Sunday, January 3, 2010

Becoming a B Corp


Gone are the days of for-profits and not-for-profits; a new year is here. And with it comes a new business formation: the B Corp.

So what's a B Corp?  Officially, B Corporations are a new type of corporation which uses the power of business to solve social and environmental problems.  Unofficially, it's a for-profit company that puts people before profits.

And Kentucky now has its first.

Located in Louisville's NuLu District, In Every Language is the latest business to receive B Corp certification and the first in the Commonwealth.  The company is also the first translating and interpreting provider to be added to the B Corp list, joining well-known brands such as Dansko, Seventh Generation, King Arthur Flour, and Numi Organic Tea.

"At our core, we help people."  This is how the In Every Language mission statement begins.  This mission of putting community first is part of why In Every Language was the perfect certification candidate.  In addition, the medical interpreting services In Every Language offers provide limited-English speakers with intrinsic, medical benefits by helping them to better understand their care.  The company also contracts with low-income refugees and immigrants in the area, providing many under-employed individuals with opportunities for economic self-sustainability.  And by contracting with female translators and interpreters originally from more oppressive cultures, the company also gives many of these women their first opportunity to work outside the home.

In order to qualify for certification, businesses must score a total of 80 in the following areas: community leadership, community involvement, employment policies, consumer involvement, & environmental policy.  In Every Language's score was 127.4, one of the higher scores that Hardik Savalia with B Lab, the B Corporation certifying body, says an applicant company has ever had.

For more information on B Corps, please visit bcorporation.net/about.

For more information about In Every Language, please visit ineverylanguage.com.

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