By requiring businesses to consider the impact of their decisions on their workers, customers, suppliers, community and the environment, B Corp certification is fundamentally tied to sustainability.
B Corp certification doesn’t just evaluate a product or service; it assesses the overall positive impact of a company. According to bcorporation.net, to date 3,790 businesses in 150 industries, in 74 countries have been B Corp Certified and they are working together to “make real change happen”.
While your company might not quite be ready to become B Corp certified you are able to explore the process of becoming certified by doing the B Corp Assessment. This tool provides a read on how your organization currently ranks; the areas where your business excels – including both social and environmental performance – but also the areas that are lacking and require attention.
The B Corp Assessment tool is applicable to any for-profit organization, in any industry, of any size, anywhere in the world. Carla Heim, Senior Advisor at BDC, took FTA and a small group of Canadian apparel brands step-by-step through the Assessment Tool so we could see, first hand, the different areas of focus and how the ranking system works.
She explained that a traditional company will probably only score 55-75 points out of the minimum 80 needed to become certified on its initial use of the Assessment Tool. But, in going through the process, the tool generates a custom roadmap, complete with guides and reports to help decide what matters most, how to set strategic goals, and planning over time. In addition, the results are benchmarked against 100,000+ similar businesses from around the world!
At FTA we believe in progress over perfection, which Carla reinforced in our workshop – ‘Perfection is not the goal. It’s about the journey’. We encourage you to take the time to assess your company and start your journey towards sustainability as soon as possible!
