01 Apr 2022

New certifications pop up every year, but only some manage to stand out in our greenwashing society. Among others, there is the rainforest alliance, the fair trade, the Jamaica Blue Mountain and the benefit corporation: the famous B Corp.

What is B Corp?

The B Corp Certification is a designation that a business is meeting high standards of verified performance, accountability, and transparency on factors from employee benefits and charitable giving to supply chain practices and input materials.

Thus, benefit corporations are businesses that act in ways that benefit society as a whole. What defines them is their belief that the purpose of a company is not just profits, but also social and environmental good.

What are the requirements of a B Corp certification?

Having a B Corp certification shows how dedicated a business is because they have to:

1) Demonstrate high social and environmental performance. They do that by achieving a B Impact Assessment score of 80 or above and passing the risk review. 

2) Make a legal commitment. This means they have to change their corporate governance structure to be accountable to all stakeholders, not just shareholders.

3) Exhibit transparency. This is done 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.

What does B Corp bring to the table?

Being part of the B movement is important because, in addition to bringing societal and environmental good to the community, shoppers now care more than ever about their impact on our planet.

Helping consumers help the world is becoming increasingly popular and benefit corporations do precisely that. While some certifications might just add to the greenwashing concept, B Corp has such rigorous standards that it maintains the value of its certification.

How can you be part of the B movement and still get excellent coffee?

There are more than 900 B Corp certified coffee companies today and our partner Vava Angwenyi’s company is one of them.

Vava Specialty Coffee is a social enterprise in Nairobi. This social enterprise seeks to cause positive social and economic disruption within the coffee industry. Vava Specialty Coffee strives in creating sustainable livelihoods for smallholder farmers as well as integrate more women and youth within the entire supply chain of coffee. The coffee company gives hope for a better tomorrow. A better tomorrow for those it works with as well as their families. Vava Specialty Coffee does this by giving them a chance to earn a living and get out of poverty by engaging them in work activities they are skilled in performing.

That is why we are very proud of working with Vava, as we think that even a small change is a change for a better world. In addition to buying amazing coffee, you will be part of a movement that brings not only value to you but to everybody involved. 

Shop now Vava Specialty Coffees’ products!