A Commpro News UpdateThis week, B the Change Media released the Best for the World lists, a list the includes and highlight the business they deem the most socially and environmentally impactful.  This list included 515 winning companies, from over 20 countries and over 40 different industries.  A conference, The Best for the World Gathering, was held at the University of California, Berkeley, in celebration of the winners.The companies considered for the Best for the World honors must be certified B Corporations, while also scoring in the top 10% on the B Impact Assessment, (a set of standards that measures a company’s impact on its employees, community, and the environment.) B Corp Certification and the B Impact Assessment are both handled by the nonprofit organization B Lab.“It’s extraordinary just how much these winning companies are doing to create better jobs and happy employees, enhance community life, and keep the environment healthy,” said Bryan Welch, B the Change Media CEO. “Their stories are remarkable and their success is, too, which is perhaps the most important message: sustainability doesn’t come at the expense of profitability. The two can and do march in lockstep.”Overall honors were divided amongst three groups:  micro, small, and mid-sized businesses.  Also acknowledged were additional areas of excellence, including “Best for the Environment,” “Best for Community,” and “Best for Workers.”The 2016 Best for the World honorees include Colorado beer maker, New Belgium Brewing, and Roshan, a groundbreaking Afghanistan-based telecom.In addition to these firms were:

• Revolution Foods (creator of healthy childhood foods)
• SunGevity (American solar provider )
• Gardener’s Supply Company (Vermont retailer and direct marketer)
• Cooperative Home Care Associates (South Bronx home healthcare company)
• Natura (Brazilian personal care product manufacturer)

“These are the businesses that are not only getting it right but expanding the possibilities,” said B Lab co-founder Jay Coen Gilbert. “They’re the world’s top sustainability innovators, the companies who are pushing the envelope and showing the rest of the corporate community not only how it’s done, but just how much more can be done in the name of human and environmental sustainability.”