Community Impact: How B Corps Measure It

My whole life I have volunteered, it is just who I am. In elementary school I volunteered at a local nursing home.

In high school I served as an aide in classes for students with developmental disabilities and beginning in college I was volunteering for months in Latin America.

Fast forward a couple of decades and I founded Vista Global, certifying as a B Corp in 2012.  One of the categories for B Corp certification is Community. This category evaluates a company’s engagement with and impact on the communities in which it operates. Topics include diversity, equity & inclusion, economic impact, civic engagement, charitable giving and supply chain management.  

In addition, the Community category recognizes business models that are designed to address specific community-oriented problems, such as poverty alleviation.

Vista Global has worked with community-based organizations from the first day we hung out our shingle and will continue to do so until the last day we operate. It is in our DNA.  Another way that we work to improve the community is to offer pro bono services to community-based organizations.

Recently, I joined the Pro-Bono Business Advising program of Pacific Community Ventures. This incredible program facilitates mentorships between Small Business Owners and advisors who have unique and hard-earned skills to support small business owners to elevate their ideas to thriving businesses. It is exciting to be part of expanding businesses fighting for economic, racial and gender justice that propel thriving communities with equitable jobs.

To learn more about how other B Corps collaborate to amplify social and environmental good in their communities, check out the weekly B The Change article on “How Collaboration Empowers the B Corp Community”.