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21 May, 2024

Tech Superpowers is now B Corp certified!

Today marks a milestone for Tech Superpowers as we proudly join the ranks of Certified B Corporations! This achievement is the culmination of months of dedicated effort, rigorous assessments, and meaningful organizational changes aligned with the B Corp mission of driving positive impact. For those familiar with B Corp, you know it represents a powerful global movement of leading companies using business as a force for good. If you’re new to the concept, allow us to explain why earning this certification is so important to us.

B Corp certification isn’t simply a badge of honor – it’s a commitment to continually re-evaluate and improve our practices across all areas of social and environmental performance. From governance and worker policies to sustainable operations and community engagement, we’ve undergone comprehensive scrutiny to verify our positive impact.

But we didn’t pursue B Corp certification just to check a box. This process has been transformative, instilling a higher level of accountability, transparency, and stakeholder consideration into our core DNA. It’s motivated us to be even better corporate citizens, creating value not just for shareholders but for everyone we interact with.

What is a B Corp?

Certified B Corporations are united by a powerful mission – to leverage business as a force for good and create a better world for all. While profit remains a driving force, these companies go beyond the bottom line, deeply committing to practices that benefit society and the environment. B Corps aren’t just talking the talk; they’re walking the walk through tangible, impactful actions.

B Corps understand that the decisions businesses make daily can profoundly shape the future of our communities and our planet. They take this responsibility seriously, meticulously evaluating how their operations affect employees, customers, suppliers, and the communities they serve. From ethical governance and fair labor practices to environmental sustainability and community engagement, B Corps raise the bar across entire companies, not just a single department.

Transparency and accountability aren’t just buzzwords for B Corps – they are non-negotiable requirements. We went through rigorous assessments and stringent certification processes to verify our positive impact across multiple metrics. This commitment to open communication builds trust while inspiring other businesses to adopt similar principles.

The Impact Areas

B Corps focus on creating positive impact across several key areas, known as Impact Areas. These include:

  1. Governance: B Corps have an accountability and transparency requirement, ensuring ethical decision-making at all levels.
  2. Workers: This includes providing fair wages, benefits, professional development opportunities, as well as maintaining safe working conditions and positive work cultures.
  3. Community: B Corps strive to have positive community engagement through employment opportunities, charitable giving, volunteering programs, and minimizing practices that negatively impact the community.
  4. Environment: They are required to evaluate their environmental footprint and take demonstrable steps to reduce it through sustainable practices like minimizing waste, emissions, energy/water use.
  5. Customers: B Corps ensure their products/services create positive value for customers and avoid deceptive/unethical marketing practices.

By comprehensively assessing and scoring companies across these Impact Areas, B Corp certification serves as a rigorous standard for identifying and recognizing businesses that are true leaders in using their influence to build a more inclusive, equitable, and sustainable world.

Why should you buy from B Corps?

There are several potential benefits to buying products or services from Certified B Corporations (B Corps):

  1. Social and Environmental Responsibility: B Corps are legally required to consider their impact on society and the environment, not just profits. By buying from them, you are supporting companies committed to ethical, sustainable, and socially responsible practices.
  2. Transparency and Accountability: B Corps undergo rigorous assessments of their overall positive impact and have to meet comprehensive performance and transparency requirements. This provides assurance that they are walking the talk.
  3. High Standards: B Corps meet higher standards of verified performance, accountability, and transparency compared to typical corporations. Their certification is a credible signal of their legitimacy.
  4. Alignment of Values: For conscious consumers who value supporting businesses aligned with environmental protection, fair labor practices, community engagement, and using business as a force for good, B Corps allow putting money towards those values.
  5. Drive Positive Change: By buying from B Corps, consumer dollars create incentives for more businesses to become benefit corporations and institutionalize stakeholder consideration beyond just shareholders.

In essence, buying from B Corps allows you to channel your purchasing power towards businesses working to be a positive force.

Why would you want to work for a B Corp organization?

Here are some key reasons why one should consider working for a B Corp organization:

  1. Alignment of personal values and work: B Corps are committed to using business as a force for good. If you value making a positive impact on society and the environment through your work, allowing you to align your career with your values.
  2. Purpose-driven culture: B Corps foster a culture centered around their social and environmental missions. This can lead to higher employee engagement, motivation, and sense of purpose beyond just making profits.
  3. Corporate transparency: B Corps have high standards of operational transparency, accountability, and performance reporting. This culture of openness can create a more trust-based work environment.
  4. Stakeholder consideration: Unlike traditional corporations that solely focus on shareholders, B Corps consider the interests of all stakeholders – employees, communities, suppliers, etc. This stakeholder approach can translate into better treatment of workers.
  5. Long-term thinking: Rather than being driven by short-term quarterly profits, B Corps take a long-term view focused on sustainable value creation for all stakeholders over time.
  6. Progressive practices: B Corps tend to lead in areas like employee benefits, professional development, ethical supply chains, sustainable operations and giving back to local communities.
  7. Brand reputation: Working for a certified B Corp with a mission-driven brand can be a matter of pride and positive association for employees.

Many people are drawn to B Corps to find professional fulfillment while doing good. The opportunity to directly improve lives makes B Corps attractive, purpose-driven workplaces.

Why we took the time to earn our certification

Continuous improvement has been the driving force behind our company since our early days in an MIT dorm room back in 1992. From the start, our quest has never been solely about financial growth or expanding in size. It’s about becoming a positive force in the world – for our team members, our clients, and the broader community we serve.

Achieving B Corporation certification was a natural evolution in our relentless pursuit of better. We’re proud to join a growing movement of businesses committed to using their influence to create meaningful positive impact. But for us, this status isn’t a final destination – it’s a never-ending journey we’re excited to embark on.

Just as we’ve continually raised the bar over the past three decades, we’ll keep striving to improve our operations, practices and contributions to society. You can expect more ground-breaking initiatives from us as we uphold our commitment to consistently being better than we were before.

At our core, we are restless innovators, never satisfied with the status quo. While celebrating our achievement, we also embrace the responsibility it brings – to consistently unlock new ways to be a force for good. The work has only just begun, and we can’t wait to share the positive changes yet to come.

 

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