BERWYN, PA — Consumers are increasingly demanding sustainably made products, which is turning up the heat for food manufacturers to adopt more environmentally friendly practices. But starting can be the hardest part, especially considering what Harvard professor Geoffrey Jones calls “crippling vagueness” around sustainability.
The B Impact Assessment serves as a solution, by providing a way to quantitatively measure a business’ positive impact on the environment, the workers and community.
This free tool walks you through a series of questions to help you learn what it takes to build a better business. It then compares your answers to thousands from other businesses and creates a customized improvement plan, with free best practice guides to help implement new policies.
Companies that achieve a certain score may be eligible to certify as a B Corp, a new type of business that balances profit with purpose and has a legal standard of positively impacting its stakeholders.
This global community brands itself as a “movement of businesses as a force for good,” and it’s a breeding ground for innovation. Some of the innovations include the open hiring model at Yonkers, NY-based Greyston Bakery, which bypasses background checks and interviews to hire bakers, as well as the income advance program at Rhino Foods, which eases workers’ financial concerns by providing small, short-term emergency loans that can be repaid through payroll deductions.
Click here to learn more about becoming a B Corp.
