Our firm became a Certified B Corporation in August 2019. After taking the time to celebrate this amazing accomplishment with our team, we got right to work creating a 3-year plan on how we could continue our journey of being a better business. We are so proud of some of the changes we’ve made and education we have shared over the last two and a half years! Here are just 5 of the many things we have done:
- Many Hands Make Light Work
We believe the best way to ensure our entire team understands and values what it means to be a B Corp is to get everyone involved in the process! Therefore, we decided to create committees in our firm dedicated to creating a positive impact on our environment, the health & wellness of our team and the B Corp journey itself. Our Green, Health & Wellness and B Corp committees are filled with enthusiastic individuals who love bringing their passion into the workplace and working together to create change. - Carbon Neutrality
Our goal is to make our communities and the world a better place for years to come. With this in mind, becoming a Carbon Neutral company was at the top of our list! Our Green and B Corp committees worked with the amazing team at Carbon Zero to make this a reality. In September 2021 Barriston achieved Carbon Neutrality under the Carbon Zero certification program for scope 1 and 2 emissions. Our offset funds went to the Niagara Escarpment Forest Carbon Project (NEFCP) which will promote and maintain forest cover and ecosystem function close to home! - The More You Know
Being a B Corporation is so important to our firm and we want to share this feeling with everyone! That’s why we have teamed up with Busch Systems, BDC and the Sandbox Centre to bring education to our local business communities. We’ve held many sessions on what it means to be a B Corp, what the process looks like and how to get started. We’ve also worked with local businesses as they have undergone the B Corp Assessment, which makes the process more accessible and attainable. Our goal is to make our region the B Corp capital of Canada… scratch that, the world! - Wisdom Begins with Wonder
Our team is what makes us so amazing and we aim to foster an environment that values and rewards each person’s dedication to our firm, providing them room for growth. Last year we rolled out an internal training program with hundreds of videos that will assist our team with developing both their soft and hard skills. It’s called the Barriston Academy. This on-demand video training library is used for new hires and seasoned veterans alike, because everyone can skill up and get better. And we even have some fun draws and incentives for spending time in the Academy. - Community Support
Barriston has always been dedicated to supporting the communities in which we live and work. After our certification we continued our contributions with an emphasis on meaningful, measurable and strategic support. Our focus is on 4 main areas that we believe build strong communities: Arts & Culture, Health & Wellness, Building Business & Education and Community Building. We also encourage and incentivize our team to donate their time and involve themselves with organizations that align with their values and making the world a better place. We celebrate time spent on community involvement, monthly, by listing everyone in our firm who is participating at a community level in some way, and we award draw prizes as a fun way to say thanks.
We love being able to share our experience with our communities and are hard at work preparing for our recertification this August. Stay tuned to learn more about Barriston’s B Corp journey.