What is a B Corp and Why Should it Matter to You?
B Corporations, or B Corps, are for-profit companies certified to meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency. Using the B Corp assessment framework, these companies evaluate and seek to improve how their operations and overall business models impact workers, the community, environment and customers. Companies like Patagonia, Ben & Jerry’s and many more follow B Corp certification guidelines to use their businesses as a force for good.
If you can imagine a world where companies thrive by focusing on improving the lives of their people, managing their environmental footprint and actively looking for ways to engage their communities, wouldn’t that create a better world for everyone? This is the world that B Corporations are striving to create. The B Corp certification framework is a better way of inclusive business that helps any organization build purpose in their work.
Any organization (for-profit or not-for-profit) can use the B Corp certification framework for free to assess best practices and understand if they are aligned with values-driven principles in all aspects of their organization. There are many advantages to using B Corp guidelines to start yourself down the path of bettering your organization, redefining success, and using business as a force for good.
Advantages to Following B Corp Certification Guidelines
B Corp guidelines are about building sustainable value, not about sacrificing profit. This is achieved by involving your community, managing your environmental footprint and improving the lives of all your stakeholders by first analyzing and seeking to improve five key areas of your business.
Governance
What more can your company do to enhance policies and practices and align its mission, ethics, accountability and transparency?
Auditing your internal practices will allow you to see opportunities for change and growth. Aligning them to better serve your purpose and demonstrating increased accountability will help build trust with all your stakeholders. The B Corp framework highlights best practices to follow. Light Trail Consulting can guide you through the process.
Workers
How can your organization contribute to your employees’ financial, physical, professional, and social well-being?
More and more people are making decisions about where to work based on how well a company aligns with their values and how it treats its employees. Following B Corp guidelines can bring positive change to your company’s culture from within to attract, engage and retain employees, and enable their continued growth.
Community
What can your company do to contribute to the economic and social well-being of the communities in which it operates?
The B Corp framework provides best practices and guidelines on how to evaluate your impact and identify potential opportunities for your organization and people to more deeply engage and positively impact your community in many ways.
Environment
What can your company do to improve its overall environmental stewardship?
Ensuring you take your environmental impact into consideration when making decisions is not only the right thing to do but makes complete business sense and can lead to lasting changes in how your organization approaches its work. Each business owes the global community a responsibility to make what positive changes it can.
Customers
What can your organization do to improve the value it creates for direct customers and consumers of your product or services?
Better communicating to customers, partners and investors that your business is committed to being a force for good can have a positive effect on consumer trust and engagement. Setting yourself apart from competitors in an increasingly competitive landscape where more and more consumers are choosing to support companies that prioritize social responsibility is both good for your company and good for your community and people.
Explore the positive impact this can have, from positive social and environmental impact to tangible performance metrics like sales and competitive differentiation, all more deeply connected to your purpose.
B Corp Movement Redefines Success in Business
If you are a Canadian company interested in becoming a B Corp, we know the assessment process can appear overwhelming. It takes commitment and, most importantly, time — something many business leaders are already short of. We can help.
Light Trail Consulting, a leading company of purpose-driven consultants in Canada, is determined to prove that businesses don’t have to choose between profit and purpose. Through our three-step approach, we help you identify concrete actionable solutions, align and engage your team, and successfully sustain organizational change. We’re here to help make sure you understand what you need to do to align your work with your purpose and earn the points required to become certified if that’s your ultimate goal.
For businesses not looking to become certified but interested in improving their organization through following the B Corp framework, Light Trail can help you to create better business practices and have a positive impact on the communities you serve.
We love working with purpose-driven organizations that understand that thriving communities are good for business, and want to achieve success aligned with their values.
Ready to show the world that there’s a better way? Contact Light Trail Consulting today to get started on your path to purpose.