What is B Corp?

B Corps (also known as Benefit Corporations or B Corporations) are forward-thinking companies committed to using the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. B Corps are certified by the nonprofit B Lab to voluntarily meet rigorous standards around social change, environmental performance, transparency and accountability.

In the words of Esquire Magazine:

B Corps might turn out to be like civil rights for blacks or voting rights for women—eccentric, unpopular ideas that took hold and changed the world."

B Corp Certification

To learn more about B Corps, visit the Certified B Corporation website.

B Corp Certification - Cattle Lending

B Corp Certification - Our Garden

 

Teatulia®’s B Corp certification

In 2014, Teatulia became the first Colorado tea company to become certified as a B Corporation. We are proud to have reached this milestone of B Corp certification because Teatulia was started in 2000 with one main goal—to improve our local community. The Teatulia Gardens were established in Northern Bangladesh as an enterprise to give the most people a living wage while protecting and strengthening the environment.

B Corporation’s values are aligned with everything we believe in. It’s important to allow our consumers to see and understand our business practices as well as our commitment to sustainability. And we only surround ourselves with like-minded individuals and companies—those that believe in giving back and making the world a better place.

"The wave of specialty tea companies embracing B-Corp status is an exceptionally positive trend with powerful, long-term implications. Ultimately this leading-edge approach to conducting business will deliver the accountability and transparency tea consumers are increasingly seeking and the trade itself will benefit from at all levels." - Brian Keating / Sage Group (Founder) & Specialty Tea Is "Hot" Report author

B Corp Certification Score

A few of the reasons why we've been awarded our B Corp certification:

Organic Practices:

We own our own USDA Organic certified garden, one of the largest organic tea gardens in the world, where we demonstrate our commitment to the environment by ensuring no chemicals, unnatural irrigation or machinery are ever used in cultivation of our teas and herbs.

Rainforest Alliance Certified:

Our commitment to sustainability was recognized in 2013 when we were awarded Rainforest Alliance certification for our garden. Rainforest Alliance Certified farms and gardens support a healthy environment, promote the well-being of workers and their communities, and ensure efficient growing methods.

Community Cooperative:

To achieve the goal of improving our local community, we founded the Teatulia Cooperative. Through the Cooperative, we have established revolutionary education, health and cattle-lending programs for the people working in our tea garden and surrounding communities. All sales of Teatulia Organic Teas contribute to this mission, helping to better the lives of Bangladeshi men, women and children in our community while rebuilding the local economy and ecosystem.

Sustainable Packaging:

In an effort to leave a minimal environmental footprint, we pioneered a more Earth-friendly packaging solution for tea. Instead of packaging in tins, paper or plastic like most tea companies, our innovative retail canisters are 100% compostable and made from post-consumer waste. Our labels use water-based inks and water-based adhesives, making them environmentally friendly. And our plant based pyramid and square tea bags are compostable, and they are both free of unnecessary wrappers, strings, tags or staples. Our packaging goal is that fewer resources are used and there is no waste.

To learn more about our B Corp certification, visit the Teatulia Organic Teas community page on the Certified B Corporation website.

What does B Corp certification mean?

In the words of Certified B Corporation:

“B Corp certification is to sustainable business what LEED certification is to green building, Fair Trade certification is to coffee or USDA Organic certification is to milk.”

Certified B Corporations must voluntarily meet higher standards of transparency, accountability and performance, as well as help build a collective voice through the power of the unifying B Corporation brand. Unlike traditional corporations, certified B Corporations are legally required to consider the impact of their decisions not only on their shareholders, but also on their stakeholders (e.g., the community, the environment, workers, suppliers and consumers).

Certified B Corps voluntarily create higher quality jobs and improve the overall quality of life in communities worldwide, instead of relying only on government and nonprofit sectors to solve some of the more challenging societal issues. Certified B Corps are dedicated to creating corporate value for society, not just shareholders. In fact, the B Corp Declaration states that:

  • We must be the change we want to see in the world.
  • All business ought to be conducted as if people and place mattered.
  • Through their products, practices, and profits, businesses should aspire to do no harm and benefit all.
  • We act with the understanding that we are each dependent on upon another and thus responsible for each other and future generations.

B Corp certification is part of a global movement started by B Lab, a nonprofit organization that serves a to redefine success in business so that all companies compete not only to be the best in the world, but the best for the world. 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 truly good companies and simply good marketing.
  2. Passing legislation to accelerate growth of social entrepreneurship and impact investing.
  3. Driving capital to high-impact investments through the use of GIIRS Ratings and Analytics.
  4. Providing free, powerful tools for businesses to measure, compare and improve their social and environmental performance.

To learn more about B Lab, visit the Non-Profit Behind B Corps page on the Certified B Corporation website.

 

 

Sources:

Certified B Corporation

 

Teatulia B Corp