Here’s Why SPUD Is Proud to Be A B CORP
We here at SPUD are pretty excited about being a B Corp, but you may be wondering: “what is this B Corp thing and what does it mean?”
What Is A B Corporation?
The B in B Corporation stands for ‘benefit’ and that’s exactly what B Corps are certified to do. B Corporations are using the power of business to do good things for both people and the planet. The certification is such a powerful tool because it is run by an independent 3rd party known as the B Lab. This ensures that when you see the B Corp certification displayed by a company you can trust that they have gone through an extensive audit to prove the benefits that they are bringing to the world.
For SPUD, our benefits come in the form of our low-emission delivery model, our use of reusable packaging, our commitment to sourcing local and supporting local businesses, and our community outreach in the form of food donations and customer-supported bin drives.
How Do You Get B Corp Certification?
To become a certified B Corporation is no simple task. It requires you to undertake a 300+ question assessment that is not only time consuming, but also asks tough questions about your business model. That, accompanied by the legal requirement that your articles of incorporation are amended to say specifically that the purpose of the organization is to benefit people and the planet, not just fill shareholders’ wallets, makes it a task that only a handful are committed to achieving. The questions on the assessment range from simply calculating your carbon emissions and creating a reduction plan all the way to how many of your suppliers are owned by people in low-income areas.
All B Corps are graded on a 200 point scale, with a minimum of 80 points needed just to achieve certification. The folks at the B lab then rank all of the certified B Corps based on their score on the yearly award list called “Best FOR the World”. It is a friendly competition with the sole purpose being that we all work to increase our positive impact in the world. Currently, there are just over 2000 certified B Corps worldwide, and we are proud to be a part of this awesome group of conscious companies.
Help Support B Corps
We need to help get the word out about how awesome all of these B Corporations are! These are companies that have written into their legal DNA that they want to help people in their local communities as well as the planet at large. We think that is a pretty powerful statement! As more and more companies are trying to portray themselves as “green”, it is increasingly important to have certifications that prevent greenwashing and outright lies. This gives us as customers an option to seek out companies that are truly doing good so we can help to support them. We encourage any business anywhere that is looking to increase their impact to check out the B Assessment and start the process. We are sure happy that we did!
Written by Matt Livingston Director, Social and Environmental Sustainability at SPUD.ca
