B Lab taps verification partner Genashtim to address growth and wait times in the B Corp Certification process
NEW YORK, SINGAPORE, 7 February 2022 — B Lab, a global network of organizations dedicated to transforming the economic system, and Genashtim, eLearning and ESG services provider and Certified B Corporation, are engaging in a strategic partnership to service the accelerated growth of the B Corp Certification. As part of this arrangement, Genashtim is providing B Lab with additional verification capacity to support the growing number of applications in the B Corp Certification process.
B Lab is experiencing the highest demand in the organization’s history for the B Corp Certification, with 3,500 applications for the certification from businesses in 2021 to join a global community of 4,500 B Corps, which has taken 15 years to reach its current scale. This growth has also meant real, significant challenges for B Lab as it looks to scale the B Corp Certification, such as longer wait times for companies in the queue for verification. To address these challenges, in the past year B Lab has hired 30 new employees to support the verification of companies in the queue, and is augmenting this capacity with additional verification support from Genashtim.
“While this growth in the certification has been pretty astounding for us to see at B Lab, it’s also presented some interesting challenges for our organization as we reflect on how best to scale to meet demand while keeping the integrity of the certification process and our vision at the forefront,” said Kali Gibson, Co-Director of Certification & Verification at B Lab Global. “We’re excited to have the experienced support of Genashtim as we focus on building our capacity to best service our customers, create process improvements, and prioritize organizational wellness.”
As part of this strategic partnership, Genashtim is providing 20 full-time independent verification analysts to conduct the verification of applicant submissions for the B Corp Certification, which includes reviewing the eligibility of each applicant; confirming that the applicant has met the legal requirement; validating against documentation that the applicant appropriately represented their Impact Business Model; conducting review calls with the applicant to review questions in the B Impact Assessment; and providing other customer service duties.
“We are absolutely thrilled with this strategic partnership,” said Thomas Ng, CEO and Founder of Genashtim. “It is such a privilege for us to play a role in the rapid growth in the B Corp community, and a pleasure to work with the people at B Lab. Since being certified in 2015, we have seen increasing value and interest in being a B Corp.”
Analysts have been selected for their proficiency in Chinese, French, Portuguese, and Spanish, and ability to work in time zones serving Africa, the Americas, Australia, Asia, Europe, or the UK.
All analysts sign a non-disclosure agreement and conflict of interest agreement.
About B Lab: B Lab is transforming the global economy to benefit all people, communities, and the planet. A leader in economic systems change, our global network creates standards, policies, tools, and programs for business, and we certify companies—known as B Corps—who are leading the way. To date, our community includes 380,000 workers in over 4,500 B Corps across 79 countries and 153 industries, and more than 150,000 companies manage their impact with the B Impact Assessment and the SDG Action Manager. To learn more and join the movement, visit www.bcorporation.net.
About Genashtim: Genashtim was founded in 2008 with the purpose of providing sustainable, meaningful and gainful employment for the disadvantaged, especially for those from the less-developed economies. It is providential that our challenges in trying to accommodate our diverse workforce have led us to become pioneers in remote work, digitalization and eLearning, which has in turn fuelled exponential growth in our business during the COVID-19 years. More than half of our employees are persons with disabilities, with another 20 to 30% from other disadvantaged groups, including refugees. They are scattered across 20 countries on 6 continents. Our social innovation and social impact have been recognised with many international publications and awards.
Media Contact: Beelan Yonas, Global Communications Manager, press@bcorporation.net