As the demand for responsible business practices grows, so does the interest in B Corp certification. In this episode, Kali Gibson, a consultant with over a decade of experience at B Lab, shares her journey and insights into the evolving certification and verification process. Having worked at B Lab in various roles, from Standards Analyst to Co-Director of Certification and Verification, Kali provides an insider's look at the challenges B Lab has faced as the B Corp community has grown.
In our conversation, Kali reflects on the early days, when she joined B Lab in 2012, and describes how the certification process has changed over time. She unpacks the increasing demand for B Corp certification, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how B Lab had to adapt by trialing new verification processes and partnering with external firms like Genashtim in Singapore. We also explore the balance between maintaining rigorous standards and ensuring a smooth certification process for companies of all sizes.
For businesses navigating B Corp certification or those interested in joining the movement, Kali offers practical insights into the complexities of verification and the importance of maintaining trust in the process. She also touches on the need for patience, collaboration, and understanding as the global B Corp community continues to grow. Thanks for listening!
Key Points From This Episode:
- Kali Gibson’s career journey, from B Lab to becoming a consultant.
- How the B Corp certification and verification process has changed since 2012.
- Key challenges B Lab faced in the early days of its verification process.
- Unpacking the relationship between the verification process and B Corp standards.
- The Standards Advisory Council at B Lab and their role as a third-party body of experts.
- Examples of grey areas in certification they’ve had to navigate over the years.
- The rigor and due diligence behind the certification and reviewing process globally.
- An overview of significant changes in the verification process since 2012.
- The process of, and reasons for, splitting B Lab US and Canada from B Lab Global.
- How demand for B Corp certification has increased, particularly during the pandemic.
- Strategies they used to address the backlog when demand surged during the pandemic.
- Details about their partnership with Genashtim in Singapore and outsourcing verification.
- Benefits and drawbacks of partnering with external companies for verification globally.
- The complicated factors that affect wait times for companies seeking certification.
- An overview of Kali’s current work as a consultant and how to get in touch.
Quotations
“I was really interested at that time [in] how business could be interwoven with doing good. And when I heard about B Corp certification, that sounded exactly like what I was interested in.” — Kali Gibson
“We had different industries coming to us. So pretty soon, we started seeing industries that we would consider controversial, or industries that we weren't sure we wanted to have within the community, or if we should.” — Kali Gibson
“There's 100-plus questions on the [impact] assessment, so there's a lot of places for people to feel misrepresented or they just don't understand.” — Kali Gibson
“One good outcome of COVID [was that] it made people think. – Some businesses that weren’t sure if they wanted to pursue [B Corp certification] were like, ‘You know what? I'm committed to doing business differently.’” — Kali Gibson
“[During the pandemic] we had a lot of brainstorm sessions where we did what we could, and at the same time, we [were] hiring as quickly as we [could], and we were training as quickly as we [could].” — Kali Gibson
“We're all part of this process together and we all have the same vision and mission in mind, which you can't say for a lot of services that you're going through.” — Kali Gibson
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
- Kali Gibson: https://www.kaligibson.com/
- Kali Gibson on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kali-gibson/
- Standards Advisory Council: https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us/standards/advisory-council/
- Sistema B: https://www.sistemab.org/
- B Lab Global: https://www.bcorporation.net/
- Genashtim: https://genashtim.com/
- Scaling B Corp Certification: Reflections on 2021: https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us/news/blog/scaling-b-corp-certification-reflections-2021/
- Press Release: B Lab taps verification partner Genashtim to address growth and wait times in the B Corp Certification process: https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us/news/press/blab-genashtim-verification-partnership/
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