B Corp Strategies for Business Impact Improvement

How Stakeholder Collaboration and Strategic Innovation Enhance Positive Impact

Improving business impact requires more than good intentions. It means setting specific goals, working to implement them, and gathering input from stakeholders along the way. Each business takes its own impact improvement journey by focusing on relevant and aligned opportunities to have an impact while also maintaining a strong bottom line. 

The B Impact Assessment is a free online tool that helps businesses measure and manage their impact on stakeholders and obtain B Corp Certification. While taking a holistic view of business impact, the B Impact Assessment is also designed to be aspirational and educational so companies can reflect on their results, connect with resources, and identify opportunities for improvement. 

Three B Corps from various industries — slow fashion brand Frank & Eileen, ethical digital marketing agency The Colibrily Crew, and sustainability strategy and communications agency thinkPARALLAX — share how they identify strategies for impact improvement, what changes they’ve made as a result, and what lessons they’ve learned from the process. Learn from the successes and challenges of these B Corps striving to make a difference for their stakeholders and in their industries. 

Frank & Eileen: How B Corp Certification Supports Slow Fashion and Women’s Empowerment Initiatives

Women’s clothing brand Frank & Eileen uses the B Corp Certification process to identify opportunities and strategies for enhancing its commitment to slow fashion and supporting women’s entrepreneurship. Founder Audrey McLoghlin said B Corp Certification provides a robust framework for guiding the company’s impact initiatives, and the B Impact Assessment has been instrumental in benchmarking performance against industry peers and highlighting areas for improvement. 

The company’s Giving Pledge is a standout initiative born from its 2020 certification. The pledge is a $10 million commitment over 10 years to educate the women entrepreneurs of tomorrow. The pledge has funded the Frank & Eileen Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership at Babson College, the first center of its kind at a business school, which focuses on elevating women entrepreneurial leaders. The pledge also supports women M.B.A. candidates at Babson College, Stanford Graduate School of Business, and MIT Sloan School of Management, as well as a premiere high school accelerator program, Frank & Eileen Incubator and Accelerator at Marlborough High School in Los Angeles. “Entrepreneurship is the most powerful driver of positive change for women, and I believe the biggest impact I can make is by creating more women entrepreneurs,” McLoghlin said.

With its Giving Pledge, B Corp Frank & Eileen made a $10 million commitment over 10 years to the education of future women entrepreneurs. (Photo courtesy Frank & Eileen)

At Frank & Eileen, decision-making regarding impact improvement is a collaborative approach that includes the company’s Leadership Team, led by McLoghlin, and others. For this year’s recertification, the company formed an internal B Team, led by its newly appointed Head of Social Mission & Impact. This team is composed of department heads from Product, Finance, and Human Resources and prioritizes social and environmental performance across the business by identifying opportunities and implementing strategies for impact improvement. 

One of Frank & Eileen’s key impact improvement goals was enhancing employee well-being. To understand employees’ needs and expectations, the company elevated its annual employee survey to gather more in-depth feedback and identify specific areas for improvement. Based on the survey results, the company developed an action plan that strengthened benefit offerings and enhanced their culture of open communication. “This initiative was a collective effort across the company, involving our B Team, the Leadership Team, and, most importantly, our team members, whose honest feedback continues to guide how we support them as a company,” McLoghlin said. 

The creation of the Head of Social Mission & Impact position also represents a change the company has made to support its social and environmental impact goals. The position is dedicated to ensuring that Frank & Eileen upholds B Corp values in every aspect of its business, including partners’ ethical sourcing of natural materials, manufacturing sustainably, and the company’s own commitment to its Giving Pledge. “This role is crucial in guiding our slow fashion approach to make a positive impact on the world,” McLoghlin said. 

When it comes to impact improvement tips, the company touts early stakeholder engagement. By involving key players from the outset — employees, customers, and others — companies can gather diverse perspectives, better align needs and expectations, and build trust and buy-in, McLoghlin said. For example, she said engaging early with the company’s customer care team was critical to the success of the circularity program, ReLoved by Frank & Eileen, a resale marketplace for previously loved Frank & Eileen items. The initiative is on its way to exceeding its goal of keeping over 10,000 pieces out of landfills annually. 

“We’re excited about how this program will not only support our sustainability efforts but also foster a community that values quality, longevity, and environmental responsibility,” McLoghlin said.

The Colibrily Crew: Enhancing Impact Through Collaboration and Feedback

Ethically conscious digital marketing agency The Colibrily Crew looks for ways to make a bigger impact and improve its strategies by listening to feedback and staying connected with its team, clients, and community. As part of a collaborative approach, the agency’s senior leaders set the direction, and the team regularly meets to brainstorm and review progress. Founder Dave Hoch said the agency encourages everyone in the company to pitch in with ideas and participate in initiatives. Outside feedback is also key. 

“We love getting insights from our customers, community partners, and peers to ensure our plans hit the mark,” Hoch said. “By keeping an eye on industry trends and learning from other B Corps and their impact reports, we’re always finding fresh and innovative ways to enhance our impact. This way, our strategies stay balanced and truly reflect the diverse needs of our business and the world around us.”

Hoch said that through the team’s guidance and dedication, The Colibrily Crew made strides in pursuing its impact improvement goals in 2023. One of the key changes was enhancing employee benefits by introducing paid parental leave, reinforcing the agency’s commitment to supporting its team’s work-life balance and well-being. The Colibrily Crew also partnered with Tech to the Rescue to offer pro bono work, expanding its community impact by leveraging its expertise to support meaningful projects. When it comes to environmental sustainability, the company purchased more than 10 times its usage in carbon offsets to address its environmental impact. 

Additionally, the agency launched a client scorecard survey to better understand and improve its client relationships. Hoch said the tool helps the agency gather valuable feedback, continuously enhance services, and better meet clients’ needs. 

The changes the agency made in 2023 to increase its social and environmental impact required adjustments, including budget and resource allocations, plus some staff task adjustments. “These efforts required careful planning and budgeting to ensure we could achieve our new impact goals,” Hoch said. 

The Colibrily Crew prioritizes employee engagement and transparency to help shape impact improvement initiatives. (Photo courtesy The Colibrily Crew)

One key lesson learned has been the importance of getting staff buy-in. As Hoch said, allocating budget and resources effectively is crucial. “Engaging employees early and making them part of the process ensures smoother implementation and greater commitment to new initiatives,” he said. 

Another necessity is maintaining transparency through regular updates and feedback processes and making necessary adjustments. Prioritizing clear communication and involving the whole team can enhance the success of impact initiatives. “We introduced ‘20% pet project’ schedules in the organization as a trial in 2023, which failed,” Hoch said. “Getting feedback from the team and deciding to cut the program was a valuable opportunity for collaboration and staff empowerment.” 

In the end, Hoch is guided by the concept of “go big or go home” — a tip he recommends to other companies looking to improve their impact. He said it’s important to always look for ways to improve, even if it means changing budgets or schedules. “Your staff will appreciate you leading by example,” he said. 

thinkPARALLAX:  Guiding Companies Toward More Sustainable Practices

As part of its commitment to using business as a force for good, sustainability strategy and communications agency thinkPARALLAX works to align its practices with the recommendations it provides to clients. The B Corp works with corporations to help them make their business more sustainable and impactful for the people and environments they impact. This means helping companies to build strategies, set goals, create implementation plans, evolve their business practices, and engage people both internally and externally.

The agency also practices what it preaches by implementing new initiatives in 2023 to reduce its climate impact. That includes establishing a sustainability committee to identify gaps and opportunities in environmental policies and practices and to create a strategic roadmap for sustainability priorities. “The committee works to bridge the gaps between our team members’ personal motivations for low-impact living and company-level environmental priorities, to ensure we collectively stay accountable in moving the needle of progress forward for thinkPARALLAX,” Hanwit said in the agency’s annual benefit report. 

In 2023, the sustainability committee updated the agency’s environmental policy, engaged employees on sustainability topics important to them, and identified opportunities, such as composting and reducing data storage at its Encinitas office. The agency also continues to certify as Climate Neutral, which requires thinkPARALLAX to measure and meet reduction goals, and to offset residual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. “The sustainability committee is reviewing our strategy to ensure that our approach results in meaningful GHG mitigation and will continue to report on our initiatives and progress in future reports,” Hanwit said. 

A robust in-office recycling and composting program thinkPARALLAX initiated in 2023 aims to reduce waste. Efforts include serving plant-forward options at company-sponsored events that limit or avoid carbon-intensive meat and avoiding single-use serving items whenever possible. The agency also continues to abide by a strict e-waste policy that ensures items like laptops, monitors, and ink cartridges are reused, recycled, or disposed of properly. “While we are proud of the strides we made this year, we have room to grow in fully calculating our environmental impact and look forward to reporting on our progress in the future,” Hanwit said. 

The agency also strives to be a positive force in the communities where employees live and work. Throughout the year, thinkPARALLAX provides employees with opportunities to volunteer with organizations and causes in their communities. Employees have up to eight hours of paid time off per year to volunteer with their nonprofit of choice. In 2023, 67% of the agency’s employees volunteered with local organizations. “We believe in supporting our neighbors and the issues that impact quality of life for all,” Hanwit said. 

An innovative way thinkPARALLAX gives back is by using its physical office space to support the local Encinitas community. As an after-hours community venue, Perspectives Space has hosted hundreds of community events including yoga classes, nonprofit meetings, and community discussions. The space also serves as an art gallery to showcase the work of local artists.

Through its birthday donation program, thinkPARALLAX donates $50 to each employee’s nonprofit of choice. In 2023, employees supported causes and organizations both nationally and internationally. The agency also provides paid time off for employees to vote.