But some smaller companies — and a few larger ones, like Patagonia, New Belgium Brewing and Ben & Jerry’s — have banded together in an attempt change the world under the maxim “business as a force for good.”
They have voluntarily submitted themselves to exhaustive evaluations to earn certification as what is known as a Certified B Corporation, or B Corp for short.
Certified B Corporations, according to the B Corp website, are businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose.
It’s not a government designation, but rather one dreamed up in 2006 by a private nonprofit in Berwyn, Pa., called B Lab. Its goal: Accelerate a cultural shift to harness the power of business in hopes of addressing society’s greatest challenges.
B Lab has certified about 3,000 companies in 150 industries in more than 60 countries — about 1,000 in the U.S. and seven so far in New Mexico.
LongView Asset Management, an investment firm in downtown Santa Fe, and Banyan Botanicals in Albuquerque are the two most recent New Mexico companies to become B Corps, both in May.
The seven New Mexico firms that have become certified say they joined the movement to be more environmentally responsible, better serve the community, improve employee benefits and be part of the B Corp family so they can see what other companies in the country and world are doing.
B Corp certification has “been good for business and we’re attracting travelers who want to ‘vote with their wallets’ and visit places that share their values,” said Dawn Boulware, director of human resources at Taos Ski Valley, the only ski resort with B Corp certification. “It’s also enabled stronger relationships with our local community and staff.”
Meow Wolf, UpSpring, SecondMuse and Positive Energy Solar are the other New Mexico B Corps.
