Why do business with a B Corp?

In honor of B Corp month, we’re taking time to reflect on what it means to us to be a Certified B Corp, and also what it means to YOU – the people we do business with.

 As consumers, many of us are drawn to make ethical choices in our personal lives. We buy organic foods or secondhand clothing, we recycle and compost, and we walk onto the ferry instead of taking our car whenever we can. But when it comes to our day jobs, do we think about the impact we’re making through the work that we do? That’s exactly what B Corps aim to do.

This year, we’ll be submitting for B Corp recertification, and we’re currently in the process of analyzing a half dozen aspects of our practice including governance, environmental impact, workers, clients, and community impact. Angie Tomisser and Becky Wall are leading that effort for our firm. During the process, we’ll also review a list of disclosures to certify that we’re not participating in or supporting any industries that could be considered harmful, such as prisons, nuclear power, or mining. This vetting process is the backbone of the B Corp certification: It provides companies with a label that signifies to clients and employees that we meet a certain threshold of what it means to ‘do good business.’

At RFM, using business as a force for good takes many forms. RFM Associate Principal, Angie Tomisser talked a bit about this in a conversation with Vibe Coworks last year, which you can read here. But put simply, we choose to prioritize equity, the environment, supporting our community, and doing work with other companies who are making an impact.

Equity

Since the beginning of the pandemic, a grassroots internal equity team at RFM began meeting bi-weekly over the lunch hour to discuss the role our firm plays in systemic racism, how we can be a more inclusive workplace, and provide educational opportunities to our employees on the topics of justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion. The group hopes to identify actions we can take to be a better practice, work towards a more diverse industry, and provide more equitable access to design for our communities.

RFM actively seek out a diverse workforce for our firm in our hiring. We’re proud to share that 58% of our staff are women (and that number has been rising rapidly!). Acknowledging the need for flexibility, we have and will continue to provide our staff with the option to work remotely or from the office as they see fit. This option allows for individual work styles and schedules, enables staff who are parents or caregivers to have a better work-family balance, helps our BIPOC staff to work in a safe and comfortable environment, and eases the financial burden of having to commute and live in highly urban areas.

The Environment

You’ve probably heard about our renovated 1940’s office building in Bremerton, WA, which remains one of the top ten greenest LEED projects of all time. But few people know that we continue to design projects that leave a light footprint. The majority of our projects meet LEED Silver requirements, and some of our projects are inching closer to Net Zero Energy (NZE) or NZE-ready, which means they will use the same amount of energy as they produce.

We also think about the impact of our purchasing decisions in the office, and how our workforce is impacting the planet. We recycle and compost in our office, we buy FSC-certified paper, and we source eco-friendly or locally-made products to give to our employees, clients, and potential clients. A benefit of a hybrid workforce is that our employees have no or fewer commutes, meaning they burn fewer fossil fuels getting to and from work.

Community

Did you know that RFM has a Charitable Contribution Request form? We do! It’s on our website and any non-profit can make a request that our committee will analyze and in many cases, grant.

We also participate in United Way and Bremerton Backpack Brigade, and have organized service days with Habitat for Humanity, Wayzgoose Kitsap, and other non-profits. Several of our staff mentor local youth through the AVID program or support Rotary Clubs, Lions Clubs, and other service organizations. During the fall we often organize coat drives for kids, have participated in Canstruction, and typically donate care packages to veterans in our community on Veterans Day. In fact, we’re so serious about volunteering that we give our employees 8 hours of paid time annually to commit to a non-profit organization of their choice.

Clients With Impact

Beyond hands-on service, we also give back through pro-bono or discounted design work. We’re currently wrapping up the Tacoma Youth Shelter for Coffee Oasis, the first homeless youth shelter in Bremerton, now with several locations throughout the Puget Sound. We also work with other organizations doing great work in our community, such as the Kitsap Regional Library, Kitsap Humane Society, and Bremerton Housing Authority.

Our ethos to have an impact affects nearly all of our markets and projects. In our Senior Living market, we design communities for aging primarily for non-profit senior living communities such as Caroline Kline Galland Home, Bayview, and Panorama. Our work with native communities focuses on projects that support the economic development and independence of Coast Salish Tribes including the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, Quinault Indian Nation, and Nisqually Indian Tribe. Our fire and civic projects are focused on providing safety and educational services – often for rural communities. By helping fire districts create cost-effective solutions that voters will approve, we help more people get access to faster incident response times, which can save lives and livelihoods.

Closing the Loop

While we’re not perfect, we do our best – and always seek to do better. If you’re a client, we’d love to hear from you about why you choose to do business with a B Corp. If you’re curious about becoming a B Corp yourself, great! We’d love to chat.

When you choose to be – or work with – a company that invests in people, the environment, and building community, you’re ensuring your dollars are used for good. In an uncertain world during uncertain times, there’s a lot more at stake than money. As a B Corp we believe in looking beyond profit, to understand the true impact of the choices we make.

Will you do the same?