Get Down to Business: The B Corp Podcast

In this episode of the Getting Down to Business podcast, host Lauren Everett chats with two experts on B Corp certification and recertification at B Lab U.S. and Canada. Zach Fayer is the organization’s recertification manager supporting the community of B Corps in the United States and Canada on their recertifications. And Max Hayes is a community growth manager who helps companies navigate the standards, benchmarking, review process, and other aspects of the certification journey at B Lab. Value of B Corps certification Max describes several key benefits to businesses of getting certified. One of the main value adds, he says, is around accountability. “Oftentimes, businesses know they want to do better, but they don't necessarily have the systems or structure to hold themselves accountable,” he tells Lauren. “And so that's really where maintaining your B Corp certification becomes an awesome accountability tool.” Additionally, he says, the standards become the roadmap: “So not only are we holding you accountable to what you say living up to your values, but then we're also giving you that road to travel down and showing you what is best in practice in market.” A third benefit is around the branding and the community. “The B Corp logo is a small simple logo, a b with a circle, but it says a lot within that simple logo,” he says. “And then the community is global and diverse and local all at once. And so I think there's just so much power within the B Corp community as well.” Certification process walk-through Max and Zach also discuss the stages of the certification process. Zach describes the first stage as the evaluation stage. “A contractor is going to meet with your company, do a very high level overview of how your company answered the assessment, potentially ask for some additional information to make sure that all of the T's are crossed and i's are dotted, but not going to do that super in-depth review that you would expect from the B Corp certification,” he explains. Next a company is assigned to a verification analyst who takes them through the verification stage. “And at that point, your verification analyst will do the very in-depth review of your company's assessment, will potentially ask for additional documentation and additional information about how your company answered the assessment, and verify that your answers are correct based on your documentation or other information you provide,” Max describes. “And ultimately, at the end of that process, if you're still above 80 points, your company will be awarded B Corp certification.” The next step is one of the most critical stages, according to Max. “Our team has a great onboarding webinar that we encourage everyone who's recently certified to join,” he says. “ And really what they're doing in that webinar is not just welcoming you into the B Corp community, but getting you to start thinking about the next steps, which is really how are you going to announce your certification, how are you going to get your staff to understand what process you've just went through, what it means and how it's changed your outlook on your business, and then how are you going to get involved in the community?” Once a business has crossed that line, Max says, it's time to start getting involved. “What B Local can you join? What network is relevant for you when you come into Champion's Retreat?” he asks. “I think the most exciting part is once you're across that line and really integrating into the community and learning how the community can really support you, make feel seen, and help you go even deeper than the standards ever could.” For more information about B Corp Certification and how to measure your company's impact, visit https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us/programs-and-tools/b-impact-assessment/

Join Getting Down to Business hosts Lauren Everett and Max Hayes as they sit down with Drew Lavine and Shawn Hogan from Re:Vision Architecture, an architecture and sustainability consulting practice that has been a certified B Corp since 2007 and is deeply committed to re-envisioning and restoring the balance between natural build and social environments. Drew is a partner at Re:Vision and an expert in designing net zero energy passive house and living building challenge projects. He's also been an integral part of embedding B Corp principles into Re:Vision’s culture and operations. Shawn Hogan is a project manager at Re:Vision’s High Performance Consulting Studio who specializes in fostering collaboration and environmental change within corporate and community spaces. In their conversation with Lauren and Max, Drew and Shawn focus on one of the most crucial aspects of the B Corp certification process: environmental impact and sustainability. Businesses today are increasingly being held accountable for their environmental footprint, and B Corps are leading the way by measuring, reducing, and mitigating their impact on the planet. Re:Vision Architecture Re:Vision, a small Philadelphia-based firm, has two sides: an architecture studio and a consulting studio. The architecture studio is dedicated to a variety of green and sustainable architecture, from new home construction and renovation to commercial projects such as higher education and even manufacturing. “We're unique because we're not stove-piped in a single industry,” Drew says. “We work across sectors with sustainability being the thread that connects them on the other side of the firm.” On the consulting side, Shawn describes the range of services the High Performance Consulting Studio provides: “We do a lot of LEAD certification—buildings that are in design that want to be more sustainable than code minimum. And then we also do other types of building rating systems, sustainability consulting, so we've had LVC Core Net Zero Energy, net zero Carbon projects as well, or just general sustainability consulting.” From its founding, Drew says Re:Vision has been a mission-driven practice striving to rebalance the relationship between the built, natural, and social environments. “That's always been our ethos as a company,” he notes. “And so when B Corp began, it just made so much sense for us because it's like all of a sudden this is the position that we’ve been working from. We've just gotten to be more involved with the community and more involved with the evolution of B Corp. It's something that really is a very defining cultural aspect of what we do.” Measuring environmental impact Lauren describes the B impact assessment, or BIA, as a comprehensive, free tool for measuring a company's overall social and environmental impact. “Specifically, the environmental section assesses factors such as carbon footprint, waste management, water usage, supply chain sustainability and product lifecycle impact,” she explains. “And companies provide measurable data to earn B Corp certification and demonstrate their commitment to continuous improvement.” For Drew and Shawn at Re:Vision, some of the biggest challenges around B Corp certification and recertification were around data management. Shawn, who joined the firm right before recertification was due, says that pulling together the necessary data was a huge effort the first time around. But then, she says, she began meeting with project managers at regular intervals to keep everything updated: “So now, when that recertification comes, it's a breeze.” Drew says having those data-collection and other systems in place has had dual benefits. “One, we knew our work a whole lot better afterwards and we could see that kind of impact across the board of what we were doing,” he notes. “But I think it's also put the framework in place. So now when we start a project, we're thinking about these things all the time and not just in th

Join hosts Lauren Everett and Max Hayes on Getting Down to Business, as they chat with Solar States founder Micah Gold-Markel and CFO Jael Blankenship. Solar States is focused on using solar energy as a tool for sustainability, economic development, and workforce training, and the company has installed solar projects on homes, schools, and businesses across Philadelphia, while also training the next generation of green energy workers. Micah and Jael join Lauren and Max to discuss governance, one of the key pillars of the B Corp impact assessment. “Good governance ensures that a company's mission and values aren't just words on a page, but are embedded into its decision-making structure,” Lauren explains. In this episode, she explores with her guests how transparency and accountability shape businesses for long-term success. Solar States’ journey to B Corp When Micah founded Solar States in 2008, he knew he wanted his business to have a connection to the community. He describes being attracted to the idea of becoming a certified B Corp, but knowing the cost would be challenging, he thought he might postpone the certification process. He recalls being prodded by his colleague Akil March. “He said, of course we're living by the standards we set, but people have to be able to verify that,” Micah recalls. “How do they know you're telling the truth? Well, third party verification, that's it. That's when it started to make more sense.” Solar States was certified officially in 2013, a process Micah describes as rightfully difficult. For the first few years, the company maintained the certification but wasn’t sure about the benefits, feeling that since they believed so strongly in those values, they would meet all the B Corp standards whether they paid for the certification or not. But once they landed a large contract on the strength of their mission and their B Corp status, the value became clear. “That was a real launch pad for us because we had consistent work, and it put us into a network where other folks were hearing about us and what we did, Micah says. “So it was a real game changer.” Governance as a tool for transparency and accountability Another big component of becoming a B Corp is that it’s a rigorous process, and governance plays a critical role. And as Max explains, B Corps need to expand their fiduciary duties to legally allow them to consider more than just profit when making business decisions. For Solar States, Jael notes that this has been a beneficial but not overly burdensome part of the process. We've done three recertifications and another one this year coming up. And so every single time we're putting in new policies, we're putting in new reports, we're tracking new metrics for the company.” That exercise has been helpful, Jael notes. “Rather than just saying, this is what we do, or knowing that this is what we do, really proving that this is what we do,” he adds. “And it’s helped to professionalize us a little bit. In the beginning, when I started, we were very, very small. And since we've grown, it's really helped us to add structure and be organized about the whole thing.” That rigorous governance has also helped Solar States to build in steps to ensure transparency and accountability in decision making. They’ve formalized policies and been transparent with employees and the public to bring them into the fold of the values and mission and what it means to be a B Corp. One way they’ve instituted transparency among employees is around transparent compensation structures, and another is by sharing both the good and the bad company-wide. As Micah sums up: “I think when people feel like they understand what's going on around them and there's transparency such that they feel like they're being treated the right way, then that sort of reflects into other areas of their lives.” For more information about B Corp Certification and how to measure your company's impact, visit https://www.bcorporation.net

Discover the eye-opening stories behind businesses making a positive impact on the world. Get Down To Business delves into the journey of B Corp Certified companies, exploring the unique challenges and rewards of achieving this prestigious certification.