i.d.e.a. Earns Certified B Corporation Designation
San Diego, CA (PRWEB) August 07, 2014 -- Integrated marketing agency i.d.e.a. announces it has earned the Certified B Corporation designation, joining a growing community of more than 1,000 companies in 34 countries with the unifying commitment of benefiting the greater good through business. i.d.e.a. is one of just five marketing and communications companies in California – and the only marketing company in San Diego – to bear the B Corp designation.
The agency joins the ranks of other respected Certified B Corporations including Patagonia, Method, New Belgium Brewing Co., Ben & Jerry’s, Etsy and Seventh Generation.
B Corporations are certified by the nonprofit B Lab to meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability. To become a B Corp, a company must undergo a series of performance and legal measures, including evaluating its impact on stakeholders (e.g., workers, community, consumer and the environment); undergoing an assessment by B Lab staff; and incorporating sustainability into the company mission and its governing documents.
Consistent with its B Corp status, in 2014 i.d.e.a is focusing on the two areas that matter most to the people who work for and with the company:
Community Investment
• Giving $150,000 worth of pro bono service and donations to local and national nonprofit organizations
• Achieving 100 percent staff participation in company’s paid volunteerism program
Environmental Stewardship
• Eliminating plastic water bottle use, and cutting paper use by 25 percent, despite growing staff by more than 60 percent in the first half of 2014
• Measuring, reducing and offsetting emissions from energy use, commuting and business travel to be “carbon neutral”
For complete 2013 performance and 2014 goals, see i.d.e.a.’s full B Corp Summary Report here.
“We believe our business succeeds when we not only make a profit but also when we make a difference,” said Indra Gardiner Bowers, founder and chief influence officer of i.d.e.a. “In fact, through our Brand Purpose offering, we create and deliver powerful ideas that are good for business and good for the world. Earning B Corp status was a natural step for our agency, and we couldn’t be more thrilled – or in better company.”
For more information, visit theideabrand.com.
About i.d.e.a.
i.d.e.a. is an award-winning integrated marketing company and Certified B Corporation that moves people, products and culture through its nine core disciplines: strategy, creative, design, reputation, social media, digital, brand management, media and brand purpose. i.d.e.a. makes brands matter by creating right-sized ideas that live in all the places consumers play. To learn more, find i.d.e.a. online at theideabrand.com.
About B Corp
Certified B Corporations meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, legally expand their corporate responsibilities to include consideration of stakeholder interests, and build collective voice through the power of the unifying B Corporation brand. As of May 2014, there are more than 1,000 Certified B Corporations from over 60 industries and 34 countries, representing a diverse multi-billion dollar marketplace.
About B Lab
B Lab is a nonprofit organization that serves a global movement to redefine success in business so that all companies compete not only to be the best in the world, but the best for the world.
B Lab drives this systemic change through a number of interrelated initiatives: 1) building a community of Certified B Corporations to make it easier for all of us to tell the difference between “good companies” and good marketing; 2) passing legislation to accelerate growth of social entrepreneurship and impact investing (24 states have already passed benefit corporation legislation); 3) developing B Analytics, a customizable platform for investors to benchmark and report on the impact of their global equity portfolios; and 4) providing free, powerful tools for businesses to measure, compare and improve their social and environmental performance (more than 16,000 businesses use B Lab’s free B Impact Assessment). For more information, visit bcorporation.net.
Beth Wilkinson, i.d.e.a., +1 (619) 295-8232 Ext: 119, [email protected]
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