Raise your reusable bag high and celebrate a milestone in our journey towards using business as a force for good - ChicoBag is proud to mark its 10th anniversary as a Certified B Corporation.
This incredible achievement is a testament to a fierce commitment to environmental and social responsibility. A commitment that has been, and will continue to be, a work in progress. The certification process pushes us to always do a #littlebitbetter by balancing purpose and profit to create value for our workers, customers, and community while keeping the environment and our shareholders at the core of what we do. In this blog, we’ll take you through a few of the significant milestones in our recertification journeys over the last decade while emphasizing how each step has made us a #littlebitbetter
What is a Certified B Corporation?
Certified B Corporations, often referred to as B Corps, are companies that have met the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability. Being a B Corp means embracing a holistic approach to business, where profit is just one of many goals, and the welfare of people and the planet are integral to the company’s mission.
Certified B CorporationCHICOBAG'S B CORP CERTIFICATION TIMELINE
YEAR 2012 - Officially certified with an overall score of 105
“We became a B Corp because we wanted to share our long-held business ethics, our standards, and our sustainability practices with the larger world. We are excited to add our voice to the growing community of companies with a mission, and to show the world there is a better way to do business. We hope others are inspired to join us.” -Andy Keller, ChicoBag Founder
YEAR 2014 Re-certified, Score- 118.6
Progress was made from the last assessment. Retrofits of office faucets to low flow fixtures, installation of rain barrels, and energy-efficient lighting helped make our operations a little bit cleaner after this assessment.
YEAR 2016 - Re-certified - New Assessment and Category - “Customers” Score- 114.5
We lost a bit of ground but doubled down after this assessment and became Climate Neutral certified in 2019. This impacted our next assessment significantly.
YEAR 2020 - Re-certified, Score- 129.6
Climate Neutral Certification and Mission Lock helped us achieve improvement over past scores. We also achieved living wages for all! Full disclosure: the calculation and methodology for determining a living wage has changed and the bar has since been raised, so we’ll need to be a little bit better, once again.
Throughout the years we were also honored to receive the “Best for the World” in Environment Category for 9 straight years. We also received “Best for the World” Overall in 2018. The B Corp Best for the World honoree system ended in 2023, but our efforts to receive this honor have only increased.
What’s Next?
In addition to working toward a living wage for all (again), we’re focused on customer and employee feedback loops and systems in the near future. We have some impactful product improvements called rePETE + Refine that drastically reduce our impact and improve product accessibility - we’re really proud and excited to share! We are going through the certification process again and are excited to report on our progress since our last assessment. Sign up for our newsletter to stay in the know and be the first to get special offers and deals.
Adjustable Bottle Sling rePETe + RefineChicoBag and To-Go Ware are committed to continuous improvement, sustainability and doing things #littlebitbetter. We invite you to share your valuable feedback to help us enhance our impact and better meet the needs of our community and the environment. Thank you for being an essential part of our journey towards positive change. Any input you may have can be sent to [email protected]
