Certified B Corporations are businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and accountability to balance profit and purpose. B Corps are accelerating a global culture shift to redefine success in business and build a more inclusive and sustainable economy.
Through innovative employee policies — such as incentives to decrease our carbon footprint by subsidizing a portion of team member bus, walking and bicycling costs — and community service that supports trusteeship, local activism and access to resources, Highland Group is proud to be part of the B Corp community and continues to work toward being best not just in the world, but for the world.
July, 2016
When we started on the B Corp journey, we didn’t realize the opportunity it would present to reflect on the past decade and a half in business. Highland Group was originally born from a desire to do top-quality, challenging professional work while still “having a life” at home with small kids. Now, our business is like our kids: in that self-defining teenage headspace. In other words, a perfect time to think deeply about our mission and our legacy.
As we’ve considered this direction over the past year, the business world has been full of articles about work-life integration and finding a path to meaningful productivity while managing the deluge of email, minimizing stress, leaning in and still having time for important life events. (Yes, Sheryl Sandburg, you have an influence on this, too.) Our Pocket reader is full, nay, bursting with articles about creating a quality work environment. And we are lucky — LUCKY — to have the opportunity to operate in a knowledge worker world, to use our brains to solve complex marketing and design challenges. We are honored to work with the best — BEST — clients, those for whom there is nothing less than an ‘A’ game.
We became a B Corp because it was time to make a public declaration of our intention: to do the hard work of creating a fulfilling professional experience that allows team members to tackle big challenges without sacrificing deeply personal living and active community involvement. To walk the messy, joyful, complex walk. And to demonstrate that one can be a small company and still have a positive impact on social justice — starting in our own backyard.
Now, part of the value we’ll bring to client engagements is the public commitment that Highland Group will exist for more than just profit. We will be an example for positive social change by supporting employee policies that promote trust and transparency, inspiring others to be their best selves, and engaging in community service that advocates for access to resources, connections and knowledge for all. Clients will know our commitment to equity and transparency.
We’re not afraid to hold ourselves to a B Corporation’s high standards of performance, transparency and accountability and the B Corp assessment helps us measure our performance against these high standards, and gives us a yardstick for continuous improvement.
