To become a Certified B Corp, a business undergoes a comprehensive evaluation process, which includes an assessment of its governance structure, worker benefits and practices, environmental initiatives, and impact on the community. The B Impact Assessment (BIA) verifies whether the company has explicitly defined its positive impact goals, and provides a framework for measuring and benchmarking a company’s actual impact.

B Corp is the standard for how we’ll define the future of ethical, socially, and environmentally responsible business. We’ve joined the thousands of other businesses around the world striving to redefine success in business by contributing to a more sustainable and inclusive economy. Here are some ways the B Corp certification process and being a part of the B Corp movement has raised the bar for our firm.

As a purpose-driven personal injury law firm in Portland, Oregon, our journey to become the first B Corp Certified personal injury law firm in the world represents a groundbreaking endeavor. By aligning our values with the rigorous standards of B Corp certification, we have chosen to position ourselves at the forefront of ethical and values-based legal practices.

Growing up with a father who ran his own law firm for 55 years, I have been around small businesses all my life. When I learned about an organization and a process that helps businesses better understand how they can have a greater impact on their clients, teams, communities, and environment — I was sold, and I knew it was something I wanted to pursue for the firm. I didn’t realize when we started the path to certification that the B Corp movement, the local B Corp organization, and the assessment process were things I’d been seeking for years.

There are lots of seminars, books, and consultants that provide valuable advice on how to run a more efficient and profitable business. What is greatly lacking are metrics and benchmarks that help business owners understand the small steps that, when taken consistently, can make a significant impact on how a business contributes to:

• The experience clients have being guided through the complexity of the personal injury claims process
• How a team feels about the firm they work for, the people they work alongside each day, and their individual contribution
• The economic and social wellbeing of their communities
• Organizations and initiatives that help the environment and restore the balance between people, nature, and business

Through the certification process and being a part of the Oregon B Corp community, I have learned a tremendous amount about how Bridge City Law can continue to prosper while also being a business that benefits people and the planet.

We envision a global economy that uses business as a force for good. This economy is comprised of a new type of corporation – the B Corporation – which is purpose-driven and creates benefits for all stakeholders, not just shareholders.

As Certified B Corporations and leaders of this emerging economy, we believe:

• That we must be the change we seek in the world.
• That all business ought to be conducted as if people and place mattered.
• That, through their products, practices, and profits, businesses should aspire to do no harm and benefit all.
• To do so requires that we act with the understanding that we are each dependent upon one another and thus responsible for each other and future generations.