Veris is B Corp Certified and proud to be part of this community.
December 16, 2022

Why Veris is a B Corp

By Nicole Davis, Partner and Senior Advisor

Veris Wealth Partners is a Certified B Corporation because we believe in the power of business as a force for good. We are proud of our B Corp status and the growth we have seen within this movement continues to inspire us. When our firm first earned certification in 2011, there were only 400 B Corps in the world. As of today, there are over 8000 companies representing over 150 industries in the global community of Certified B Corps.1

There are many reasons why a company might consider becoming a B Corp. Certification offers a variety of benefits, not only to the companies that go through the process, but also to the employees who work for them, the communities they are part of, and to the environment. Here are a few examples of the benefits of B Corp Certification that we have seen at Veris. 

Regular assessments help us track our impact and improve.

The B Corp framework helps us track our impact on an ongoing basis and make improvements across every aspect of our business. B Lab Global also shares profiles of all current B Corps on their website so that companies can easily compare their impact against other organizations. 

To maintain B Corp status, a company must regularly undergo the B Impact Assessment process. The B Impact Assessment is a digital tool designed by B Lab to help companies measure, manage, and make changes that help them make a more positive impact on the environment and their employees, clients, suppliers, shareholders, and communities.2 Veris Wealth Partners recently completed the B Impact Assessment and our firm’s Overall B Impact Score is 144.8.3 

B Corp’s framework offers guidance on sustainability & responsibility issues that can be helpful to businesses of any size, industry, or geographic location.

B Corp’s framework was designed to offer useful guidance to many different types of businesses that seek to follow the best practices for responsible and sustainable business. We believe that the B Corp framework is a valuable tool for any company that wishes to improve its operations – whether it is a small, founder-led venture or a multinational corporation.

We build relationships with other B Corps.

Being part of this amazing community also grants us the opportunity to engage with business leaders who share our vision for the future and to have meaningful conversations about what it takes to be a sustainable and responsible business in today’s rapidly changing world. Being part of this community also helps us discover and connect with potential partners, vendors, and collaborators that share our commitment to sustainability and responsibility.

Certified B Corporations share knowledge, answer questions, and trade examples of initiatives that worked with other companies in the community.

B Corps learn from each other. Within the community, you can find other B Corps that truly understand your unique challenges because they are in the same industry or are the same size or operate under the same state laws and are also trying to be a force for good in the world. You can ask questions and receive helpful guidance from other business leaders who have struggled with similar issues.

We help each other solve challenges by offering examples of innovative programs in action and data showing the real impact of those efforts. By sharing what has worked for your business, you can inspire other companies to make improvements that benefit both people and the planet.

Certification is validation of an organization’s commitment to creating positive change.

B Corp status signals that you are in business for the benefit of all stakeholders – your employees, community, and the environment – not just your shareholders. Earning B Corp Certification is third party validation that your business is actually walking your talk – which is especially important in this time of rising levels of greenwashing and impact washing.

We believe the B Impact Assessment process can be helpful for any business.

Even if you are not yet ready to become a B Corp, we believe there is significant value in undergoing the B Impact Assessment process, measuring your impact, and seeing where you can make improvements.

We think that learning what really good companies are doing for their employees and comparing your efforts against your peers can help business leaders make improvements that may bring benefits for your business and every stakeholder that is impacted by what you do.

How to Become a B Corp

If you are ready to take the next step, connect with B Lab – the nonprofit organization that certifies B Corporations around the world. Your company will need to take several steps to prove to B Lab that your business is eligible for certification:

  • “Demonstrate high social and environmental performance by achieving a B Impact Assessment score of 80 or above and passing (B Lab’s) risk review. Multinational corporations must also meet baseline requirement standards.
  • Make a legal commitment by changing their corporate governance structure to be accountable to all stakeholders, not just shareholders, and achieve benefit corporation status if available in their jurisdiction.
  • Exhibit transparency by allowing information about their performance measured against B Lab’s standards to be publicly available on their B Corp profile on B Lab’s website.”4

Learn more about B Corp eligibility and the pathways to becoming a Certified B Corp from B Lab.

Nicole Davis is a Partner and Senior Advisor at Veris Wealth Partners. Learn more.

Sources

1 https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us/

2 https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us/programs-and-tools/b-impact-assessment

3 https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us/find-a-b-corp/company/veris-wealth-partners

4 https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us/certification

The information above is provided for informational purposes only and solely reflects the views of the authors. Additionally, this document contains information derived from third party sources. Although we believe these third party sources to be reliable, we make no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information derived from such third-party sources and take no responsibility therefore.

Veris WP
Veris Named Best For The World By B Corp
June 26, 2018

Best For the World – Again

By Anders Ferguson and Nicole Davis

Veris was just named Best for the World by B Corp – for the sixth year in a row.

We’re very proud to achieve this milestone and are equally honored to be recognized among the best of the best. Veris was named in the top 10% of all 2,400 B Corps around the world.

This is inspiring for the entire Veris team, yet what’s even more important is how B Corps are changing the face of business for the betterment of everyone.

Transforming Business
B Corp’s interconnected standards provide a unifying framework for organizations globally to drive sustainability and benefit from it.

The standards apply to every aspect of an organization’s operations. They place a high priority on being responsible stewards of the environment. They encourage respect for and empowerment of employees. They drive our colleagues at Veris to aspire to excellence and improve our products and services.

What’s more, B Corp is continually raising the bar. Veris, like others that hold the B Corp designation, must recertify every two years. The process looks at every part of a company’s business practices. Each time, the standards are even higher.

A Better Way
From our perspective, being a B Corp is the right thing to do, and it also an impetus for innovation and transformative sustainability systems.

Research from well-respected firms such as McKinsey & Company, along with major universities, confirm that B Corps often exceed the performance benchmarks of their peer group competitors.

Organizations committed to sustainable business practices are typically innovators that use new and emerging technologies to operate more efficiently. They also practice good corporate governance, which invariably leads to greater gender and racial diversity at the executive management level and throughout the organization.

From a risk management perspective, companies committed to sustainability are also lower risk. Some global banks are recognizing the reduced risk profile of B Corps and are offering lower interest rates to those companies.

At the same time, global companies are partnering with B Corps to accelerate creativity. B Corp companies welcome fresh ideas and innovation, or new ways of knowing. As a result, they are often growth companies, which means they are attractive investment partners for individual and institutional investors.

In Our DNA
B Corp standards are increasingly the management philosophy that powers everything we do at Veris. They are both our guiding light and practical roadmap in creating change that sticks and in creating new value internally and for all our stakeholders.

A few years ago, we implemented paid days off from work for volunteering. The results have been terrific for employees and Veris. We’ve implemented a series of 21-day challenges for our employees, focused on Kindness, Mindfulness, and Wellness. Our Volunteer Program and 21-day Challenges help build community, both internally and externally. When we are all touched by generosity, our personal and professional lives are enriched.

Another benefit of being a B Corp is the insight we have gained as a firm. In addition to reviewing our internal sustainability, we’ve analyzed our external impact with our partners and investment managers. This has greatly helped Veris, our clients, and our business partners see the benefits that an impact focus has in our offices and building renewable energy systems.

Our commitment to being a B Corp has also had a notable effect on the way we deliver impact wealth management services.

B Corp status has pushed us to find ever more impactful investment products and services. That has created wonderful new opportunities for our clients. For example, we have become leaders in the field of Gender Lens Investing, one of the most promising new developments in impact investing. Our leadership in Gender Lens Investing is no coincidence considering our gender diverse team. Two-thirds of our employees are women.

The Best for the World award is greatly appreciated by everyone at Veris. It’s recognition for the all the work we have done to create an impactful company, and for all the work B Corp has done to make business a force for good in the world. It has clearly made us better, and collectively, it adds up to very positive impact.

Learn more about B Corp Certification.

Veris Wealth Partners
March 24, 2014

Become a B Corp – It’s Well Worth The Effort

By Patricia Farrar-Rivas, CEO

Veris is very proud to again be named Best For The World by B Corp.

This is the second year in a row we’ve been recognized with this honor, which is given only to those B Corps that rank in the top 10% of all B Corps.

For those companies not yet a B Corp, we highly recommend careful consideration.

What is a B Corp?

Benefit Corporations are a unique form of corporate governance designed to create public benefit, which is defined as a material positive impact on society, the environment and community.

B Corps are certified by B Lab “to meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency.” According to B Lab, there are nearly 1,000 certified B Corps from 32 countries and 60 industries. The number is growing.

The Benefit of B Corp Status

For Veris, being a B Corp has many benefits.

First, it reinforces our values and our business practices, which are to promote positive social and environmental engagement through impact investing. Second, B Corp certification demonstrates to clients, investment managers, vendor partners and others our deep commitment to sustainability. Third, our employees love it. They want to work for  a progressive company and play an active role in continuously improving Veris’ sustainability practices.

As a firm specializing in impact investing, our B Corp status synchs perfectly what we do: aligning wealth with values to create positive social benefit while focused on strong investment performance and profitability. Veris and B Lab share the same strategic mission.

For consumers, B Corp status is like a big, neon seal-of-approval. It empowers people to identify and engage with companies dedicated to sustainable business practices, including treating workers and communities with great respect.

Consumers can tell if a company is focused on impact by looking for the B Corp logo. It, along with the Best For The World logo, is viewable on Veris’ home page.

Continuous Improvement

B Corp certification is a great sustainability road map and ongoing opportunity to become a more thoughtful company.

There are more than 200 evaluation points in any B Corp certification. We are audited to be recertified. This process motivates us to keep B Corp standards top-of-mind and integrate sustainability into every facet of our business.

B Corp certification makes us better in ways we couldn’t imagine.

To encourage community service we added 20 hours of paid Volunteer Time Off for all employees.

Reducing our carbon footprint, another goal to B Corp certification, led us down two productive paths.

First, we purchase carbon offsets. In 2013, we financed a tree-planting initiative in the Amazon Rainforest. To accomplish this, we worked with the Amazon Conservation Team (ACT), which helps conserve indigenous lands in this critical rainforest.

Second, we’re thinking more carefully about when we need to travel to a meeting. Increasingly we are using technology for face-to-face conversations, making us more efficient and effective.

Improving Vendor Partner Relationships

B Corp status extends beyond our office.

It also improves the way we manage relationships with our vendor partners. Under B Corp guidelines, for example, the purchase of office equipment should balance durability, quality/image, cost and sustainability.

The sustainability component of the office equipment purchases resulted in our switching from a national chain to Give Something Back, a Bay Area organization that donates 50% of its profits to organizations of our choice.

Similarly, if Veris holds a corporate event or party, we work with restaurants and caterers who are committed to sustainable farming practices.

Evaluating Impact Investment Managers

Finally, a B Corp status helps us choose and work with top impact investment managers – which is critical to our business.

Many investment managers say they follow Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices, but our B Corp status gives us the insight to look more deeply and ask better questions.

We are now vigilant in our manager evaluations, and have deeper, hands-on experience in what it really takes to build successful high-impact companies.

The B Corp journey simply makes Veris better.

Why not start the process of becoming a B Corp today?

 

Veris Wealth Partners