The B Corp movement pays close attention to some of the smaller players and their effects on the global environment and community. Many SMEs have the ability to reduce the impact in their corners of industry, which goes a long way to serving larger organisations in the future.
With that said, here are the Top 10 B Corps and how they build their success sustainability. This list highlights the diversity of small businesses tackling the climate crisis and social challenges.
10
The Body Shop
Location: United Kingdom
CEO: Ian Bickley
The Body Shop is renowned for its dedication to ethical and sustainable practices. A trailblazer in championing both environmental and social issues, the company emphasises the use of natural, ethically sourced ingredients and champions fair trade. It actively opposes animal testing in the beauty industry.
Focused on reducing its ecological impact, The Body Shop integrates recycled materials in its packaging and aims for sustainability in its product formulations. This approach demonstrates their commitment to not merely marketing beauty products but also fostering significant, positive societal and environmental change, embodying a conscientious and sustainable business ethos.
9
Envato
Location: Australia
CEO: Hichame Assi
Envato distinguishes itself through its dedication to both environmental sustainability and social impact. Renowned for its platform offering digital assets and creative content, the company prioritises minimising its environmental footprint and has attained a carbon-neutral status.
Envato is committed to eco-friendly initiatives, including tree planting, and cultivates a sustainability-focused culture internally, led by its 'Greener Good' team. Additionally, Envato's business approach supports a worldwide network of creative professionals, encouraging diversity and inclusive growth within the creative sector. This strategy reflects the core B Corp principle of harmonising profit with broader societal and environmental objectives
8
Kickstarter
Location: United States
CEO: Everette Taylor
Kickstarter revolutionises funding for creative projects, embodying a model of sustainable and community-driven business. The platform empowers artists, musicians, filmmakers, and other creatives to bring their visions to life through crowd-sourced funding.
This approach democratises access to resources, fostering a diverse and vibrant community of creators and supporters. Kickstarter's commitment to these principles aligns with the B-Corp ethos of using business as a force for good, ensuring they not only succeed financially but also make a meaningful impact in the creative world and beyond.
7
Gousto
Location: United Kingdom
CEO: Timo Boldt
The UK-based recipe box company exemplifies sustainability as a B Corp through its focus on reducing environmental impact and promoting ethical food consumption. The Gousto model reduces food waste by delivering precise ingredient quantities for meals.
Gousto is also committed to sustainable sourcing, including more plant-based recipes, and aims to cut plastic in its recipe boxes. By aligning its operations with environmental conservation and responsible consumption, Gousto demonstrates how businesses can contribute positively to the planet while providing innovative and valuable services to consumers.
6
Ben and Jerry’s
Location: United States
CEO: Dave Stever
In 1988, Ben & Jerry’s was one of the first companies in the world to place a social mission in equal importance to its product and economic missions. Then in 2012, with the support of parent company Unilever, the iconic ice cream company became the first wholly-owned subsidiary to gain B Corp certification.
Ben and Jerry’s incorporates ethical sourcing, using fair trade ingredients, and focuses on reducing their environmental impact.
The company’s activism extends to supporting causes like climate justice, racial equity, and LGBTQ+ rights. Ben & Jerry's consistently demonstrates how a profitable business can actively contribute to societal change, making it a prominent example of corporate social responsibility and a leader in the B Corp community.
5
Warby Parker
Location: United States
CEOs: Neil Blumenthal and Dave Gilboa
Warby Parker Inc. is an American retailer of prescription glasses, contact lenses, and sunglasses, based in New York City. Founded with a mission to inspire and impact the world with vision, purpose and style.
Looking at Warby Parker through a sustainability lens (pardon the pun), the provision of sight is something that many people rely on. While the retail business was built to serve a need, its impact goes way beyond this and the B Corp certification highlights this.
The company also releases an annual Impact Report, which highlights its achievements and areas for action as it drives sustainability across the business.
4
TOMS
Location: United States
CEO: Magnus Wedhammar
TOMS is a brand built on a social mission — to provide deserving people with shoes. Since 2006, TOMS has impacted over 100 million lives through its 1:1 business model. For every pair of shoes it sells, someone else in the world gets a pair.
Aside from this, what qualifies TOMS as a B Corp is the sustainable cotton sourcing that reduces the carbon footprint of the business and, as a result, every pair of shoes it delivers.
3
Patagonia
Location: United States
CEO: Ryan Gellert
The outdoor clothing brand puts sustainability at its core, earning B Corp status for its embedded commitment to responsible sourcing and community initiatives. Patagonia uses a significant amount of recycled materials in the making of its products and also promotes lower CO2, water consumption, and a fairer price for labour. Not to mention, the company owns one of the preferred brands of its kind, sharing high-quality goods with a worldwide consumer base.
2
Coursera
Location: United States
CEO: Jeff Maggioncalda
Training should be a critical part of every business and Coursera enables this via an easy-to-use platform built for remote learning — a great add-on to corporate employment in order to educate employees on sustainability.
The company also partners with renowned institutions to provide the most up-to-date resources for its users. From an accountability perspective, Coursera adheres to rigorous social and environmental performance standards, creating a transparent business model and delivering its service with minimal climate impact and maximum social implications.
1
Moodle
Location: Australia
CEO: Martin Dougiamas
B Corp certification gives Moodle the rights to the logo and supports a network of businesses that have a profound effect on social wellbeing and educational success. Alongside its own environmental commitments and accountability, Moodle shares lessons with a variety of stakeholders via its open source course management system, breeding further learning.
Educators use Moodle to create their own dynamic courses and share their knowledge with a variety of users. Moodle is also committed to measuring its own impact, and it does so by tracking its environmental performance based on key metrics and presenting them transparently.
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