In 2019, Tech Networks of Boston submitted a new B Impact Assessment for recertification as a B Corp™. We began our B Corp™ journey in 2014, when we first certified. In 2014 we earned a score of 118 points (certification requires a minimum of 80), and we have continued to score above the minimum and well above the average score ever since. Since we are currently finishing this year’s recertification process, we wanted to reflect on where we started, where we are now, and where we still want to go.
A Certified B Corporation™ is a business that meets high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. At TNB we have spent the last 25 years serving our community through technology, empowering local nonprofits and mission-driven organizations to extend their reach and increase their impact. Our mission made certification the obvious choice. While we already worked to help our community and cared about our environmental impact, by making a pledge to put these issues first we put our money where our mouth was. It guaranteed that we would not only maintain the status quo but try to improve year after year.
Over the years we have made strides in improving our performance across the board. Our environmental impact has been reduced thanks, in part, to our subsidized MBTA passes for employees, a switch to renewable energy sources in our leased office, and an increase in composting, upcycling, and recycling waste disposal services. We run a workforce development program, our Deskside Support Technician program and internships, which helps individuals get a start in their IT career and provides on the job experience as well as professional development funds. We also support our nonprofit clients and community through our Boston Charity Events newsletter, donating to events and galas, and employee volunteer hours. In addition to these, and other, programs, we have gotten more involved in the Boston chapter of B Local, a group of local B Corps™ who get together and collaborate to make change in the area. Our former Sustainability Coordinator, Cissa Dieleman, joined the B Local board as their marketing coordinator, a position she still holds today.
We have continuously scored highly on the B Impact Assessment, and we are looking forward to learning our final score after our recertification process is complete this year. For three years in a row, we have been selected as a Best for the World honoree, which means we have scored in the top 10% of all B Corps in various assessment categories. Our Certified B Corporation status is a point of pride for TNB as a company and for our employees.
Looking ahead, we want to continue improving on and fulfilling our commitments to the community, the environment, and our employees. We are currently setting goals which we hope to accomplish before our next recertification date. In the meantime, we have recently completed our 2019 Annual Benefit report which further details our current efforts and standing.
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