Companies That Have Received Certification for Doing Good: a Sampling

October 3, 2010 | Read Time: 1 minute

More than 330 businesses have been certified by the nonprofit group B Lab as “B Corporations,” companies that have met certain standards to prove they are operating in ways that help society and avoid harming the environment.

Some examples of certified B Corporations include:

Deep Ecology, a scuba-diving center in Haleiwa, Hawaii, that worked with the town’s residents to help start a marine sanctuary. The company holds regularly scheduled beach cleanups, and its employees have helped rescue more than 50 endangered green sea turtles trapped in abandoned fishing nets or other debris.

Gray Ghost Ventures, an Atlanta fund that invests in new businesses in the developing world that contribute to the well-being of poor people and have significant growth potential. In addition, the company donates more than 10 percent of the business’s net profits to charity, and more than 5 percent of the energy it uses comes from renewable sources.

The King Arthur Flour Company, in Norwich, Vt., which is employee-owned and conducts regular environmental audits. The company has also increased the percentage of recycled materials it uses in its packaging.

Sustainable Harvest, in Portland, Ore., which imports fair-trade and organic coffee into the United States. The company invests two-thirds of its operating expenses in nonprofit training programs that help growers improve their farming practices and their standard of living.

About the Author

NICOLE WALLACE

Features Editor

Nicole Wallace is features editor of the Chronicle of Philanthropy. She has written about innovation in the nonprofit world, charities’ use of data to improve their work and to boost fundraising, advanced technologies for social good, and hybrid efforts at the intersection of the nonprofit and for-profit sectors, such as social enterprise and impact investing.Nicole spearheaded the Chronicle’s coverage of Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts on the Gulf Coast and reported from India on the role of philanthropy in rebuilding after the South Asian tsunami. She started at the Chronicle in 1996 as an editorial assistant compiling The Nonprofit Handbook.Before joining the Chronicle, Nicole worked at the Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs and served in the inaugural class of the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps.A native of Columbia, Pa., she holds a bachelor’s degree in foreign service from Georgetown University.