(Photo courtesy of earthh2o.com)
EARTH2O announced that it has become the first bottled water company in the world to become a Certified B Corporation, joining a community of more than 1,300 Certified B Corporations from more than 120 industries in nearly 50 countries with one unifying goal – to redefine success in business and focus on community betterment. B Corporations are leaders of the global movement of “People Using Business as a Force for Good.”
Recognized as “the highest standard for socially responsible business” by Inc Magazine, B Corp certification recognizes companies who voluntarily meet stringent standards of transparency, accountability and social impact.
While there are over 700 registered Benefits Corporations in the State of Oregon, EARTH2O joins a list of only 57 Certified B Corporations who have committed to an independent, third party evaluation to verify their commitment, including widely acclaimed companies like New Seasons Market and A to Z Wineworks who are dedicated to the common good.
Benefit Corporations and Certified B Corporations are both leaders of a global movement to use business as an independent force for bettering our communities as a whole rather than focusing solely on shareholder return. While both meet higher standards of accountability and transparency, Benefit Corporations self-report their social and environmental performance while Certified B Corporations must achieve a minimum score on a third-party individual evaluation and impact assessment.
EARTH2O CEO Steve Emery noted that, “We are in an era where two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies publish a Corporate Social Responsibility Report yet 64 percent of consumers still do not trust business. The Certified B Corp status provides transparent, independent assurance to all of our stakeholders that we are fulfilling our commitment to being socially, environmentally and financially responsible. It has been EARTH2O’s vision to change the role of business in Oregon and demonstrate that community betterment and business success are not mutually exclusive.
“This vision is animated by objectively delivering success equally to the economics of the company, the environment and society. We produce our entire single serve bottles from 100 percent recycled content sourced from Oregon recycled bottles. We self-manufacture all of our BPA Free 5 gallon bottles at our Culver facility. We are the only bottled water facility in Oregon to achieve a SQF (Safe, Quality Food) 2000 Level 3 Certification, the highest quality level available. We want to show business that our commitment to the common good is not only a sound business practice, but is in fact the best path to future success in an ever-evolving business climate. We want to provide inspiration for other businesses to follow.”
About EARTH2O
Headquartered in Culver, OR EARTH2O bottles and distributes 100% natural spring water available at most major retailers in the Pacific Northwest. EARTH2O also provides three and five gallon bottled water delivery to most homes and offices throughout Oregon and SW Washington. For more information please visit www.earth2o.com
About B Corporations
Certified B Corporations meet the highest standards of overall social and environmental performance. Commitment to the process requires a legal expansion of the corporatations responsibilities to include consideration of stakeholder interests rather than simply the shareholders. The goal is to build a collective voice through the power of the unifying B Corporation brand for changing the way business working in our communities. There are more than 1,300 Certified B Corporations from over 120 industries and nearly 50 countries with one unifying goal – to redefine success in business. B Corporations are leaders of the global movement of “People Using Business as a Force for Good.”
About B Lab
B Lab is a nonprofit organization that serves a global movement of “People Using Business as a Force for Good.” Its vision is that one day all companies will compete to be Best for the World such that society can enjoy a shared and durable prosperity. B Lab drives this systemic change through a number of interrelated initiatives: 1) building a community of Certified B Corporations to make it easier for all of us to tell the difference between good companies and good marketing; 2) promoting usage of mission aligned corporate structures to increase efficacy of social entrepreneurship and impact investing (more than 2,000 benefit corporations have been registered in the 27 states and District of Columbia that have passed benefit corporation laws); 3) promoting “Measure What Matters” campaigns to increase use of free, powerful tools for businesses to measure, compare and improve their social and environmental performance (more than 20,000 businesses use B Lab’s free B Impact Assessment); 4) developing B Analytics, a customizable platform to help investors and institutions measure, benchmark, and report on the impact of the businesses with whom they work and in whom they invest. For more information, visit www.bcorporation.net, www.bimpactassessment.net, www.b-analytics.net and www.benefitcorp.net.
