As a B Corp, Are Your Vendors Green?

Dharma Merchant Services is in the process of recertifying as a B Corp for the third time since our original 2009 certification. The process is even more daunting to pass these days due to their updated assessment, which is why there are only about 1000 B Corps in the US, even though tens of thousands have started the process. Aside from being validated as a company with a social conscience and proven record as a change agent, we love playing in the sandbox of like-minded businesses. One of the things I feel that is missing from their certification process, though, is a requirement for B Corps to partner with other B Corps throughout their supply chain. There are plenty of service providers in many vendor categories that offer their goods and services for sustainable and socially responsible businesses.  Think of your vendors as potentially preferable to companies showing no interest in triple bottom line business: your bank, legal firm, printer, web hosting company, design firm, telecom services, office products supplier, coffee vendor, benefit plan providers, etc. In most cases, working with sustainable partners is just as cost effective as mainstream companies. A good resource for finding green companies is the Green Business Network where more than 3,000 businesses have passed the Green Business certification. It really is so very important to understand our responsibility of tracking where money is spent to ensure that the change we seek for a socially responsible economy is achieved. In that vein, we honor and thank all of our partners for working with Dharma. We really value your business.

Please note: while Dharma was a Registered B Corp at the time of this posting, it no longer is.