organic fibers has prevented it from reaching
their goal of sourcing 100 percent organic silk
(50%), linen and wool (both 20%).
Hessnatur’s initiatives go beyond organic,
though. In 2002, hessnatur developed a set
of social standards and created a completely
transparent, socially responsible supply chain,
from fiber production to the factory floor.
Detailed information about the country of
origin, fibers, dyes and finishes for every single
item can be found on the hessnatur website
and catalog. Additionally, hessnatur has every
partner commit to its guidelines, and it audits
the factories that make its products.
“By supporting their suppliers and
helping others in their industry,
hessnatur is setting the standard for
what it means to be successful.”
Extending its leadership beyond its own
production, hessnatur works to encourage
others in the apparel industry to embrace
higher standards. The company partners with
international organizations that implement and
monitor working conditions throughout the
world. With the Fair Wear Foundation, it supports
and mentors its suppliers throughout the
implementation process of its social standards.
“You’re not in business for 35 years unless you
run your business successfully,” Wilson affirms.
By supporting its suppliers and helping others
in their industry, hessnatur is setting the
standard for what it means to be successful.
Accountability: Employees & managers are evaluated
based on social and environmental targets
Employees:Living wage paid to all employees; 100%
employees participate in the company bonus plan; >80%
individual and family health insurance premiums covered;
part-time employees qualify for full-time health care benefits;
Fully funded employee retirement plan; Offers off-site
subsidized childcare, health & wellness programs, and
counseling services
Consumers: 100% products are organic or made of
recycled/sustainable materials; hessnatur initiated the world’s
first organic cotton project in 1991
Community: 100% suppliers are third party certified
as paying fair wages and creating safe, healthy work
environments; All suppliers are reviewed bi-annually for social
and environmental criteria; Banks with a local & independent
bank; >30% women/minority management; Offers 20 hours/
year paid time off for employees to volunteer
Environment: Most facilities are in a green building;
Provides incentives for low-impact employee commutes;
Comprehensive systems reduce energy, water, and chemical
use; >75% materials printed on recycled/FSC certified paper;
>50% energy used comes from renewable sources; Has
conducted a Life Cycle Assessment on >75% products
www.bcorporation.net/hessnatur
*
Synthetic fibers, like polyester and nylon, are made from petroleumbased chemicals and production requires much higher consumption
of energy and chemicals than natural fibers.
Similar B Corps: Indigenous Designs | Sustainable Harvest | Siw Thai Silk | Sambazon | Autonomie Project
Community Impact: LOCAL
Profile:
TS Designs
Highlights
B Impact Report™
Environment: Over 50 sustainable initiatives on-site,
from solar panels to honey bees; Tees use 100% sustainable
fibers; 100% company fleet uses alternative fuel; Packaging
uses 100% post-consumer recycled material
Employees: Living wage paid to all employees; >15%
profits shared with employees; On-site garden provides
access to organic produce for all employees; Covers >50%
health insurance premiums for employees; >50% senior
positions filled with internal candidates
Community: Kept jobs at home when everyone
else didn’t; Banks with a local, independent bank; >40%
expenditures directed towards independent local suppliers;
>5% profits donated to charitable organizations; >30%
suppliers are in low-income communities
www.bcorporation.net/tsdesigns
North Carolina is the home and heart of TS
Designs. Since 1977, the T-shirt manufacturer
has seen the ebb and flow of the North Carolinian
cotton industry. The state was once a leading
apparel producer, but after NAFTA and rise of
outsourcing, production moved to Mexico and
other markets. Many locals lost their jobs. “I think we now realize what driving everything to the
lowest cost gets us,” President Eric Henry explains.
“Dirty energy and outsourcing; It does not create
a sustainable economy or a better community.”
Instead of following the competition south,
TS Designs launched an innovative program
aimed at creating long-term quality jobs that
supported a better quality of life for their local
community. While the apparel industry has
almost completely shifted overseas, TS Designs
T-shirts are over 80 percent domestically made,
with over 50 percent of creation taking place in
North Carolina
Since 2008, TS Designs has married two issues
their customers care about–buy local and be
transparent. Most apparel travels thousands of
miles, often from overseas. TS Design T-shirts are
sourced within a 750-mile area. In addition, every
shirt is stamped with the year of creation, allowing
anyone to visit their website and access information
on all aspects of the supply chain. Pictures and
contact information are available for each player
in the process. This is a rare opportunity to truly
connect with the people behind the product.
“ Instead of following the
competition south, TS Designs
launched an innovative program
aimed at creating long-term
quality jobs that supported a
better quality of life for their
local community.”
Keeping business local does have some trade-offs.
North Carolina cannot yet supply organic cotton.
However, by investing in the area with a long-term
view, TS Designs is laying the groundwork for the
transition. “We view sustainability as a journey,
not a destination,” Henry explains. Taking the
time to develop the marketplace—and the jobs
that come with it—is a testament to this B Corp’s
people-centric approach. “We happen to be in the T-shirt business but
more than that, we want to demonstrate what a
sustainable triple-bottom-line business looks
like,” says Henry. With a firm commitment to
community and transparency, TS Designs is
poised to continue to do so far into the future.
Similar B Corps: Mugshots Coffeehouse & Cafe | B-Line Urban Delivery | The Farmers Diner | One Village Coffee | Epiphany Farms
43
Consumer Impact: Serving Those in Need
Profile:
Emerge
44
Highlights
B Impact Report™
What do you do when payday
doesn’t come soon enough?
Customers also have access to an online suite
of financial education, webinars and financial
crisis counseling. Last year, more than 20 million Americans
turned to predatory ‘payday’ lenders to meet
short-term financial needs. With exorbitant
interest rates of up to 433 percent APR and
two-week repayment periods, these short-term
solutions often lead to long-term problems,
setting off a vicious cycle of debt and stress. By providing the necessary tools and training,
Emerge helps clients to take back control of
their financial lives. The average customer
gains 50-60 points on his or her credit score.
This improves the client’s chances of receiving
affordable loans and can lead to lower down
payments and interest rates, creating valuable
savings. “We help people around the country
build credit, access better products and move
into the mainstream financial market,” says
Emerge CEO Jonathan Harrison.
Emerge Workplace Solutions offers an
alternative to payday lending that helps people
build credit, save money and improve their
overall financial stability. The Emerge Loan combines the convenience of
payday loans with the interest rates of traditional
lenders by partnering with employers, banks
and credit unions. Offered to employees as
an employer benefit, the four- to eight-month
Emerge Loan can provide the liquidity to solve
urgent financial problems while helping build
long-term financial security. The Emerge
program simplifies repayment through payroll
deduction,and provides clients with a savings
account into which a portion of each paycheck
is direct deposited.
“Emerge offers an alternative
to payday lending for 20 million
Americans.”
Certified: November 2007
Consumers: 100% business focused on creating
affordable, convenient loans and provide access to credit;
100% products designed to serve low-income populations;
Provides financial education and guidance in order to create
broader access to mainstream financial tools
Employees: All employees paid a living wage; Covers
100% health insurance premiums for employees; Part-time
employees qualify for full-time health benefits
Community: >60% suppliers are local and independent;
Banks with a local and independent bank; Strategically
supports women/minority owned suppliers
Environment: >75% materials printed on recycled/FSC
certified paper; Has implemented office wide water usage
reduction and recycling programs
www.bcorporation.net/emerge
Programs are currently rolling out in Seattle
and New Orleans and will eventually reach
throughout the U.S. through a national
credit union partnership. “The long-term
goal is systemic change,” Harrison says. “As
a B Corp in the financial services industry,
we’re beginning to show that there are ways of
making a fair profit without exploiting people
or resources.”
Similar B Corps: SQA Pharmacy Services | SABEResPODER | Sumpter & Gonzalez, LLP | Icon Wheelchairs | Luftman, Heck, & Associates
Consumer Impact: HEALTH
Profile:
Freelancers Insurance Co.
“We are building a sustainable social support system
for the next generation of American workers,” says
Freelancers Insurance Company (FIC) President
and CEO Sara Horowitz. FIC is a model social enterprise. It is a model not
just because it uses a for-profit business to serve
those in need, but because it serves at scale.
Highlights
B Impact Report™
Certified: November 2007
Employees: Living wage paid to all employees; Covers
100% health insurance premiums for employees ; Grew
employee base by >15% last year
Consumers: Offers group-rate, portable health
insurance coverage to independent workers; 45% of those
covered would have no other access to coverage
Community: 100% owned by a nonprofit; >40%
suppliers are local & independent; >40% minority/women
Board and management;
Environment: Provides incentives to encourage
low-impact commutes; Efficient office equipment reduces
energy usage
www.bcorporation.net/freelancersinsuranceco
In today’s economy, more and more people
are working for themselves or as part-time
employees and contractors. At last estimate in
2005, there were approximately 42 million
Americans—or 30 percent of the workforce—
working independently. For many, that helps
pay the bills and put food on the table, but
often it can also mean living without health
insurance or paying higher prices for less
coverage than most employer-provided plans.
“ We are building a
sustainable social
support system for
the next generation of
American workers.”
That’s why the nonprofit Freelancers Union, with
almost 150,000 members nationwide, created
Freelancers Insurance Company. FIC provides
portable health insurance solely to Freelancers
Union members and places members’ health
insurance needs—not quarterly earnings reports—
front and center. By aggregating members into
one buying pool and underwriting their health
insurance, FIC gives freelancers access to the
benefits of larger plans, previously only available
to those working for large employers. FIC
provides health insurance at approximately
one-third the cost of comparable plans on
the individual market. Freelancers Union also
offers dental, life and disability insurance; a
401(k) retirement plan; a mental health services
directory; and corporate discounts.
With Freelancers Union as the sole owner, FIC
can remain 100 percent committed to promoting
the economic and physical wellbeing of current
members—as well as that of the next generation of
independent workers.
“Our members let us know what we’re doing
wrong and right,” Horowitz explains. “We’re set
up every which way to hear them and to respond.
They drive our continuous evolution.” It was a Union member’s feedback that led to the
creation of FIC, and it is member feedback that
is shaping the future. In the next year, FIC is
exploring new health care delivery models for the
ever-growing group of those without access to
employer-sponsored insurance. The company
is looking to partner with health clinics to serve
its members, while helping keep costs down. It
is also working to develop smaller networks of
doctors to provide affordable services or launch
clinics designed exclusively for member needs.
Through each of these models, and current
services, FIC will bring sustainable, affordable
and portable health coverage to generations of
independent workers to come.
Similar B Corps: Dimagi, Inc | BayPoint Benefits | Direct Dental | Preciva | Napo Pharmaceuticals
45
Declaration of Interdependence
We envision a new sector of the economy
which harnesses the power of pri vate enterprise to create public benef it.
This sector is comprised of a new type of corporation
the B Corporation
which is purpose-driven, and creates benefit for all stakeholders, not just shareholders.
As members of this emerging sector and as entrepreneurs and investors in B Corporations,
46
We hold these truths to be self-evident:
That we must be the change we seek in the world.
That all business ought to be conducted as if people and place mattered.
That, through their products, practices, and profits, businesses should aspire to
do no harm and benefit all.
To do so, requires that we act with the understanding that we are each dependent
upon another and thus responsible for each other and future generations.
©2007 Green Building Services.
All rights reserved. “Green Building
Principles” is a Trademark of Green
Building Services.
Photo courtesy of Dull Olson Weekes
Architects, Inc.

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