Eagle Protect, certified in 2012, is the world’s only disposable glove and clothing specialist to become a certified B Corp.
What Is A Certified B Corporation?
Certified B Corporations® are for-profit companies certified by the non-profit B Lab to have voluntarily met rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency.
B Corporations distinguish themselves in a cluttered marketplace by offering a positive vision of a better way to do business; better for workers, better for communities and better for the environment. The B Corporation community includes over 3,900 companies from 70+ countries and over 150 industries working together towards one unifying goal: to harness the power of the private sector for public benefit and redefine success in business.
"The B Corp movement is one of the most important of our lifetime, built on the simple fact that business impacts and serves more than just shareholders — it has an equal responsibility to the community and to the planet."Rose Marcario, CEO of Patagonia
The B Impact Assessment assesses company impact in areas around governance, workers, community and the environment. Rigorous documentation reviews and in-depth questions in these areas must be successfully completed in order to reach certification.
Eagle Protect welcomes the challenge of continuing to seek improvement in all areas of operations. Read our latest B Impact Report.
Why Is Eagle A B Corp?
Eagle Protect™ was founded over 13 years ago, growing rapidly to supply approximately 80% of the primary food processing industry with responsibly sourced personal protective equipment (PPE) and is also a recognized supplier to the dental, medical and industrial markets in New Zealand. The founder of Eagle, Steve Ardagh, relocated to the US in January 2016, with the intent of bringing Eagle's advanced philosophy around the supply of disposable clothing to the US food processing and service sectors.
Since founding the company in 2006, our mission has been to create opportunity and change the way you think about disposable consumable products. For us, this means we work hard to source ethically made quality products and work with like-minded suppliers who are invested in the well-being of their own workers, communities and local environment.
The values behind the B Corp movement of inclusion, accountability and transparency resonate with the mission and values of Eagle Protect. We know we have a responsibility to conduct our business in a way that seeks to benefit all who come into contact with us. Therefore, it made good sense for us to join with so many others and use the B Impact Assessment as a valuable resource to measure our impact and set areas for improvement in all areas of our business.
Becoming a B Corp also shows our customers just how serious we are about doing business differently. B Corp certification means we have to continually look for ways to cut the impact of our single-use products. We are also looking to reduce waste at every stage in a product’s journey from sourcing materials to use and disposal by our clients. It forces us to be alert and to challenge our industry. And, it means we can offer added protection to our customers and their reputation as well.
B Lab makes it possible for all sorts of businesses to complete the B Corp assessment and potentially succeed, which makes this certification so much more meaningful and accessible - so even an importer of single-use disposable consumables can be included!
How Can I Become One?
With consumers asking more and more questions surrounding Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and traceability, it is clear that certifications such as B Corp demonstrate a company’s commitment to accountability for social and environmental impact. Many Certified B Corporations who have gone through the rigorous process, have stated that the certification process has helped them to re-evaluate their impact and operations as a whole in order to implement effective policies.
Step One
The first step is to meet the Performance Requirement. Complete the free B Impact Assessment (BIA) and earn a reviewed minimum score of 80 out of 200 points.
Step Two
Meet the legal requirement. Determine the path for your corporate structure and state of incorporation. This varies between countries.
Step Three
Make it official. To become certified, pay a certification fee (structured depending on the size of the company), then Sign the B Corp Declaration of Interdependence and Term Sheet.
Step Four
Take the Assessment every three years in order to remain certified. Striving for continuous improvement is at the core of what it means to be a B Corp.
Remember - the B Impact Assessment is free to use (over 50,000 companies are already using it to measure their impact!), so even if you do not feel you are ready to certify just yet, you can still use the BIA as a useful tool to get a feel for how your business is performing in all areas.
The United States has over 1,300 B Corps and this figure is growing quickly! For more information on this topic visit the B Corporation website "How to Become a B Corp".
