This week, EADA hosted the B Corporation Movement Conference, open to all participants of the full time International Master and MBA programmes. The focus of the conference was the impact of the B Corp organisation, dedicated to helping mission-driven companies improve their positive impact. Since 2006, more than 2,500 companies in 64 countries have been certified by B Corp, including Hootsuite, Patagonia and subsidiaries of Danone and Unilever.
Pablo Sánchez, B Lab Spain Director, began the conference by explaining the main values that certified companies share, including a commitment to using business as a force for good and to creating benefit for all stakeholders. These purpose-driven certified companies seek to build a sustainable economy and balance profit and purpose by meeting the highest standards of social and environmental responsibility, transparency and accountability.
The second part of the conference was dedicated to the B Impact Assessment Tool, which provides a comprehensive evaluation of a company’s impact. The Tool is the first of 4 steps in the certification process, and requires the company to complete a detailed questionnaire about how the company works for employees, customers, the community and the environment.
In the second step, companies compare the data that they have collected against B Corp certification standards and benchmark the results against other businesses. This is followed by the last two steps before certification, developing an improvement plan and meeting accountability and transparency requirements.
As a follow-up to the conference, 4 participants from different International Master programmes worked as B-Impact Team consultants for a company to complete the certification process.
This B Corporation Movement Conference confirms that customers, employees and society in general, are placing more importance on sustainable business practices than ever before.
In his presentation, Pablo emphasised the rigorousness of the process and the value of becoming familiar with certification for professionals in a wide variety of fields and roles. “This tool –and understanding what the tool measures– is equally relevant if you are interested in creating a responsible company from scratch, or working as a consultant or a manager in an established company,” he said.
This B Corporation Movement Conference confirms that customers, employees and society in general, are placing more importance on sustainable business practices than ever before, which means that companies have a stake in developing strategies that strengthen business while contributing to society. The B Corporation Movement is a pioneer of this paradigm shift in business, providing a valuable assessment tool for professionals across the board in finance, marketing, operations, human resources and general management.