Author: Mary Reames
In our 10th year of operation, Verdani Partners is proud to announce that we have earned B Corp Certification™ from the nonprofit B Lab™. In so doing, we join a community of over 6,800 companies in 90 countries and across 161 industries that have pledged to use business as a force for good®. By earning B Corp Certification, we have been verified as meeting B Lab’s high standards for social and environmental impact, have made a legal commitment to stakeholder governance, and are demonstrating accountability and transparency by disclosing this record of performance in our public B Corp profile.
“Since I began Verdani Partners in 2012, becoming a Certified B Corp has been one of my dreams for the company. As a minority and woman business owner and an immigrant, I’m so proud to be leading this amazing company of professionals who are purpose-driven and dedicated to our mission. I am thrilled that Verdani Partners is joining this community of companies that share our values and are working to make the world better.
B Corp Certification resonates with Verdani’s values as a company whose mission is to accelerate sustainability in the built environment. Certification also keeps us accountable and focused on improving our impact. At Verdani, we are always looking for ways to be better corporate citizens and to do more for our employees, clients, and the planet, and I’m really excited for the opportunities and ideas that this certification brings."
~Daniele Horton, Founder and CEO, Verdani Partners
Our B Corp Journey
Earning the B Corp Certification was not easy — nor should it be easy to achieve such a prestigious certification. We kicked off the effort in early 2021, when a team of Verdani employees began work on the B Impact Assessment™. This rigorous questionnaire examines a company’s performance in five areas: Governance, Workers, Environment, Customers, and Community. A score of 80 points out of a possible 200 is required for certification. After submitting the assessment, we went through a thorough review process where B Lab requested supporting documentation and verified our responses. We also worked with our attorney to amend our Articles of Incorporation to adopt a beneficial purpose for our company. The entire process took almost two years to complete.
Verdani earned a score of 105 on the assessment, with our highest marks coming in the Governance, Workers, and Customers impact areas. Our focus on employee satisfaction, commitment to ongoing training and professional development, and generous benefits and profit-sharing programs contributed significantly to our Workers impact score, while our focus on and engagement with our company’s mission to accelerate sustainability in the built environment were key to earning a high Governance score. Further, because Verdani’s consulting services deliver increased ESG impact for clients, align with independent third-party frameworks like GRESB and UNPRI, and improve performance year over year, we received points in the Customers impact area for this “impact business model.”
Why We Pursued Certification
There are many reasons why we chose to undertake the lengthy process to certify. Here are some that rose to the top:
We believe in B Lab’s theory of change and want to be a part of their vision for the future.
B Corp Certification is a powerful way to build credibility, trust, and value for our company. By certifying, we are demonstrating to our clients that we practice the same measures we are asking them to adopt.
Certification keeps us focused on our mission, even as our company grows and changes. In fact, we are now legally obligated to act for the benefit of others.
We are joining a community of companies and brands that inspire us, including Nova Group GBC, Stok, Patagonia, Grove Collaborative, Ben & Jerry’s, Tom’s of Maine, Stonyfield Organics, Seventh Generation, Fifth Wall, and Verdical Group.
What This Means for Our Stakeholders
Internal: We are encouraging our employees to get involved with plans to broaden and improve our company’s impact beyond the range of services we offer. Interested employees may join our “B Team” to help us set goals and targets and implement or revise policies and procedures.
External: Our status as a Certified B Corp as well as our score on the B Impact Assessment are now publicly available on the B Corp website. We invite current and potential clients, community members, and employment candidates to view these and engage with us about certification.
What Comes After Certification?
As Daniele noted in her statement above, we are looking forward to implementing changes to become a better, more impactful company and to using our business as a force for good. This includes adopting or revising policies, implementing, or changing up some of our procedures, and exploring new services we can offer our clients. B Corp Certification is not the end of the journey — it’s just the beginning!
About B Lab and B Corp Certification
B stands for Benefit for all. The B Global Network mobilizes the B Corp movement to change our economic system to positively impact all stakeholders — workers, communities, customers, and our planet.
B Corp Certification and the B Impact Assessment were developed by B Lab, a nonprofit network transforming the global economy to benefit all people, communities, and the planet. B Lab creates standards, policies, tools, and programs that shift the behavior, culture, and structural underpinnings of capitalism and mobilizes the B Corp community towards collective action to address society’s most critical challenges.
All B Corps sign the Declaration of Interdependence (seen below) as part of their certification, making a commitment to embody the values of the B Corp community and work towards our collective vision of business as a force for good.
Read More about B Corp Certification
Learn more about how Verdani Partners is making an impact:
About the Author
Mary Reames
Mary is an Associate Communications Director for Verdani Partners, drafting high-quality ESG communications and educational materials for Verdani’s national and international client portfolios. Mary has a long history in the ESG industry, having worked as an environmental attorney for the City of Chicago and as a sustainability consultant and LEED-EB contracted reviewer. She holds a BA in Sociology/ Anthropology, a BS in Sustainable Business Management, and a JD with a concentration in Environmental Law.
About Verdani Partners
Verdani Partners is a leading ESG consulting firm with team members with over 25 years of experience in real estate, sustainability, and ESG. Verdani manages ESG programs for over 20 real estate firms with over $660 billion AUM and more than 8,900 properties across 1.3 billion square feet of diversified, global portfolios. Verdani’s vision is for a sustainable world in which the built environment is a catalyst for inclusive and collaborative impact, driving efficiency, health, and regeneration to ensure long-term resilience. Verdani develops and implements strategies such as climate resilience, decarbonization, net zero, healthy buildings, biodiversity, DEI, data management, green building certifications, ESG frameworks, regulatory and annual reporting, ESG education, and stakeholder engagement. Verdani provides clients with a team of professionals to manage customized ESG programs on an ongoing basis from an owners' perspective. By leveraging Verdani’s deep sustainability expertise, resources, and industry connections, clients accelerate performance, minimize risk, and create long-term value. As a testament to the strength of Verdani’s programs, it’s clients consistently rank #1, #2, and in the top five among their peers on global real estate ESG benchmarks.