B Corp Certification at R. Riveter
Abstract
This two-part research study provides a case study of the B Corp certification process
and examines the overall value of the B Corp certification for small businesses within
North Carolina. The researcher assisted an early-stage manufacturing company, R. Riveter,
with the initial steps of the B Corp certification process. The researcher also studied
the benefits and challenges of achieving B Corp certification by interviewing twelve
previously certified North Carolina B Corps.
B Corp Certification at R. Riveter
R. Riveter is a canvas and leather goods manufacturer located in the town of West
End, within Moore County, North Carolina. The company was formed with the unique social
mission of providing military spouses with portable employment, creating handbags
from leather and recycled military materials. Their social and environmental mission
made them a strong candidate to become a certified B Corp.
Based on their initial assessment, R. Riveter’s score was only 40 compared to the
80 points required to achieve B Corp certification. In order to improve their performance,
R. Riveter participated in the Fall 2017 North Carolina State University (NCSU) B
Corp Clinic. This allowed them to receive technical assistance from a team of student
consultants representing NCSU and Duke University.
After analyzing the five sections of R. Riveter’s initial B Impact Assessment report
(Governance, Workers, Environment, Community, Customer), the student team implemented
short-term actions that helped R. Riveter achieve 70 points on their Impact Assessment.
Future improvements were categorized as short-term and long-term actions that would
bring R. Riveter to the required 80 points within a few months.
B Corp Certification in North Carolina
Forty-two North Carolina businesses are currently B Corp certified. Twelve of these
companies were interviewed by the researcher in an effort to assess the value of the
B Corp certification for small to medium-size businesses. Interviews were confidential
to protect the identity of the respondents.
For these interviewees, the value of the B Corp certification was best demonstrated
by the positive impact on employee recruitment, engagement, and retention. Other benefits
included the framework or guidelines for improvement provided by B Corp model and
the network or community of like-minded companies.
While all twelve participants had positive things to say about the new initiatives
that the certification process has brought to their company, some experienced challenges
with the B Corp certification. These challenges included the time and effort to complete
the assessment, the cost of certification, and disappointment over a lack of recognition
of the B Corp brand by their customers
Type
Master's projectPermalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/16506Citation
Ross, Cheryl (2018). B Corp Certification at R. Riveter. Master's project, Duke University. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/16506.Collections
More Info
Show full item record
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Rights for Collection: Nicholas School of the Environment
Works are deposited here by their authors, and represent their research and opinions, not that of Duke University. Some materials and descriptions may include offensive content. More info