We’re a Certified B Corp
In August 2022, Courtney Agencies became a Certified B Corporation.
Certified B Corporations are for-profit organizations that meet specified standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose.
Courtney is living its commitment to conducting business with a social purpose and in a responsible, sustainable manner. We’re a for-profit, primarily business-to-business, company that believes that the value of our work can be more than simply delivering services for customers, we can have a positive impact on society. We can use our business as a force for good.
Committed to Social Responsibility from the Beginning
To obtain B Corp certification, a company undertakes a comprehensive review of their business practices, and measures their impact across five categories: Governance, Workers, Community, Environment and Customers. The results are audited by the “B Lab.”
As part of the certification process, Courtney Agencies became a Benefit Corporation in BC. It is a legal requirement for every incorporated company to have a set of articles “or rules” that govern its conduct. The articles of incorporation for benefit companies must state the public benefits the company commits to promote in a responsible manner.
To qualify as a B Corp, a company must have a minimum score of 80 out of 200 in its corporate assessment. It is a high bar, and most companies achieve a score in the low 50s. For context, the exemplary Patagonia scores just over 150.
Before knowing that we even wanted to be a B Corp, Courtney had been working on baselining and setting goals to address our operational impact, as well as to put in place the People practices of a responsible employer. Courtney followed a model not unlike the Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) frameworks used by many publicly traded corporations. Because of the early effort, much of the supporting documentation was already in hand, and Courtney scored 86.1 in its first application.
Courtney has the well-earned reputation of being a good, ethical certified customs broker and ethical importer.
Running our Business as a Force for Good
We have more to do, and we use the B Corp criteria as the standard to gauge our business goals and practices. It is a holistic way of looking at positive business impact and helps guide our decision-making in operations, services, clients, employment practices and community investment.
Courtney joins almost 6000 companies worldwide – and is one of just over 400 B Corps in Canada [at October 2022]. According to B Lab, the B Economy is built by everyone who works for, buys from, invests in, learns or teaches about, or supports businesses striving to create a shared and durable prosperity for all. We enthusiastically encourage our clients, partners, suppliers and friends to consider becoming part of the B Corp movement. Visit www.bcorporation.net.
View this short video to learn more about this important global movement:
