Guest Blog – Nancy Geenen of Flexability
Certified B Corporations are businesses that balance purpose and profit. As a start-up employment consulting firm focused on individuals with disabilities, the B Corp certification is a natural fit. We wanted a company culture that considers the impact of our decisions on our employees, customers, suppliers, community and the environment. As founders, we are “refugees” of corporate cultures that put profits ahead of people. Flexability is committed to stakeholder primacy over shareholder primacy. We think of it as people before profits.
We have built the legal requirements into our organizing documents and our operating processes from the start. Our positive impact is demonstrated by our commitment to transparency and accountability with all our stakeholders. Significantly for start-ups, B Lab allows early stage companies to signal to stakeholders like investors, board advisers, employees, and prospective clients that we are on track to certifying as a B Corp. B Lab created Pending B Corp status to help early stage companies like Flexability make that commitment count.
To achieve a Pending B Corp Certification, Flexability completed the B Impact Assessment and met the legal requirement for certification. Because Flexability scored above the 80-point bar for Certification, B Lab granted Flexability the use of the “Certified B Corp: Pending” to help us publicly communicate our commitment. Our Certified B Corp: Pending status (i) signals to current and future investors that Flexabilty is already measuring and managing its social and environmental performance with the best tools available; and (ii) demonstrates strong governance because we adopted the legal framework that protects our mission. On a quarterly basis, our leadership team evaluates our business model’s impact on employees, community, environment, and customers. From our supply chain and input materials to our charitable giving and employee benefits, B Corp Certification proves we are meeting the highest standards of verified performance.
Flexability is changing the workplace by changing the workforce. We bring the B Corp values to every engagement, whether consulting on inclusion strategies or placing members of our talent pool into a new workplace. We focus on people first and lead with the ABCs: abundance, bravery, and creativity. The B Corp certification challenges us to ask questions and resolve issues with these values in mind