Did you know that Raízes was one of the first companies certified as a B Corp in Brazil?
Created in 2006 in the United States, the B Lab Movement (from the English “Benefit”) is an NGO whose objective is to assist companies interested in their environmental commitments and ESG measurement, accrediting and graduating them in 5 key factors of their business: governance; workers; customers; community and environment.
It was exactly through this mutual love for the planet that I arrived at Raízes last year, having discovered the company through a mutual friend. Coming from a long-lasting corporate career abroad and looking for inspiration and/or a future in the 2.5 sector, I was offered a part-time intern position, to help them translate the new website and ad hoc projects into English and Spanish. I thought it was the perfect position for me to learn and focus on my USP MBA TCC, whose theme chosen was B Corps, and the Recertification Process that Raízes would go through in 2023.
Currently, the so-called B Corporation has become one of the most respected certifications in the market; and currently, the program directly and/or indirectly reaches a workforce of 533,500 people; 6347 companies; 159 different industries, and is present in 89 countries, distributed across all continents.
In Latin America, where it arrived in 2011, it was renamed Sistema B, and recently celebrated the achievement of more than 1027 certified companies. Since 2013, Sistema B has closed 2022 with 275 B Corps at the national level.
Raízes obtained its first certification in 2014 and, since then, has renewed it every 3 years. In addition to currently being the holder of one of the highest scores in the B Impact Assessment (BIA), the B Lab tool that qualifies the 5 pillars analyzed, was also recognized by B Lab Global as an “Impact Business Model” (IBM) along with 17 other companies (obtaining an average score 23% higher), and awarded by the entity with the Best for the World trophy, awarded to the 5% best evaluated among its members, for two consecutive years, in 2021 and 2022; in addition to the more than 20 other external awards received in its almost 20 years of operation in the market.
In my personal case, it has been of great value to be able to collaborate with a business that, living up to its name, values and code of conduct,does not see sustainability only superficially, but that has it truly and inexorably involved in its entire DNA, from the choice of employees to the projects, organizations, and initiatives it chooses to support.
Raízes is considered a great national partner of the Movement, including having among its staff the so-called B Multipliers, who are professionals trained and accredited by the NGO to assist various companies in their ecological, financial and conduct responsibility projects. Multipliers help businesses in the necessary and complex transition to new impact models. In this 2023 training, we will have Priscila Silveira, our analyst, and this writer as participants in the training, but we already have, for example, partners Lucila Egydio and Jussara Rocha as certified multipliers who have been active for several years.
My TCC was delivered and will be defended in August, and although I still feel that I am just beginning, the feeling is that I finally found myself professionally between the third and fourth sector. I am almost daily inspired by the passion with which my colleagues dedicate themselves to their projects and functions; And being able to almost literally help translate the impact and truth of their initiatives and follow the difference they make in people’s lives has been a great privilege, for which I am immensely grateful.
As previously mentioned, in 2023 we will be seeking our third Recertification as a B Corp in Brazil, and for this, a Committee was created with 5 employees that has been meeting monthly since September 2022 – in which I was invited to participate. There is also the Environment and Sustainability Committee – of which I am also a member – to ensure that processes are improved, and we can continue to build – always together – authentic and highly successful partnerships that affect us inside and outside our personal and work environments.
We are Raízes: a social business, B Corp in Brazil, formed by experts committed to the positive transformation of the world. We co-create solutions to diverse problems using sustainability as a premise.
Our main field of activity is: – Sustainable Tourism and Associated Production (Handicrafts | Gastronomy | Agroecology | Culture) – Entrepreneurship and Income Generation – Gender Equity and Women’s Empowerment – Network Governance (Associations | Cooperatives | Collective Business) – Traditional Communities
Our team accumulates different skills and experiences but above all shares a huge desire to change the world! Are you coming with us?
