From the very beginning, when Bob and I were planting the seeds of SEM from our living room in 2001, we have aspired not just to turn a profit (which in a new and emerging industry is quite enough to tackle!), but to create real and lasting value. As we like to say, it’s not just what we do, but how we do it that determines how successful we are.

But what does that really mean? At SEM, it means that we work very hard to make sure that we are doing business in a way that is beneficial for all of our stakeholders: our customers, our team, our communities, our trade partners, and, just to make sure we’re not letting ourselves off the hook too easily, we throw future generations in there as well.

Last fall, we decided to formally integrate this philosophy into the fabric of our business plan by becoming a Certified B Corporation. B Corps are a new type of corporation that emphasize “benefit” for people, planet and profit. Yes, profit matters even for a mission-driven company like ours, because if we don’t make money we don’t stay in business. How sustainable is that?

Companies that embrace this challenge of seeing past the single bottom line write it into their legal corporate language, ensuring they keep those core values even as the company evolves or changes ownership. In recent months, Vermont and Maryland became the first states to officially recognize B Corp as a legal status, and dozens of other states will likely do the same in the next year or two, including North Carolina. You can keep up with the latest on this topic over at the B Corp blog.

To get certified, potential B Corps have to meet a set of standards set by B Lab, the board that oversees the entire application process. This isn’t an easy choice for many companies, nor is it an easy accomplishment; we actually have someone in house who monitors our B Score and is constantly seeking ways we can improve. There’s also a good chance we’ll be audited by the B Lab within the next three years to make sure we’re actually doing what we say we’re doing.

The strict standards set by B Lab are tough to meet, and that’s something we’re grateful for; it protects the integrity of the B Corp label. There are about a dozen other B Corps in NC and hundreds across the country, with more taking on the challenge every week. Whenever we see the chance to do business with another B Corp, it automatically serves as a way to vouch that they’re doing business in line with our values.

If you’d like to learn more, here’s a video we put together about our own journey of becoming a B Corp:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0o4qvk5JzwU]

Maria Kingery is the Co-Founder and Director of Cultural Development at Southern Energy Management.  Read more about her here.

Tags: b corp, sustainability, triple bottom line

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010 at 12:00 pm and is filed under Triple Bottom Line. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.