Walking The Walk: Becoming a B Corp

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Editors Note: This post was updated and revamped in January 2021 for better accuracy and comprehensiveness.

When I started Unity Web Agency, I wanted to create a different kind of web agency.

I knew support for nonprofits and local businesses would be at the center of what we do.

I knew sustainability, diversity, and accessibility would be the heart and soul of our business.

But I also wanted to signal our belief that success means more than selling quality products and services and having strong financials.

Success means actually being the change we want to see in the world.

Last fall, we shared our decision to head down the road to becoming a Certified B Corporation. And now we’re happy to announce that we’ve received our certification!

Inspired in Big and Small Ways

I first heard about Certified B Corps from my mentor and friend, Joe Schram.

Back then I had just left my job as the chief technology officer of a statewide nonprofit and was feeling restless about my future. Joe and I talked about the importance of putting people first in business and how every one of us has the ability to spark a positive impact in the world.

It was this conversation that connected the dots for me.

I walked away realizing I had a role to play in making the world a better place. I knew I wanted to put my skills to use to benefit the world. But it was up to me, I realized, to help the companies I worked with on their digital marketing, and through that work to empower them to positively inspire others.

When I started Unity Web Agency, the B Corp idea continued to echo in my mind.

I knew that if I wanted to build a responsible company, I needed to take responsibility.

What is a B Corp™?

In simple terms, B Corp certification is to business what Fair Trade certification is to coffee or USDA Organic certification is to milk.

Certified B Corporations^® are leaders of a global movement of people using business as a force for good. They meet the highest standards of overall social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability and aspire to use the power of business to solve social and environmental problems.

There are more than 2,100 Certified B Corporations in over 130 industries, across 50 countries with one unifying goal: to redefine success in business.

Unity’s Experience

How does being a Certified B Corporation affect the way we run our business?

Because we are still in the early stages of building our business, we are excited for the opportunity to incorporate B Lab’s rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency into all facets of our company.

Rather than focusing on changing what we currently do, we can focus on building these values directly into our strategy as it takes shape.

As we learned more about what it takes to be accredited as a B Corp, we asked ourselves tough questions about how we might be more responsible, more ethical, and be more of a force for good. But, to be honest, we have been asking ourselves these questions from day one, which makes being welcomed into the B Corp community all the sweeter.

It truly feels like home.

So, while it’s relatively early in the process, I can say with confidence that becoming a Certified B Corporation feels like the right move at just the right time.

Sometimes, simply putting yourself in a position where you know others will be asking the right questions is value enough — and our certification has already motivated us to ask the right questions of ourselves and commit to holding our business to account.

Unity’s Aspirations

Our certification also demonstrates that our company values represent more than paying lip-service to buzz words like value-based, responsible business, and community.

We have plans to continue to grow while staying aligned with our purpose and our core values.

We will use the B Corp framework to ensure that our values are heavily embedded in the products and services we offer.

We aim to create product offerings that, even under scrutiny, live up to the standard of “people using business as a force for good™.” This also means that clients can be proud of these key differentiators that our competition simply can’t compete with.

In addition, we will continue to look for unique ways to celebrate female entrepreneurship and champion design thinking with initiatives that enable and bring together the worlds of brand strategy, digital strategy, SEO strategy, accessibility, and impact design.

To me, it’s personal.

It’s not about competing with other agencies or waving the PR flag.

It’s about personal and professional development.

And ultimately, it’s about building a business my team and I can be proud to call ours.

If Unity Web Agency sounds like the right responsible business partner for you, we’d love to welcome you to our community.