Designations

B Corp & Benefit Corporation Designations

According to their website, B Lab is “the nonprofit network transforming the global economy to benefit all people, communities, and the planet”. B Lab created and continues to build upon the standards for measuring positive impact found in its B Impact Assessment (BIA) and passed Benefit Corporation legislation in over 40 states and provinces in the U.S., British Columbia, Canada and other countries. Beyond the assessment and legislation, B Lab leads a movement of over 6,000 companies that are collectively working towards the vision of an inclusive, equitable, and regenerative economy.

Breckinridge has been a proud Certified B Corp since 2013. B Corp certification requires the adoption of a legal framework to help protect a mission of long-term sustainable value creation through capital raises and leadership changes. For most companies, the requirement is either incorporating as a Benefit Corporation—which Breckinridge did—or amending a company’s operating agreement to include mission-aligned language. 

Being a Benefit Corporation and a Certified B Corp means balancing profits with purpose and considering the impacts of our business decisions on all stakeholders, not just shareholders. We have several engagement approaches across our stakeholder universe to ensure  we stay apprised of our place in, and our impacts on, the broader ecosystem. Ultimately our goal is to operate a business where our people can thrive, where we limit our negative impacts on the planet, and where our clients and communities can benefit. As investors, we know this better positions our firm to serve our clients for the long term. 

The B Impact Assessment (BIA)

As a requirement of our Benefit Corporation designation, we must report on our social and environmental performance assessed against a third-party standard. We use B Lab’s BIA and are audited and recertified every three years, with our last audit occurring in 2021 for the 2020 calendar year. The certification process starts with a rigorous 200+ question assessment (specific to sector, geography, and size) covering the topics of community, environment, workers, governance, and customers. Once the assessment is complete, an intensive audit process verifies that questions have been answered honestly and accurately. If after the audit we score above 80, we maintain B Corp certification.

This verification shows that we meet the highest standards of third party-verified social and environmental performance.¹ The B Corp assessment serves as a useful benchmarking tool to set goals and improve ESG performance over time.

Best for the World

Each year, B Lab releases lists honoring the top performing B Corps in each impact category (according to size) in its “Best For The World” lists. Breckinridge has received several such honors over the years.

In 2022, we qualified for Best For The World: Governance, meaning we scored in the top 5 percent of all B Corps across the globe in this category in the BIA. According to B Lab, the governance section “evaluates a company’s overall mission, engagement around its social/environmental impact, ethics, and transparency. This section also evaluates the ability of a company to protect its mission and formally consider stakeholders in decision making through its corporate structure (e.g., Benefit Corporation designation) or corporate governing documents.”

B Corp Community

Being a B Corp also means we are part of an impressive community of organizations dedicated to using their businesses to solve some of the world’s most pressing challenges and collaborating with each other in the process.

In 2022, our director of corporate sustainability and a few Breckinridge employees together with leaders from other B Corps, planned and facilitated the New England B Corp Leadership Development (BLD) conference at the University of New Hampshire. The group was honored to have the CEO and team from B Lab U.S. and Canada in attendance to host a hybrid “State of the B”, B Lab’s annual address to B Corp constituents.

We also traveled to Philadelphia for B Lab U.S. and Canada’s first in-person Champions Retreat since 2019, where we heard inspiring talks about an inclusive and regenerative economy, all based around the theme of “Humanity at Work”.

[1] We were last certified on June 16, 2021 for the 2020 calendar year period. The highest overall impact score a company can receive is 200. Per B Lab, scores above 80 are considered meeting the highest standards for third party-verified performance. In addition to the assessment, certified B Corps must pay annual fees to retain their certification status. First time submissions incur a submission fee. Additional information on the certification process can be found here: https://usca.bcorporation.net/process-requirements-fees/. 

Disclosures:
GRI: 2-29
TCFD: Metrics & Targets A