March is B Corporation Month, and here at AMS we gratefully join in uplifting the concept of a corporation making the decision to be a Benefit to the World. How can a business benefit the world in the process of doing business? Answer: The business can focus on more than financial profit and give a stake in decision-making to others that are impacted by the business decisions.
From bcorporation.net [LINK] we read the following: “In March every year, B Lab and the global B Corp community join together to celebrate what it means to be a B Corp, build awareness of the movement and educate diverse audiences on the importance of transforming our economic system for the better.
“This effort promotes one key, unified message through a global campaign; through talking about what it means to be a B Corp, we build meaning, understanding, and trust around the B Corp Certification, highlighting companies that are environmentally and socially responsible, and the people using business as a force for good.”
Businesses of all sizes, across multiple industries are embracing the B Corporation concept. They embrace the truth… that there is a better way of doing business. What is that better way? When the company makes the decision to give a stake in their business to their employees, the communities in which they operate, the environment, their customers, and their shareholders.
AMS Fulfillment became a Certified B Corporation in 2017. At that point AMS had been a Social Enterprise for several years, so employees and community as stakeholders was not new to us. We were hiring individuals with disabilities, people with justice system involvement, people at risk for homelessness, and in doing so we worked with a number of community organizations. AMS established a classroom on campus where employees received free education in cooperation with a local college. So, we were well on the way in including employees and community when we decided to seek B Corporation certification.
What is a B Corporation
From bcorporation.net we read: “Certified B Corporations, or B Corps, are companies verified by B Lab to meet high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability.
“To become a B Corp, a company must go through the B Corp Certification process – a rigorous assessment of business impact relating to B Lab’s standards. If the company is considered to meet these higher standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability, they can start their journey as a Certified B Corporation, recertifying every three years to demonstrate a continuous improvement mindset.”
AMS Celebrates B Corporation Month
The first campaign for B Corp Month was in 2017. During this month B Corporations spread the message about the positive impact of B Corporations. AMS achieved certification in 2017, and from the beginning, being a B Corporation has had a wonderful impact on our company.
AMS celebrates B Corporation Month by telling our story of how we achieved this certification; a goal that very few fulfillment companies have achieved worldwide. Knowing that we have five stakeholders in our business decisions – employees, community, clients, environment and ourselves – we continued and expanded our efforts.
With regard to employees and community, we continued an already strong dedication, evidenced by our hiring practices, education and benefits, and a considerable involvement with our community. Regarding our clients, as their partner and their operational arm, we have considered all clients to be stakeholders since the company was established 20+ years ago.
What we turned our attention to and focused upon was the environment. AMS established a Green Team and involved everyone. With a dedicated Team we made tremendous progress in recycling, using biodegradable packaging, upgrading equipment and lighting, and analyzing what else we could do. The AMS Green Team made so much progress that we achieved carbon neutral status in 2023.
Proud to be a B Corp
AMS is so proud of and pleased with our decision to seek B Corporation certification. We have joined with 8,254 B Corporations across 162 industries in 96 countries meeting the highest standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency.
Achieving the B Corp certification was the beginning of a journey of continuous improvement for AMS. Going forward we intend to make measurable positive impacts, and that requires that our teams and departments are engaged across the company, and continuously improving. Our goal is to B the Change we wish to see in the world.
To all of our B Corporation family around the world… Happy B Corp Month, 2024!