How do longtime B Corp keep improving? A first-time Best for the World honoree in 2015, The Honest Company’s Environment score increased sixteen points the last time they recertified as a B Corp. This edited excerpt is from a post that originally appeared on the Honestly blog and is well worth a read to learn more.
The first time Honest Company certified as a B Corporation in 2012, we finished with a score of 91…but we weren’t about to stop there! Now that we’ve completed the recertification process for 2015, we’re thrilled that we earned an additional 16 points! This brings our new overall score to 107, which is 27 points above the median.
From the beginning, we wanted to show everyone — including a powerful community of over 1,000 corporations coming from 38 countries — that being a B Corporation means that we not only talk the talk, but also walk the walk towards one unifying goal.
With everything we do, we acknowledge the work that still needs to be done — we’re still passionate about building processes, plans, and projects to be even better. But jumping sixteen points in just two years wasn’t easy. So, how does it all add up? We spread our efforts across many areas, but let’s talk about how we increased our Environment score, where fifteen of those points came from!
We’re happy to say that 100% of our revenue comes from products that use less toxic materials than market alternatives. But we can always do more. Since our initial certification, we’ve worked on reducing the waste created by our products while creating benefits for our consumers. Take the launch of a concentrated refill option for all of our spray cleaners, for example. When our members opt for the concentrated version, we cut our greenhouse gas emissions for that product by 75%, reduce water consumption by 74%, and 77% less fossil fuel consumption.
As we grown in numbers and reach, it’s important to stay vigilant because everything we do is amplified that much more. Despite continual expansion to accommodate our Honest family, our office space remains up to green building standards and is entirely run on energy from renewable resources. We’re also always investing in everyone under our (green) roof, because they’ve invested so much in us. Every employee is entitled to 100% health care coverage and full-time employees are also granted stock options.
We’re continually working towards further increasing the plant-based materials (and packaging) where applicable — like our diapers. We’re also pursuing Cradle to Cradle certification for a number of our products, as well as enrolling in certifications for our products in the USDA Bio-Preferred and Safer Choice by EPA programs. We’re looking forward to earning LEED certification for our offices, which would benefit both the environment and our employee’s health.
Being a B Corporation inspires us to celebrate the achievements that make Honest what it is and to explore the possibilities for what we can be. This third party certification is a valuable metric and a good reminder that some of the most important things we make can also be the hardest things to measure. We’re so proud to be a part of the B Corp family and benefit corporation movement; we can’t wait to put our goals into action and set an example for what it means to be a better business.
