The Doctor is Out

"I was of three minds,

Like a tree

In which there are three blackbirds."

—From the poem Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird by Wallace Stevens

You may have seen the news that Dr. Bronner’s is choosing not to renew its B Corp Certification.

It’s been written about in publications from Fast Company to Bloomberg to Progressive Grocer, and is all over social media, at least in certain echo chambers.

Then again, you may not have heard anything about this, as while it’s a monumental moment in the B Corp movement, it might register as a tempest in a teapot for those tangential to the B Corp community.

Here’s the rundown, briefly. 

Dr. Bronner’s is leaving the B Corp community for what it perceives as the weak measurement standards enforced by B Lab, the nonprofit organization that oversees B Corp certification.  Specifically, it sees the certification as a sieve that has allowed large multi-national corporations without transparent oversight of their supply chains to pass through important filters and certify as B Corps.

Aka, greenwashing.

Rather than put words in Dr. Bronner’s mouth, you can read their statement here.

Why it’s a monumental moment:  Dr. Bronner’s is the highest scoring B Corp in a universe of nearly 10,000 certified companies globally, seen by many as a bell cow for its clean corporate transparency, outspoken issues advocacy, and significant social and environmental impact.

Since Dr. Bronner’s publicized its decision last week, I’ve been asked a lot – A LOT –  about where I stand on it.  To be honest, I’ve struggled with it, thinking that I’m of two minds about it, feeling back-and-forth and, honestly, wishy washy for not being able to take a clear-cut stand on it, either way. 

After sitting with it for several days, I recollected a favorite poem from long ago and realized it’s okay to be of more than one mind on an issue, say, perhaps, even three minds.

Like the tree with the blackbirds in the Wallace Stevens poem, I see this from three perspectives:  Dr. Bronner’s, my experience with B Lab, and my experience as a Certified B Corp.

🐦‍⬛ Blackbird Number 1

Dr. Bronner’s is right.  And righteous in its decision to drop its certification.

For Dr. Bronner’s, it’s an intrinsic branding issue; they are hard core in pursuing their purpose and living up to their values and don’t want to align their brand with organizations – whether it be the certifying body B Lab or Certified B Corp Nestle Science – that operate at odds with the way Dr. Bronner’s shows up in the world.  So, I get it.  And that’s what many of us love about them.  Their leadership, their employees, and their stakeholders should be proud of them for making a hard and consequential decision here.

Dr. Bronner’s also announced its decision very publicly and in no uncertain terms, which left many bemoaning this public peacocking as counterproductive, or potentially even damaging, to the B Corp community.  Having scripted public relations announcements like this for decades, there’s a much more graceful way they could have crafted their messaging that would have made stakeholders more sanguine about the decision.  But I think their strident tone and language are helpful – hell hath no fury like a lover scorned, or something close to that – and this amount of passion will hold B Lab’s feet to the fire in a necessary way.  At a time where too many leaders and institutions are going quietly into the night, this is the kind of backbone we need more of in this country.

🐦‍⬛ Blackbird Number 2

B Lab needs a jolt. 

It’s never been terribly responsive, and this will get its attention in a way that small business members – the majority of Certified B Corps – never have been able to accomplish, at least from my experience.

I’ve had plenty of issues with the B Lab over the years and many collaborative bitch sessions with fellow B Corps regarding perceived shortcomings.  From customer service to the integrity of B Lab’s own supply chain to the value they deliver for ever-increasing certification fees.  So, Dr. Bronner’s, I hear you in your frustration working with B Lab, and hopefully this shock to the system will serve to improve the movement beyond the standards.

But we’ll focus on the standards for now.  After all, the assessment is THE core strength and differentiator for B Lab.

While the assessment has evolved over the years, it needs to address the loophole of its scoring system, whereby a company can certify by doing enough good so that it offsets the bad engendered by the entity elsewhere.

I also think the scoring system gamifies certification in a way that’s not entirely healthy, inspiring a false competition among B Corps to score the most points.  For instance, see another example of Dr. Bronner’s peacocking mentioned earlier in their news release about leaving the world of B Corps, with three mentions of being the highest-scoring B Corp in the world.

The good news is that the standards ARE changing.  They will become digital rather than analog, a binary system measuring 10 areas a company either passes or fails.  All 10 areas of impact must be successfully cleared to certify, so a company can’t simply side-step its darker sides.  It also promises to address larger companies with specific qualifiers for them. 

For more guidance on the new standards, I turned to someone for whom I have much respect, Carolina Miranda, founder of Cultivating Capital, a Certified B Corporation that helps sole proprietors and small business owners get certified and recertified as B Corps.  

Carolina put it this way:  “The new B Corp standards will be more stringent, possibly addressing many of the concerns. For example, under the proposed new standards, the largest companies will have to develop a strategy to address human rights issues, have multiple human rights assessments, report publicly on the effectiveness of their strategy, and work with suppliers to address human rights. These requirements are much more robust than the current standards, and I suspect they would likely turn off any company that is not serious about addressing human rights.”

🐦‍⬛ Blackbird Number 3

I’ve been involved with the B Corp world since 2011, certifying in December that year in hopes of finding a framework that would help me build a better company for the world.

(That’s a few years earlier than Dr. Bronner’s inaugural certification in 2015; there, that’s my bit of peacocking. 🦚😉) 

I came not seeking perfection, but a path and the bonhomie of fellow travelers on the road to business for good.

I’ve had issues with B Lab mentioned earlier; I also came to the party with the ideal of changing the way the world does business, and I’ve seen B Lab blossom to certified companies in nearly every country in the world, creating positive change and providing role models for others.  I would be remiss in not acknowledging the many wonderful, hardworking, smart, and committed people I’ve met who have worked for B Lab and who patiently put up with the inbound frustrations of B Corps.  It is, after all, tough to be the mothership!

As for bonhomie, oh! The people and friendships I’ve formed – too many to mention – are deeper and more rewarding than those of any I’ve forged during my four decades in business.  Sure, there are a few 💩🐦‍⬛s in any group; the larger part, the best part of the community is peopled by humans who are strong minded, caring, generous, creative, and willing to sacrifice self-gain for the greater good. My kind of people!

While B Lab doesn’t communicate the aggregated impact of the community beyond the basics of companies certified and total workers employed, I’m sure it’s significant.  And I’m betting the impact is far more than it would have been if B Corps were left to their own devices.

It would be interesting to understand what changes the large multi-nationals made to their operations had to make in the certification process – and what the scale of that impact looks like.  I’m guessing each big multi-national’s resulting positive impact might be greater than that of a hundred smaller companies, which is the argument for having a larger tent if you are intent on changing the world for the better.

Some of the multi-nationals likely shouldn’t be B Corps, but they played within the existing rules.  So, they belong here, for now.  I hope our community rubs off on you.  I hope the rules do become more demanding, and I hope you meet or match these new standards.

While I continue to do a cost/benefit analysis each year, unlike Dr. Bronner’s I won’t be relinquishing my B Corp certification; it’s a work in progress and I’m happy to play a vocal part in working to make it better for as long as I am able.

Godspeed, friends.

Russ

💬 Think About It

"Spend it wisely. Take care of the many who, for no fault of their own, get the short straws in life. They deserve better."  Warren Buffet in this year's annual letter to shareholders on his company Berkshire Hathaway's record tax payment of $26.8 billion to the Federal government.

👏 Shout-out

A shout-out to Godspeed reader Pete Gombert for signing up for a paid membership. Pete is founder and CEO of GoodWell. Every little bit helps — thanks, Pete!

💥 Quick Hits

• B Corp's new standards explained – A primer on the upcoming changes from the team at Cultivating Capital and a podcast for those like to use their ears from the folks of Lift Economy.

• Harvesting another take on Dr. Bronner's – Emmy Allison and Ryan Honeyman of Lift Economy and Farmer Cee Stanley of Green Heffa Farms plow the fields of the Dr. Bronner's certification on this episode of the Beyond the B podcast.

• Target in the crosshairs – A couple of weeks ago we wrote about the incipient boycott of Target stores for dropping their DEI initiatives. Looks like the retailer is experiencing some consequences.

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