A very good article and I like the "Sustainability is not a clearly defined destination, but rather a direction".
SproutWorld has been a proud B Corp member since 2021, and we use the tool to, as you write, to accelerate our progress and see where we do good and where we can do even better.
But I am incredibly disappointed to discover that copyists also become B Corp certified. We hold the patent on our product worldwide, but a UK company is selling copies, and B Corp will do nothing about it but call for dialogue between us and him/them. But they won't talk to us. As a small business, we spend a lot of money and a lot of time-fighting copycats. I think this is a huge problem at B Corp. THis showes a leak in the certification progress.
I'm sorry to hear about your challenges but thank you for raising the issue of intellectual property and how it fits (or doesn't) with the B Corp assessment.
Re the discussion about "Going beyond B": have you seen the Doughnut Economics work on a business toolkit? I think it is an interesting complement to the B Corp BIA.
A very good article and I like the "Sustainability is not a clearly defined destination, but rather a direction".
SproutWorld has been a proud B Corp member since 2021, and we use the tool to, as you write, to accelerate our progress and see where we do good and where we can do even better.
But I am incredibly disappointed to discover that copyists also become B Corp certified. We hold the patent on our product worldwide, but a UK company is selling copies, and B Corp will do nothing about it but call for dialogue between us and him/them. But they won't talk to us. As a small business, we spend a lot of money and a lot of time-fighting copycats. I think this is a huge problem at B Corp. THis showes a leak in the certification progress.
I'm sorry to hear about your challenges but thank you for raising the issue of intellectual property and how it fits (or doesn't) with the B Corp assessment.
Excellent article - as always.
Re the discussion about "Going beyond B": have you seen the Doughnut Economics work on a business toolkit? I think it is an interesting complement to the B Corp BIA.
( The toolkit: https://doughnuteconomics.org/tools/191 & their launch video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoRU3E6eigc )
Thanks Barry. I hadn't seen this workshop toolkit. It looks great and as you say, it complements the B Impact Assessment nicely.