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Hosted by B Lab’s
Featuring: Amy Rosenblum, Cultivation Center
Steps to B Corp Certificationwith Cultivation Center
Poll:
How interested are you in B Corp Certification?
• I’m doing it
• Interested, but something is standing in the way
• I’m curious, but need to be convinced
• I’m a skeptic
• N/A
What is a B Corporation?Certified B Corporations are using the business as a force for good.
• Over 1,500 companies in 42 countries
• B Corps meet higher standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability
• B Corps are Certified by the non-profit B Lab
• B Corp is like fair trade, organic or LEED certification but for the whole company, not just a bag of coffee or a jug of milk
Cultivation Center
Better Business. Bigger Impact.
Connect and consult with community-minded businesses to strengthen infrastructure and create impact.
● Strategy● Leadership & Governance● Community Building● Social Impact● Fundraising
Learn more about Cultivation Center at: https://www.bcorporation.net/community/cultivation-center
What is a B Corp?
Earn a verified score of 80 points on the B Impact Assessment
Give the company legal protection and permission to consider all stakeholders.
Make a profile showing topline performance on Bcorporation.net.
80+
To learn more, visit:www.bcorporation.net/become-a-b-corp/how-to-become-a-b-corp
• A certification conferred by the nonprofit B Lab.
• A company that meets a high level of social and environmental performance AND makes a legal commitment to consider all stakeholders.
• Any for-profit company in any country can pursue certification.
Certified B Corporation
• A legal entity that has protection and permission to consider its impact on all stakeholders, not just shareholders.
• Most benefit corporations are required to create annual reports on their positive impact.
• B Lab is an advocate behind the legislation
Benefit Corporation
Benchmark performance
Attract and Engage Talent
Save Money and Access Services
Partner with Peers
B Corp Certification helps companies:
Show Leadership
Differentiate from Pretenders
Generate Press
Attract Investors
Watch the first webinar in this series:www.bcorporation.net/videos/webinars
Why We Became a B Corp
● LLC didn’t do us justice
● Community
● Values alignment
● Access to our network
● Helped us live our values
● Differentiated our work
B Impact Assessment: Measuring What Matters
Governance• Transparency• Ownership
Workers• Job Growth• Compensation & Benefits• Employment Practices• Work Environment• Employee Ownership
Community• Suppliers• Local• Diversity• Charity/Volunteerism
Environment• Energy Use• Facilities• Supply Chain• Manufacturing
+ Impact Business Models• Direct Impact
Products/Services• Targeting Underserved
Communities• High Impact Supply Chain
Benchmark & Improve Performance“The B Impact Assessment added a new twist to
our initiatives – it helped us understand where we
are in comparison to other companies.”
Rob Michalak
Maintain Mission
Adopting the B Corp legal standards:
• Bakes the values of the company into its legal DNA
• Gives protection and permission to consider non-financial stakeholders (community, employees, suppliers, environment)
• Ensures that mission can survive over time
Maintain Mission
Learn more about the legal requirements here: http://www.bcorporation.net/become-a-b-corp/how-to-become-a-b-corp
• A certification conferred by the nonprofit B Lab.
• A company that meets a high level of social and environmental performance AND makes a legal commitment to consider all stakeholders.
• Any for-profit company in any country can pursue certification.
Certified B Corporation
• A legal entity that has protection and permission to consider its impact on all stakeholders, not just shareholders.
• Most benefit corporations are required to create annual reports on their positive impact.
• B Lab is an advocate behind the legislation
Benefit Corporation
Commitment to Transparency
See more examples at: www.bcorporation.net/community/find-a-b-corp
• For-Profit Companies of Any Size
• Any Industry / Geography
• Customized assessment based on industry, size, geography
• Any Legal Structure (sole proprietors, LLC’s, Corporations, etc.)*
• Companies over 1 year old – special Pending B Corp program for start-ups**
Who Can Become a B Corp?
*More on legal requirements and process for start-ups coming in a few minutes!
** For more on Pending B Corp, visit: http://www.bcorporation.net/become-a-b-corp/how-to-become-a-b-corp
Poll:
What is your next step?
• Start or complete the B Impact Assessment
• Improve my score to be over 80
• Meet the legal requirement
• Complete documentation
• Engage my team internally
Process and Tips: Six-Step Plan
Step 1: Get a Baseline
Step 2: Engage Your
Team
Step 3: Assessment Review
+ Documentation
Step 4: Implement
Step 5: Fine Tune
Step 6: Celebrate and
Continuous Improvement
Step 5: Final
Documentation
Step 6: Finalize
Certification
OR
Step 1: Get a BaselineTimeline: 1.5 – 3 hours over 1 week
❑ Create a B Impact Assessment Login
❑ Take a first pass of assessment
❑ Review initial score
❑ See how you stack up compared to 20,000 + that have taken the assessment
Step 1: Get a Baseline• Visit www.bimpactassessment.net to get started
B Impact Assessment FAQ’s
• I am a sole proprietor – how do I get into the right track of the assessment?
• We have a virtual office – how do I answer questions related to our facilities?
• Our company has operations in more than one region
• Which year of data should I use when completing the assessment?
Visit http://bimpactassessment.net/how-it-works/frequently-asked-questions for more FAQ’s
Steps for Start-Ups
• Start-Ups can apply for Pending B Corp Status
• Take B Impact Assessment prospectively
• Make legal change• More on this in a few minutes!
• Pending status lasts for 1 year
Visit http://www.bcorporation.net/become-a-b-corp/how-to-become-a-b-corp for more info
Step 2: Engage Your Team Timeline: Varies based on existing tracking / information
❑ Identify the right people to engage: • Human Resources • Operations• Finance
❑ Explain Objectives and Benefits
❑ Assign Questions
❑ Update Your Assessment
❑ Start conversations about the legal requirement
Documents to Gather In some cases, it may be easier to gather information from your team and respond to assessment questions yourself. The following will be helpful for you:
✓ A payroll register/employee roster ✓ Employee handbook✓ A list of our "significant suppliers," which we define as our top
80% of suppliers/vendors by dollar volume.✓ A breakdown of revenue from our various products and services✓ A P&L ✓ Any resource use tracking (energy, GHG's, water, etc.) ✓ Any sustainability / corporate social responsibility goals, reports,
progress tracking
Step 2: Engage Your Team
Step 3: Documents + Review Call Timeline: 2-3 weeks, 90 minute call
❑ Submit Assessment for Review (90% complete)
❑ B Lab Staff will Schedule Call
Step 3: Documents + Review Call Timeline: 1-2 hours
❑ Submit Operations Documentation
❑ Examples: - Employee handbook - Breakdown of suppliers
by location- List of board members
❑ Review Assessment, refine score
Step 4: Implement Timeline: Varies
❑ Use Action Plan and Best Practice tools within the assessment to identify areas to improve your score
❑ Start with the short term / easy to implement items first
Steps 5 + 6: Fine Tune & Continuous Improvement
Fine Tune & Continuous Improvement
Timeline: Varies, 2-6 months on average
❑ If your score is below 80, use this opportunity to fine tune your plan to improve your score and deepen impacts ❑ Celebrate success! Each action you take is moving you down the path toward
becoming a better company!❑ Develop a timeline for certification & share with your team
Step 5: DocumentationTimeline: 2-3 Weeks
❑ If your score is above 80, congratulations! You’re ready to move forward certification
❑ Upload additional documentation to
verify your score ❑ Finalize score with B Lab staff
Step 6: Finalize Certification Timeline: 1-2 Weeks
❑ Understand your legal requirements
❑ Sign the term sheet and pay annual fees
Legal Requirements Legal Requirements❑ Determine your path based on corporate
structure and state of incorporation: ▪ Amend your governing documents OR▪ Adopt benefit corporation status
Examples: ❑ LLC in the United States: Amend operating
agreement ❑ Delaware Corporation: Adopt Benefit
Corporation form within 2 years of certification
Learn more about the legal requirements here: http://www.bcorporation.net/become-a-b-corp/how-to-become-a-b-corp
Step 6: Finalize Certification
Legal Requirements Term Sheet & Certification Fees ❑ Sign B Lab Term Sheet
▪ Certification term is 2-years▪ Participate in on-site review if randomly selected (10% of Certified B Corps
randomly selected each year)▪ Annual certification fees based on the tiered structure, as outlined below:*
Company Revenue Fee$0 - $499,999 $500$500,000 - $1,999,999 $1,000$2,000,000 - $4,999,999 $1,500$5,000,000 - $9,999,999 $2,500$10,000,000 - $19,999,999 $5,000$20,000,000 - $49,999,999 $10,000$50,000,000 - $99,999,999 $15,000$100,000,000 - $999,999,999 $25,000$1B+ $50,000+
Step 6: Finalize Certification
Resources
▪ B Corp Press: http://www.bcorporation.net/news-media
▪ How to become a B Corp: http://www.bcorporation.net/become-a-b-corp/how-to-become-a-b-corp
▪ Legal Requirements: http://www.bcorporation.net/become-a-b-corp/why-become-a-b-corp/protect-your-mission
▪ FAQ for Investors & Directors: http://www.bcorporation.net/sites/all/themes/adaptivetheme/bcorp/pdfs/faqs_investors_and_directors4.pdf
▪ Pending B Corp Certification for Start Ups: http://www.bcorporation.net/become-a-b-corp/how-to-become-a-b-corp/steps-start-ups
▪ B Impact Assessment: http://bimpactassessment.net/
▪ Case Studies: http://bimpactassessment.net/case-studies
Next Steps
• Start the the B Impact Assessment: www.bimpactassessment.net
• Learn more about the B Corp Certification: www.bcorpororation.net
• Sign up for another webinar: http://bit.ly/1R038YK
• Have questions? Contact us at:
[email protected] or 610-293-0299