By Allie Henninger
What is a B Corp?
Certified B Corporations, or B Corps, are for-profit companies that meet high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. Presented by B Lab, a non-profit company, B Corp Certification is a third-party standards certification for businesses that are leading the way in changing our economic system to positively impact all stakeholders—workers, communities, customers, and our planet—not just shareholders.
The B Impact Assessment (BIA) is the assessment platform used to comprehensively measure the social and environmental performance for B Corp certification. The platform includes the themes of governance, community, workers, environment, and customers and asks questions about employee benefits, supply chain practices, environmental performance (energy, water, waste, etc.), and overall impact on customers and communities. B Lab measures not only the positive impact of a company’s operations but also assesses its potential negative risks. The final section includes other disclosures to identify sensitive industries or practices that the company is potentially involved in. An additional requirement of a B Corp entails amending the company’s governing documents to commit to considering all stakeholders in the company’s decision-making.
3R’s Journey
3R has been recognized as a certified B Corp since 2019 and continues to uphold the strong standards that B Lab stands for. In 2023, 3R submitted its renewal for B Corp Certification for the first time as an independent and woman-owned business, after completing the transition from our parent company at the end of 2022.
3R always strives to “walk the talk” and we pride ourselves in our B Corp status as it helps us do just that. We aim to be leaders in the movement for an inclusive, equitable, and regenerative economy, and we believe businesses must value more than just the bottom line to achieve our globe’s most pressing issues.
Our latest submission earned 3R Sustainability an overall score of 98.3, well above the median score of 50.9. Each year, we work to improve our score for the benefit of our employees, clients, and environment.
Work with Clients
In addition to maintaining B Corp Certification ourselves, 3R supports clients on their journey toward certification and recertification, which is required every three years. The 3R team works with clients to help them understand their opportunities for improvement which may include enhanced data collection, goal setting, and policy creation, for example.
What’s Next
The 7th edition of the B Corp standard is undergoing a comment period and will be finalized by the end of 2024. The updated assessment under the new standard will launch in 2025. The B Corp standards are updated every three to five years to reflect the constantly changing landscape of sustainability that will allow companies to best reflect their efforts towards improving their performance. This improved standard will encourage companies to meet more specific performance requirements through their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) policies and will ensure scoring is more evenly distributed across the assessment. B Lab also seeks increased alignment with other ESG reporting standards, such as the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), to better harmonize the vast reporting landscape, striving for impact and progress over checking boxes.