Tangible Benefits of Becoming A B Corp

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Fairware B Corp Hats

Fairware is a founding Canadian Benefit Corporation (Certified B Corporation or B Corp).  B Corps make up a large portion of our businesses and the community of B Corps is instrumental in keeping us inspired and motivated. We thought we’d share some of the reasons and benefits to become a B Corp based on Fairware’s experience. 

What is a B Corporation? 

Certified B Corporations are recognized as using the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. The formal definition of “Benefit Corporation” says Certified B Corporations are businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. B Corps are accelerating a global culture shift to redefine success in business and build a more inclusive and sustainable economy. 

At Fairware, we’ve been committed to using business as a force for good from day one. We were certified in 2010 and to become a B Corporation, Fairware had to achieve 3 things:  

  1. Take and pass the B Impact Rating System which sets a benchmark for the social and environmental impact of good companies. 
  2. Adopt the B Corporation Legal Framework to incorporate the mission of Fairware into our legal structure. 
  3. Sign a Term Sheet that makes our certification official. 

How many B Corporations are there? 

There are over 2,500 B Corps around the world (in more than 50 countries). Collectively, the B Corp community uses a common framework to drive social and environmental change by using their businesses as a force for good in the communities and countries where they operate.  The list of B Corps is impressive, from global brands like Danone to leading sustainability business leaders like Patagonia, Ben and Jerry’s and over 200 Canadian Benefit Corps.  

Patagonia is a B Corp

5 Benefits of Becoming A B Corp  

Our experience of being a B Corp has tangible benefits for our company – it’s been a great fit for us. 

  1. Membership in the B Corp Community
    The ability to connect and share with other B Corp leaders has been incredible. Whether it’s getting insight on a challenge or opportunity or being inspired by what other B Corp leaders are doing, access to the talent and experience of the B Corp community has been valuable.
  2. Access to Best Practice Standards
    Having access to the B Lab brain trust is like having our own in-house sustainability department. The B Lab team keeps tabs on emerging social and environmental standards, corporate social responsibility trends and activist campaigns, things we don’t always have time to do ourselves. They are a great resource for examples, case studies, and tips and tricks for improving our own efforts.
  3. Collective Marketing Campaigns
    The B Lab team creates ready to roll content for sharing and communicating with your clients and employees. The 2019 ‘    Vote Everyday’ campaign reminds consumers you have voice and power beyond the ballot box. By buying from, working for and doing business with B Corps, you vote for what you believe in.  Every day is election day. The campaign is being supported by leading B Corps and the collective visibility is greater than anything we could achieve on our own marketing budget.
  4. Third Party Recognition for our Social and Environmental Responsibility Efforts
    In a world where greenwashing is a real risk, having a third-party certification to hold us accountable to our commitments helps to separate us from our competitors. Our B Corp certification sends the signal that we’re serious about our sustainability efforts.
  5. Business Development and Lead Generation
    The B Corp community loves to support each other. We always look to other B Corps to be suppliers, vendors, and partners. In 2018 over 20% of our sales were from other B Corps or from organizations and institutions that told us they chose to do business with us as a result of our B Corp status.