March is National B Corp Month, a time to recognize businesses that balance purpose and profit by becoming certified as B Corporations. If you’re looking to make your business more planet-friendly, there can be a huge amount to consider when it comes to the businesses we buy from. Does it pay a fair wage? Are its supply chains as sustainable or as transparent as it claims?
While you are computing this, there is also a range of different certifications such as CarbonFree Certified, NPA Natural Seal and Fair Trade Certified. While these eco-labels are excellent, none of them fully encompass what it means for a business to be both ethical and sustainable in all its varieties.
This is where the B Corporation certification comes in – arguably the creme de la creme of eco credentials. For the uninitiated, the B Corp certification is a lesser-known sustainability credential that was created by B Lab, a global non-profit that aims to make it easier for mission-driven companies to have a more positive impact on the planet and its people.
It has a rigorous accreditation process, where a company’s performance is assessed on a points system and measured against five key categories: governance, workers, customers, community, and the environment. The process highlights the areas of weakness, providing a clear roadmap for improvements and the positive sustainable and social practices that should be implemented so as to continually strive for good.
Gaining a B Corp certification is not a one-time thing either, nor is it a light lift: a business must re-certify and improve its score every three years. And these certified businesses are held legally accountable to consider the impact their decisions have on their workers, customers, suppliers, community, and the environment.
Until we have finished the goal line with our B-Certification (soon!), we applaud all the B Corps out there. DO GOOD!
P.S. City Apparel has a 12+ vendors in our supply chain that are B-Certified