Why Become a B Corp

The B Corp movement has picked up a lot of speed in the past year and as one of the original 100 B Corps nationwide it's been really exciting to see it catch on. Here are some of the reasons we think becoming a B Corp is not only the right thing to do but also a smart business move.

It will help you grow your business

• Engaged staff means more efficient staff. According to Hewitt Associates, companies with higher levels of employee engagement outperformed in the stock market by nearly 20%.
• It forces infrastructure you need anyway. The B Corp assessment requires data on how you show social responsibility, how environmentally-friendly your utilities are, and how you target like-minded clients and partners. For us as a quickly-growing business trying to scale, these were items we needed to have in place anyway. The B Corp assessment provided valuable infrastructure support in making this happen.
• It helps, doesn't hurt. Last year Idealist Consulting was named a Fastest Growing Company in Oregon as well as one of the Inc.5000 Fastest Growing Companies nationwide. Growth and social responsibility can happen together. Part of this growth was through working with other B Corps which have quickly become a new market segment for us to engage.

It will make your business stand above the competition

• A tangible way to show you care. According to Harvard Business Review, millennials, which represent roughly 50% of the global workforce, want work that connects to a larger purpose. B Corps are a tangible way to show that you connect to something bigger, which helps everyone sleep better at night. This can lead to better employee retention and less time training, more time improving.
• Targeted local networking. The Portland B Corp group has been a valuable networking avenue for us: we met our Engagement Party designer there as well as several potential clients and partners. Really cool cross-marketing ideas can come about when you get a bunch of B2B and B2C people from different sectors in the same room together. B Corps support each other and keep rates low to encourage growth in our respective businesses.
• Be a bridge between public and private sectors. New York Times columnist David Brooks wrote that B Corps are "a way to transcend the contradictions between the ineffective parts of the social sector and myopic capitalism." We are learning how to pick the best of both worlds which leads to more efficiency.

Join us and other Portland leaders like New Seasons and Metropolitan Group September 15 in Newberg for B Corps Rising: Why Business Leaders are Choosing B Corp Certification. RSVP here.