A few weeks ago, a good friend of mine sent me this article (Shout out to Andrea) about whether or not we can really trust sustainability certifications if companies who can “pay to play” can still meet the standards.
B Corp certification is the main subject of the article. Though it is one of many such certifications, B Corp certification is widely considered to be the most rigorous and all-encompassing sustainability certification out there. Its assessment (which is free to take!) is based on the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
At the same time, the organization faces controversy because some large and well-known companies that don’t seem to align with B Corp values (think Nespresso with their throw away plastic coffee pods) do end up getting certified.
B Corp is in the process of changing their standards to become even more rigorous, which I will get into in a little bit. But I’m also curious about what we have to gain when we tighten the circle around what “counts” in terms of giving equal weight to people, planet, and profits with our companies.
So what’s the deal?
The Burden of Certification
First, as the leader of a certified B Corp company, I’ve written before about the process of B Corp certification, how long it takes, and how arduous it is. As a long time certification expert, I know that with these types of programs there is a constant tension between rigor and building a movement, especially if your target market is, or includes, small businesses that have 1 million fires to put out every day.
For every barrier you put up in the name of maintaining strict standards, the burden disproportionately falls on small business owners in your network because they usually don’t have teams and staff dedicated to adapting to standards and producing paperwork and policies that prove it.
As the argument goes with Nespresso and Princess Polly, they are backed by large, not-B Corp certified companies, and have teams that can adapt or massage their policies to meet the sustainability standards set forth. The small business owner, on the other hand, struggles.
Building a movement
B Corp bills itself as a movement demonstrating that “Won’t Stop Until Business is a Force for Good.” Along with the burden of certification, a movement also has the burden of getting more people involved.
B Corp recently did revise its standards to make them more rigorous. Without going too deep into the weeds, there used to be 5 Impact Topics that an applying company had to show progress in. Each question in the topic was weighted for points and 80 points meant that a company had enough sustainability measures to move to the certification stage.
Now, there are 7 Impact Topics and rather than meeting the 80 point threshold wherever, a company now must meet minimum performance standards across all 7 topics. So previously, if you had very good score on Employees and Community Impact, maybe you didn’t have to be so strong in the area of mitigating climate risk. Now, you have to demonstrate that you are covering all 7 topics.
B Corp revised the standards in part to raise the bar for incoming companies. In discussing the standards B Lab, the non-profit network that administers the certification, said, ”
“B Corps are not claiming to be perfect companies, but instead are companies willing to measure their impacts, identify opportunities for improvement, and implement changes to drive incremental change over time. As such, globally, the B Corp movement is an embodiment of continuous improvement.”
Perfection Vs. Continuous Improvement
I recently read (listen on audiobook) to Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, which I will bluntly and probably unfairly sum up by saying it describes a relatively recent history, or even movement, of people with progressive ideals letting the perfect be the enemy of the good.
I’ve recommended the book several times because while one of the authors actually describes it as “aspirational and probably a bit late to the stage where[..]the discourse would’ve been better received before things got as grim as they are now” I found the aspiration to fill a void that is otherwise lacking in the current political moment.
I also found the explanations of why we don’t have high speed rail and affordable housing illuminating, as were the ways we have relatively recently been able to, say, rebuild a section of I95 in Pennsylvania in record time. There are examples of getting things built.
Movements start small, grow, are successful, get backlash and then face a critical moment of how to address that backlash. B Corp is building a movement and adapting to criticism and disappointment, which I do not mean to diminish.
They don’t claim to be perfect. They are adapting to the changing needs of their movement and mission. But at least they are building….something.
Moving forward in the real world
I don’t mean to be a shill for B Corp certification but I have found it to be a community that aligns with my values and pushes me to think beyond what I’m doing now to, if not be perfect, be a little better than I was before.
For example, We The Change (the women-owned business affiliate of B Corp) recently held a webinar titled, “Exploring the Environmental Impact of AI” with speakers Ellen Caviglia from Tonic and Jenn McFarland from Marit Digital. I know about the huge toll that AI takes on the environment in terms of water and energy usage and I expected to come from the webinar educated but also devastated.
AI is so hugely helpful to me in my work (note, I did not use it for this post!) so I was glad to learn about tools for assessing the environmental impact of AI, tools to offset energy usage from AI, and which tools are operating ethically and with authentic information.
There are no perfect solutions, at least not yet. The speakers noted we will have to adapt and be vigilant as AI rules even more of our interactions – business and personal. They speakers also pointed out that not using AI as a business owner is a huge disadvantage.
A Final Rabbit Hole to Explore
On the flip side about adapting to changing landscapes, I recently came across to this five-year old documentary (incidentally produced by Patagonia, a B Corp Company) called The Problem with Hydropower. I’m linking you to about halfway through the documentary when the filmmakers talk about Lake Powell and Glen Canyon. The footage is absolutely beautiful.
What was inspiring to me, was when one of the dam removal activists acknowledged that the dams outlived their usefulness. The buildup of silt behind the dams means that they’re not creating power like they once were. One dam’s output could be replaced by three windmills.
The feeling I had watching it is captured by Dr. Ann Willis, California Director, American Rivers
“Dam removal is the best way to bring a river back to life. The Klamath is significant not only because it is the biggest dam removal and river restoration effort in history, but because it shows that we can right historic wrongs and make big, bold dreams a reality for our rivers and communities.”
This isn’t just about one person vandalizing dams (though that part is wild) but a movement of activists, tribes, fisherman, government agencies and regular folks working together incrementally to show us how to adapt to new circumstances.
Sometimes you have to build something to destroy something else.
So with all that said, I’m less interested in who is slipping through the cracks and why a given certification or standard or policy isn’t perfect. We have so many problems. What are we building to fix them?
