New Belgium Brewing recertifies as B Corp., raises score

New Belgium Brewing just recertified as a B Corporation and its new score improved by 23 points to 143, which is 63 points above the minimum score needed to become a B Corporation. The increase this year is attributed to New Belgium transitioning to a 100% employee-owned company, putting the brewery on a path to control its own destiny. Other factors in New Belgium’s score include its high-involvement culture, open-book management, its philanthropy program, which has donated almost $7 million since the company was founded in 1991, and its sustainability management program. Recertifying as a B Corporation is a required process every two years.

“It’s a great honor to see these results, which are based on the collective effort of all employee-owners at New Belgium to lead with our hearts,” said New Belgium’s Katie Wallace, assistant director of sustainability at New Belgium. “One of our greatest purposes as a company is to prove that you can be a force for good by incorporating social and environmental values into every day decisions. That was shown more than ever when Kim Jordan, New Belgium’s CEO, sold her shares back to New Belgium’s co-workers because she believed in our ability to steward New Belgium for the long run. It’s incredibly empowering and rewarding to work where the triple bottom line is considered and so gratifying for all of us at New Belgium to receive this recognition.”

Certified B Corporations use the power of business to solve social and environmental problems and have met rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency. Today there are more than 1,200 certified B Corporations, across 121 industries and 38 countries, unified by one common goal: to redefine success in business.

“New Belgium is one of those companies we often get asked about when we’re talking about B Corp Certification,” said Katie Kerr, director of communications for B Lab. “It’s a company that exemplifies all we stand for and it’s constantly looking for ways to improve, as seen by this recent rating increase. We’re proud to have New Belgium in the B Corp community.”

For more on New Belgium, tap into the brewery’s website.