g + B: Fair Dinkum in action
What would it be like if businesses worked to have a positive impact on the world? Imagine companies coming together to solve the social and environmental issues facing us today, while creating a better world for future generations. Lucky for us, one organization is bringing people and companies together to make change. It’s called B Corp, and we’re proud to be among the growing number of companies that are B certified.
From the very beginning of gDiapers back in 2005, Kim and I have always challenged the status quo. Move 10,000 miles to start a company? Sure. Never run a consumer packaged goods company? No worries. Onsite daycare for the gTeam? Why wouldn’t we? And on and on. From our Disposable Inserts which are flushable and home compostable (wet ones only) to our outrageously long paid time off (4 whole weeks per year and 3 months paid maternity leave), we relish doing things differently.
We wanted to build a company where:
- Family and business go better together so people can be at their best as people and as employees
- Products are made following the Cradle to Cradle (CM) approach so they are re-generative rather than following the old take from the planet / make / waste paradigm
- We were successful financially
In Australia we call it Fair Dinkum: being genuine with everyone you work with.
Fair Dinkum & B Corp
So when B Corporation (www.BCorporation.net) launched in 2006, we were so very excited. Here was a certification that perfectly fit our view of what a company should be. We were one of the very first companies to get accredited although it took us until 2011 to finally change our Articles of Incorporation (a topic for another blog). The accreditation scores a company out of 200, looking at how you treat your people, the planet and profitability.
A company needs more than 80 points to gain accreditation. Our first score was 82 which we were not happy with at all. When we rectified, we found we were still stuck on 82. So this year as we prepared for recertification, we put our most experienced (OK, she’s been with us the longest – about to celebrate 10 years no less!) gTeamster on it. Michelle took on the challenge with great gusto. Lo and behold after a huge amount of effort across the board we pushed our number up to 99. It turns out that most of the gains were found in documenting the things we already did.
We have always been very strong on the environmental piece of the assessment. This year we scored 40 compared to a median across all B Corps of just 9. That shows just how powerful our Disposable Inserts’ Cradle to Cradle certification is. We are on par with other B Corporations when it comes to our people and a little above average in terms of governance. The area where more work needs to be done is how we work with our local community. The median score of all B Corporations is 32. We scored just 23. So there is more to be done. But we love the challenge of ever improving. Of never settling.
The way we see it, B Corp is Fair Dinkum written right into our articles of incorporation. It’s the future of business, and it’s already here. When you support B Corp, you’re putting your money behind your values and helping to shape the world in which your gBabies will grow up. And we truly believe that in a B Corp world, the future looks bright.
Jason
gDad & co-founder
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