Westport’s Impact Growth Partners pitches B Corp certification

In an era where consumers are becoming increasingly demanding that corporations adhere to higher ethical, environmental and social standards, the appeal of B Corp certification can be obvious.
B Corps also have a tendency to work with other organizations that have earned the certification, creating an invaluable network of companies and brands with dedicated customer bases and a reputation for quality.

“B Corps are for-profit companies that meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency,”stated Jenifer Gorin, the founder of Impact Growth Partners (IGP), itself a Certified B Corporation. “Right now, there are over 6,000 certified B Corps around the world and 2,000 in the U.S. and Canada.”

Notable B Corps include Athleta, Ben & Jerry’s, New Belgium Brewing, Bigelow Tea Co., Patagonia. Earning the coveted certification is no easy feat, which is why it has become a central focus for IGP. In a webinar on March 30, representatives of the consulting firm spoke with several business owners exploring the possibility.

Gorin founded the company in Westport five years ago and has since helped more than 30 Connecticut businesses find their way through the certification process. Her focus on B Corps is based on her own experiences in business.

“In my first jobs, I was in finance, and my view was that companies are for making a profit, however they do that. Philanthropy and government are for helping save the world,”Gorin said. “I’ve totally done a 180 since then and that’s really what B Corp certification is based on, moving towards the realization that corporations do have a responsibility to consider all stakeholders. A B Corp sees that as your community, your customer and clients, the workers, the environment and suppliers.”

“You’re balancing your purpose and your profit, so you’re able to grow a financially sustainable business while having a positive impact on all stakeholders,”Gorin added. “When we started this in 2018, even before Covid, we found that the work was naturally done best on Zoom. Beyond our Connecticut focus, it quickly became a national and international company.”

IGP clients now include companies in the U.K. and Canada. Gorin stressed the rigor of the certification process as a key reason why small businesses may want to consider an outside consultant such as IGP to guide them through. She explained that B Labs, the collection of entities that certify B Corps, developed 1,600 questions to understand a business and its commitments. They will tailor a list of 200 to an applicant depending on their size, industry, and location, and the applicant must be able to score full credit on at least 80 of the questions.

The difficult part is that proof of every assertion must be provided, along with a rigorous risk assessment of ways that the business could fall short of some of those goals. According to Gorin, even if a company fails the initial assessment and is unable to make corrections in the allotted time, going through the process is still immensely useful as it provides extensive amounts of internal data and that those who run a business have a full and thorough accounting of many aspects of both daily and strategic operations.

A nominal fee is charged of each B Corp each year on top of some application costs, although there are Diversity, Equity and Inclusion discounts and a sliding scale that ensures costs are manageable for even the smallest companies.

Gorin urged the webinar’s attendees considering a B Corp application to consider starting soon.

“They plan to revise the process to have minimum scores within individual categories,”Gorin said. “The plan is to roll this out in 2024 so what I encourage is if you’re certified going into 2024 you won’t need to meet those standards until your next recertification a few years later.”