Building a Better World

Patagonia. Ben and Jerry’s. Danone. These are some of the big brands leading this change. And right here at home, in Edmonton and across Canada, companies are stepping up to solve the worlds greatest challenges. Companies like Benevity, Chandos Construction and Hootsuite. Each of these organizations has a different mission, but they all have something in common. They’re all B Corp Certified.

B Corp Certification measures a company’s social and environmental performance across all touchpoints—employees, boards, customers, suppliers, community, and planet. It looks in detail at things like carbon emissions, workforce diversity, living wages, supplier diversity, and then assesses the company’s results through a transparent and rigorous process.

The assessment includes questions like: what percentage of managers are evaluated on social and environmental performance? What percentage of energy use is produced from renewable sources? How many of your company managers identify as from an underrepresented social group?

A minimum score of 80 is required to achieve certification and companies can score up to 200 points. While 80 might sound low, over 70,000 companies have taken the assessment with an average score in the low 50s. And, every couple of years the assessment is reviewed and updated to reflect the highest standards of social performance.

Since 2016, Chandos Construction is proud to be North America’s first and largest B Corp certified commercial builder, with a current score of 107.4. Already known for having high standards and delivering exceptional results, Chandos believes that consistency is the key to longevity, and that if a company is not constantly reassessing itself, it’s not doing enough.

“We are distinct and different from our competition in areas that are very important to the world right now—inclusion, collaboration and innovation. These values have been a part of our organization for many years and have helped us achieve strong results, both financial and social,” says Tom Redl, executive chair of Chandos. “In 2016 we looked to B Corp Certification to measure our environmental and social performance, but it goes further than that. The B Corp framework helps us continually improve on our social impact as we deliver on our purpose to build a better world.”

In today’s fast-paced, information-overloaded world where brands invest millions of dollars in marketing to win your business, it can be hard to know which brands are really ‘doing good’ and which ones just talk about it. B Corp Certification is a globally accepted and rigours assessment that can help. When you do business with a B Corp you know you’re making a positive impact on society.

Learn more at chandos.com/bcorp