Hop… oops, hot off the presses! Hop Studios is officially a B Corporation Certified company! And we’re not just saying that to impress you (okay, maybe just a little), but because it’s a big step forward for us.
Our slogan says it concisely: “Helping Other People.” We have long believed that businesses should be responsible not only to customers and shareholders but also to contribute positively to society and the environment. We orient our strategic compass ever more towards making a positive difference in the world around us.
Achieving B Corp certification is both a way to show what we’ve achieved and a promise to hold ourselves to high standards set by a very active, engaged community.
If you don’t yet know what a B Corp is all about, it’s a non-governmental certification encompassing a large set of behaviours and standards that a socially progressive enterprise ought to follow. For Hop Studios to become certified, all (and I do mean all!) aspects of our operation were assessed by an independent organization, B Lab.
B Lab is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting social, economic and environmental responsibility in business. Their certification recognizes an organization’s track record and commitment to socially responsible and environmentally sustainable practices.
To earn this certification, we underwent a rigorous assessment of our policies, practices and impact on all stakeholders. As just a few examples, we:
- refreshed our mission statement,
- reexamined our relationship with suppliers, workers and customers,
- improved our environmental footprint, policies and waste treatment, and
- changed our legal status to become a registered British Columbia Benefit Company.
And that’s just a sample of the work it took. Social equity, environmental responsibility, accountability and transparency are just a few of the areas in which we had to meet benchmarks. Getting certified takes a lot of work, even for a firm that was already aimed in that direction. We’re proud and honoured to say that after more than a year of work, we accomplished the rigorous standards!
We’re excited to meet up and join forces with other like-minded businesses in the B Corp community at local, national and global levels. There are currently 422 Canadian B Corps, 154 of which are in Western provinces.
And guess what! We already know two of them! PortaLaw and Ascent Employment Law are wonderful clients who have also attained B Corp status!
B Lab’s local chapter is B Local Vancouver, and we look forward enthusiastically to the events and learning initiatives they organize. We’re all about collaboration and building community with online tools.
We want to give a big shoutout to our team, our clients, and our industry colleagues for supporting us on this journey. We couldn’t have done it without you.
We believe that all businesses have the opportunity, and indeed a responsibility, to use their resources and influence as a force for good. If your organization is considering joining the B Corp movement, we say: Hop on board!