Last week, the B Lab (the organization behind the B Corporation Certification) announced their “Best for the World” honors as they do each year.
These honors are for Certified B Corporations that score in the top 5% in one of the five impact areas that are assessed in the B Impact Assessment.
As I’ve had the wonderful pleasure of interviewing plenty of folks from the Certified B Corporation community, I was curious to see which guests that we’ve featured earned this excellent honor this year.
Here’s a look at the Best for the World Companies that we’ve hosted on The Social Entrepreneurship & Innovation Podcast, organized by area of impact:
Community:
As explained by the B Lab,
“These companies are top performers in contributing to the economic and social well-being of the communities in which they operate. Through their exemplary practices and policies directed at community impact, they’re building a shared and sustainable prosperity for all. Their mission-driven cultures embrace supplier relations, social engagement, charitable giving, and strong, diverse communities.”
Dhana Inc.
Dhana is a fashion technology company that aims to unite humanity through fashion and reduce the impact the fashion industry has on climate change.
Dhana’s Founder, Shamini Dhana, is on a mission to connect people more deeply to the clothes they wear and develop their understanding of how those clothes were made in order to advance a new frontier of fashion.
I spoke with Shamini Dhana, Founder of Dhana, on circular fashion. We’re also honored to be partnering with Dhana for our series on The Impact of Fashion.
Listen here:
Bodhi Surf + Yoga
Bodhi Surf + Yoga is the FIRST Certified B Corporation surf and yoga camp in the world.
While businesses in travel and hospitality in tropical locations can isolate themselves from the community, Bodhi does the exact opposite. At the core of the mission at Bodhi Surf + Yoga is a strong tie to Bahia Ballena, Costa Rica where the camp operates.
I’ve spoken with Adrianne (Bodhi Co-Founder) and the rest of the Bodhi team about responsible tourism on the podcast.
Listen here:
Tentree
As tentree CEO Derrick Emsley told me on the podcast, “tentree is a tree-planting company that sells apparel.”
They have planted 50 MILLION TREES since their inception in 2012, and they keep on growing.
Tentree partners with thoughtfully chosen charitable organizations around the world to plant trees. They regularly visit sites to ensure that each tree planting project is providing multiple benefits for the surrounding communities.
As a result of tentree’s high standard for transparency, millions of trees have been planted through their collaborations in Peru, Indonesia, Canada, Brazil, Senegal, Madagascar, and Kenya.
This is one reason tentree earned a shoutout in our video, The 7 Most Environmentally Friendly & Sustainable Companies.
On our podcast, Derrick and I spoke about the importance of trees.
Listen here:
Ecosia
Christian Kroll founded Ecosia, the tree-planting internet search engine, in 2009 after traveling the world and witnessing the destruction caused by deforestation. They’re beyond climate-neutral and call themselves “200% renewable”.
Ecosia actually generates twice as much renewable energy they need on their own solar plant, and sells it back to the grid to replace fossil fuel-based energy!
In 2014, Ecosia became the first Certified B Corporation in Germany. Their tree-planting work has made an enormous impact and their goal to hit 1 billion trees is within sight, as long as active users continue to use their internet search engine!
I spoke with the Head of Ecosia North America, Ruby Au, on the podcast about the only search engine that plants trees.
Listen here:
Leesa Sleep
Founded as a Benefit Corporation, Leesa was built around the global issue of childhood bedlessness. One in five children lives in poverty and doesn’t have access to a bed, which can lead to mental and physical health issues over time.
Leesa designs and builds innovative mattresses in the United States that are delivered straight to the customer’s door. For every 10 beds they sell, Leesa donates 1 to a child in need. They’ve already donated over 38,000 beds!
I spoke to John Replogle, Executive Chair of Leesa, on growing mission-driven companies.
Listen here:
Customers:
As explained by the B Lab:
“These B Corps are setting the standard for serving their customers, offering products or services that support the greater good, often focusing on underserved populations. They add value to customers’ lives by providing critical services like education, healthcare, and finance management, and engaging in ethical marketing, data privacy and security, and feedback channels.”
One Seventeen Media
One Seventeen Media, a Certified B Corporation, is an AI EdTech company that is making incredible technology for the mental health space.
They’ve built a life-changing product: reThinkIt!—an app that helps kids process difficult emotions in real-time. ReThinkIt! has been wildly successful using technology to support kids from pre-K through 12th grade.
The app has literally saved lives by preventing a school shooting, and it boosts attendance for kids who are more likely to miss school due to personal challenges, saving schools hundreds of thousands of dollars.
I spoke with COO of One Seventeen Media, Amy Looper, on using AI to make schools safer.
Listen here:
Amplio Recruiting
Amplio Recruiting is a staffing agency that places refugees into jobs across the US.
They have placed 5,000+ refugees from over 40 countries into full-time employment in more than 300 companies in the manufacturing, construction, and hospitality industries.
Amplio has generated nearly $12 million in revenue and operates in Atlanta, Detroit, Houston, and Raleigh-Durham.
I spoke with Amplio’s CEO, Chris Chancey, on building a refugee workforce.
Listen here:
Environment:
As explained by the B Lab:
“These companies are leading the way towards a more sustainable and regenerative planet by putting their impact on the air, climate, water, land, and biodiversity first in their business practices. These B Corps excel in environmental performance by offering products or services designed to solve an environmental issue or through their facilities, materials, emissions, and resource and energy use, as well as transportation/distribution channels and the environmental impact of their supply chain. Their focus on the planet as a vital stakeholder hasn’t gone unnoticed.”
Preserve
Preserve is a Certified B Corporation on a mission “to help reduce the harm caused by the industrial age by demonstrating that products can be both fabulous to use and lighter on the earth.”
While the first product created to test their premise was a toothbrush made from recycled plastic, they have since expanded their product lines to include typical household products, like tableware, food storage, cutlery, and the famous Preserve razors.
I spoke with Preserve Founder, Eric Hudson, about how to get rid of plastic in the ocean.
Listen here:
Badger
Badger is at the forefront of environmental responsibility and work-life balance in the personal care industry. They use organic ingredients that are aligned with their values of healthy agriculture, minimal processing, and sustainable supply chains.
Badger is family-owned and now run by Collaborative Executive Officers and sisters Rebecca Hamilton and Emily Schwerin-Whyte.
This unique position allows them to consciously invest in what they truly believe in: nourishing the planet and their employees with unparalleled standards and benefits.
I spoke with Rebecca about how this family-owned company is fighting climate change.
Listen here:
KeepCup
KeepCup was born in 2007 as the world’s first barista-friendly reusable cup.
Each KeepCup is designed for a long lifespan, and the company is mindful of each cup’s carbon footprint and lifecycle. What’s more, each byproduct of production is recycled, reused, or kept in-store while they search for a responsible solution for disposal.
KeepCup is a founding B Corp and aims to be Net Zero by 2025!
I spoke with Abigail Forsyth, the company’s Founder and Executive Director, about how reuse can mitigate climate change.
Listen here:
Governance:
As explained by the B Lab:
“These B Corps have achieved a top score in overall mission, ethics, accountability, and transparency. Their best practices are focused on how they engage employees, board members, and the community to achieve their mission, as well as employee access to financial information, customers’ opportunities to provide feedback, and the diversity of their governing bodies. By building their vision and values into their company bylaws, these B Corps embody what it means to use business as a force for good.”
AtlasGO
Fitness meets purpose on the atlasGO app, where sweaty changemakers around the globe connect to fund nonprofits by running challenges to raise money. They’ve created a community that bridges the gap between corporations and nonprofits, where fitness enthusiasts and novices alike can participate in furthering social missions.
Across 20 countries, atlasGO has raised more than $4 million for its nonprofit partners, connecting 65,000 people globally who are inspired to change the world.
I spoke with atlasGO’s Founder and CEO, Thomas Querton, on how atlasGO helps companies improve employee engagement.
Listen here:
Kin&Co
Kin&Co is an award-winning culture and behavior change consultancy located in the UK. They use discovering purpose and culture to improve the performance of businesses all over the world.
I spoke with Kin&Co’s Associate Director, Becci Gould, about creating a thriving company culture.
Listen here:
Cage Free Productions
Founded in 2006, Cage Free Productions seeks to unearth the stories of underdogs, visionaries, and changemakers, and use them to change minds. This B Corporation and 1% For the Planet member does deep work to share powerful stories that create an emotional connection with the public and actualize change.
They work with organizations in social justice, human rights, and sustainability that are eager to use storytelling as a mechanism for change.
I spoke with Paul Lynch, CEO and Founder of Cage Free, on the power of storytelling.
Listen here:
LIFT Economy
The LIFT Economy is a Certified B Corporation and worker-owned cooperative impact consulting firm based in San Francisco that is on a mission to create an economy that truly benefits all life.
I spoke with Ryan Honeyman, Partner and Worker-Owner at LIFT, about how businesses can achieve the greatest good by focusing their work on the most marginalized.
Listen here:
Mightybytes
Mightybytes, is a Certified B Corporation digital agency based in Chicago. Mightybytes connects conscious businesses and nonprofits to the digital solutions they need to create greater impact through online success.
I spoke with Tim Frick, Mightybytes’s CEO, on being an agent of change.
Listen here:
One Seventeen Media
Woo! One Seventeen Media was also recognized as being in the top 5% of B Corps in the world for both Governance and Customers.
Oliver Russell
Oliver Russell is a social impact branding agency that builds brands for other mission-driven companies.
Founded in 1991, Oliver Russell has been in the business of creating a positive change since the very beginning. They offer social purpose consulting, brand marketing, and other social impact tools to help elevate and amplify the impact of others.
I spoke with Russ Stoddard, Oliver Russell’s Founder and President, on his lifelong career in social enterprise.
Listen here:
Workers:
As explained by the B Lab,
“These businesses’ efforts to create positive impacts for their workforce are remarkable. Their best practices in work environment aspects like compensation, benefits, training and ownership opportunities, as well as assessing working communication, job flexibility and worker health and safety practices, not only contribute to better conditions for their employees, but also mark the pace and set an example to follow.”
Dojo4
Dojo4 is a member-owned tech agency located in Boulder, CO. They prioritize building meaningful technologies that promote environmental and social justice.
While not publicly launched yet, they are also the masterminds behind Antidote to Tech, a new initiative that promotes building technology “with a sense of responsibility, care and awareness of its impact while reminding us to prioritize our well-being…” (More)
While we haven’t yet launched our episode with Dojo4’s CEO, Corey Kohn (it’s coming soon!) it’s well worth recognizing these folks early!
LIFT Economy
Woo! The LIFT Economy was also recognized as being in the top 5% of B Corps in the world for Workers along with Governance.
Congrats to ALL Best for the World Winners!
Of course, in the interest of recognizing what good company we’ve kept ourselves in, I was instantly curious when the honors were announced as to how many of these world-changers we’ve had the pleasure of featuring.
But…
There are so many more! So, be sure to check out the B Lab’s full lists of this year’s “Best for the World Winners”, here.
I can only hope that when next year’s “Best for the World” companies are named, we’ve added a few more to the list!
Cory Ames
Co-Founder & CEO, Grow Ensemble
Cory is the host of The Social Entrepreneurship & Innovation Podcast, where he’s interviewed well over 150 leaders in the space of better business, social impact, and innovation. Prior to Grow Ensemble, Cory was the CEO of a digital marketing agency, a position he earned at the age of 22. There, he became an expert on all things digital marketing & SEO.
Cory Co-Founded Grow Ensemble as a vehicle to raise awareness of and inspire action around some of the world’s biggest problems and problem solvers.
He blogs, podcasts, and publishes video on all things leaving the world a better, more just, equitable, and habitable place for all.
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