By Alnis Dickson
From the moment Laridae was founded in 2012, we have strived to be a business that lives our values. We aim to embody the same ethos as our clients, non-profit organizations who work to support our communities and environment.
Now, it’s one thing to set this as a goal, and it is another thing to be held accountable. This is where B Corp certification comes in. The B Corp certification process rigorously evaluates a business’s impact across five categories:
The certification process is based on credible, comprehensive, transparent, and independent standards; and requires deep transparency and verification through documentation. When completed, the detailed results of the certification are made public, and businesses are required to recertify every three years.
During our first certification process in 2018, we achieved a score of 93.8, comfortably surpassing the minimum certification score of 80.
During our recertification process this year, in 2021, we were thrilled to have increased our certification to 106.1.
What were we able to improve? What are our goals for improvement before our next certification? Let’s take a look at each category in turn.
Category: Governance
Maintained
- Fiscal Transparency: Complete internal transparency of financial information and formally empowers all employees and departments to actively participate in financial planning (i.e. Open Book Management)
- Corporate Oversight: Maintained our non-Fiduciary Advisory Board
Improved
- Mission-Locked Governance: As an independent or publicly-owned business, we amended corporate governing documents or adopted a legal entity that requires consideration of all stakeholders in its decision-making
Goals for the Future
- Impact Reporting: Improve internal and external reporting on our social and environmental impact, with quantifiable metrics, where possible
Category: Workers
Maintained
- Compensation: Maintain a low (<5x) high-to-low pay ratio, profit-sharing for all full-time employees
- Vacation: Minimum 6 weeks of vacation
- Satisfaction: 90%+ job satisfaction rate
- Flexibility: Blended or remote work options available
- Professional Development: All staff offered subsidized professional development
Improved
- Benefits: Health and dental benefits were introduced for all full-time employees
- Internship Minimum Living Wage: For internships, implemented a minimum living wage
Goals for the Future
- Pension Plans: Implement a pension plan for full-time employees
Category: Community
Maintained
- Local: Local and independently owned, with a community-oriented business model
- Governance Diversity: 66% of Advisory Board identify as women
- Employee Diversity: More than 50% employees identify as women
- Corporate Citizenship: Offer volunteer and pro bono services
Improved
- Local: Increased % of supplier spending on local businesses
- Ownership Diversity: Woman-led
- Diversity Training: Increased training on diversity, equity and inclusion
- Supplier Diversity: Developed written policy giving preference for suppliers owned by women or individuals from underrepresented populations
Goals for the Future
- Supplier Impact: Screen or evaluate Significant Suppliers for social and environmental impact
Category: Environment
Maintained
- Recycling: Comprehensive recycling program
- Chemical Reduction: Recycled office supplies, non-toxic cleaning products
- Travel: Written policy on limiting corporate travel; encouraged to work remotely rather than travel to office
- Energy Reduction: Energy efficient lighting, appliances; programable thermostat
Improved
- Energy Reduction: Installed smart thermostat
Goals for the Future
- Environmental Management System: Develop an environmental management system
Category: Customers
Maintained
- Impact Area: We help our clients — non-profits — address social and environmental issues, and help to serve underserved populations
- Accessibility: We use a cross-subsidization model to allow for lower or subsidized pricing for financially-constrained organizations serving the underserved
Improved
- Customer Stewardship: Developed benchmarking for measuring impact; improved pathways for receiving and acting on client feedback
Goals for the Future
- Impact Tracking: Better track our impact on individuals, in addition to tracking our impact on organizations
Looking Ahead
We’re looking forward to working on achieving our goals in preparation for next recertification three years from now.
If you’d like to learn more about B Corps, you can visit their website.
Or, if you’re looking for a B Corp to help out your non-profit organization, contact us now to setup a free consultation call.