Reflecting on our Values at the B Corp Champions Retreat
It’s not every day that we have an opportunity to surround ourselves with hundreds of likeminded folks from across the country all singularly focused on making business work better for people and the planet. But at the B Corp Champions Retreat last month, that’s exactly what we did.
Certified B Corporations are marked by their commitment to balancing purpose with profit. B Corps demonstrate this commitment by completing the B Impact Assessment—a thorough evaluation of prospective companies’ impact on their workers, community, customers, and environment—and then making their scores public in the name of transparency. As a B Corp, Arabella never makes decisions in a vacuum; we consider the impact of our choices on our employees, clients, suppliers, partners, and the planet.
Arabella has been a B Corp since 2012, when there were about 700 other certified organizations. In the 12 years since, the movement has grown substantially. We are now one of nearly 8,500 businesses employing more than 777,000 people across 97 countries and 162 industries—all determined to make business a force for good and “transform the global economy,” according to B Lab, the entity that administers the B Corp certification.
We were honored to represent Arabella at the Champions Retreat, an event that brought together over 700 values-aligned people under the theme of “Restore” to reflect, learn, and connect across the movement and consider what we as individuals bring to the power of the collective community.
Going into the conference, we were looking forward to reflecting on what brought us to the community in the first place, as well as the values that Arabella shares with other B Corps. By the time the event wrapped up, we were filled with new ideas and renewed energy for how we can continue to bring these values to life through programs within the company and in our approach to serving our clients.
As we reflect on our time at the conference, we are happy to share the following takeaways in the hopes that they might inspire other organizations considering becoming a B Corp themselves.
The Champions Retreat Re-Grounded Us in Our Values
We came away with new ideas for how we can continue to put our values into practice. As evidenced through the B Corp recertification process every three years, we strive to demonstrate these values and grow our impact throughout the lifecycle of the organization, not just at a single moment in time. Here are a few ways we’re proud to be aligning our values with the B Corp standards:
- Governance: To ensure that social and environmental performance is woven into the fabric of our organization over time, we require consideration of all stakeholders during decision-making processes as part of the company’s operating model.
- Environment: While we don’t have supply chains as a professional services firm, our DC headquarters is located in a LEED Gold-certified building, all our offices are located near public transit, and most are equipped with bike rooms to encourage alternate forms of transit. We also prioritize ways to minimize our environmental footprint throughout our offices and in decisions about how and when employees travel.
- Community: We are proud of our equity and belonging efforts internally, such as maintaining equitable hiring and management practices. We also prioritize local vendors and largely work with B Corps and BIPOC- and women-led businesses to stock office supplies and snacks when possible.
- Workers: We offer high-quality benefits to employees, support career development, and offer volunteer time for employees to engage in meaningful work beyond the office.
- Customers: We are proud to support clients creating incredible change in the world. We feel deeply privileged to work with highly values-aligned partners, from nonprofits to corporate foundations to families and individuals, who are similarly committed to protecting the planet, defending democracy, strengthening communities, and enhancing equity.
We’re proud of the many steps we’ve taken to increase our alignment with B Lab’s standards over time and deliver even greater benefits for our communities and staff. But we’re not perfect, and we don’t pretend to have it all figured out. We know this is an ongoing learning process, and we’re deeply focused on enhancing our decision-making processes, policies, and processes to continue embedding our values into our day-to-day.
Time and Money Devoted to Wellness and Rest are Resources Well Spent
Given the conference’s “Restore” theme, we were afforded opportunities to discuss restorative leadership and sustainable business models. Specifically, we found discussions about driving holistic employee wellbeing through wellness programs to be particularly engaging. It was energizing to hear that Arabella has been on par with other B Corps in this regard. This includes a focus on physical wellness via our fitness benefits (reimbursement for gym memberships, equipment, and related expenses); mental wellness through the behavioral health and work-life balance sessions our benefit providers offer to staff on a regular basis; and financial wellness through accessible financial resources, tools, and trainings. Yet, again, we learned there is even more we can do to ensure we are creating a fully supportive environment where employees can grow and thrive—both professionally and personally.
Equity and Belonging Belong Throughout the Agenda
Another shining point from the conference was B Lab’s ability to “walk the walk” of living its values in the way it formatted and operated the conference. Examples include:
- Every session included closed captioning, and B Lab asked attendees for accessibility needs at conference registration.
- Meals were locally provided and mainly vegan and vegetarian to be as eco-friendly as possible.
- Professional services, such as therapists and child care, were on call every day.
- Every day included elements of integration, acknowledgement, learning, and respect for the local Indigenous communities, including:
- Acknowledgement of the lands on which the conference center was built
- Paying respect to ancestors and where we came from
- Welcoming traditions from local Indigenous communities and organizing an input group in advance of the conference
- People from Indigenous communities presenting on behalf of the B Corp movement (e.g., Cheekbone Beauty, Satya)
Seeing this commitment to equity and belonging in action—and integrated so seamlessly—renewed our determination to prioritize equity and belonging with our presence, events, leadership, and dollars.
This conference afforded an invaluable opportunity to not only celebrate the work we and the rest of the B Corp community have done over the past decade, but to identify lessons for the next phase in our evolution of a mission-driven organization. Part of being a B Corp is committing to embody these values over time, even as organizational priorities shift and our world evolves.
If you’re interested in learning more about how to integrate B Corp values into the fabric of your organization, please don’t hesitate to reach out; we’d love to be a thought partner as you discover what being a B Corp could mean for you.
Sophie Gardner is a Director of Operations, Andrew Plumley is Arabella’s Chief People and Equity Officer, and Emily Taub is an Associate Director of Business Operations.