16 Semesters of the B Corp Clinic

History of the B Corp Clinic 

For the last eight years, the NC State B Corp Clinic has helped over 100 companies from around the world improve their social and environmental impact. From traditional business working to become more sustainable, an aspiring B Corp pursuing certification or a certified B Corp focused on continuous improvement, the B Corp Clinic has helped every company do better! Each company is matched with a team of interdisciplinary students from our Jenkins graduate programs and uses the B Impact Assessment (BIA), as a tool to measure and drive impact. The BIA is a free, confidential platform designed to help measure and manage a company’s positive impact on its workers, community, customers and environment.

Spring 2023 Semester

This semester marks the 16th semester of our B Corp Clinic! We had a great portfolio of 8 companies that participated in the clinic:

Animal Experience International – matches people seeking volunteer positions with animal-related organizations around the world that need volunteers.

Boomerang Water – provides sustainable and eco-friendly water solutions that conserve and protect our planet’s most precious resources.

Chimu Adventure – creates life changing experiences in Latin America and the Polar regions that leave a positive impact on travelers, environment, and communities.

Cicil Home – local woman owned, sustainability focused rug brand.

Counter Culture Coffee – local environmentally, socially, and fiscally sustainable coffee brand.

ECOmersion – immerses individuals from across the global and local ecosystems through educational ecotours that provide one-of-kind experiences that inspire lifelong passion and commitment to conservation initiatives.

Fair Game Beverage Company – local craft distillery, taste room, and specialty foods company.

Mountain Laurel Digital – local digital marketing and creative agency.

Insights from the Teams this semester

Each company joined the clinic with different goals and varying standing commitments to sustainability. While every company had different needs and different deliverables, each company exited the clinic with the insights and knowledge needed to take the next step of building a more sustainable company. Here are some highlights from the clinic!

• The Mountain Laurel Digital team had a goal of passing the 80 point B impact score and infusing the B Corp guidelines within their business model with the overall roadmap pointing toward certification in March 2024. They ended up making a substantial increase in BIA points over the course of the semester and enjoyed working with their company representatives.
• The Fair game beverage team took a very narrow approach to their project this semester as they focused solely on the supplier survey. They were able to have 15 vendors that work with the company complete the survey which provided valuable insights and further conversations about supplier relations. During the semester two of the students on the team had the opportunity to visit Fair Game Beverages in Pittsboro, NC.
• Counter Culture Coffee was certified in 2020 and made a goal was to make progress toward recertification scored all the available points in the customer section! “This has been one of the biggest value adds that counter culture has received externally”- Corey Reid, Counter Culture Coffee Senior Director of Marketing
• The goal of Cicil Home was to finalize B Corp certification as they were already pending B Corp status. The team worked on key deliverables such as industry research, employee handbook, supplier code of conduct and a KPI calculator and tracker this led to an overall score of 104.2! “This has been a valuable experience to work with a company that really believes in sustainability and has helped drive me to find ways to help the current company I work for improve their ESG strategy” – MBA Student

How to Get Involved in the B Corp Clinic

We are so happy to celebrate 16 semesters of the B Corp Clinic, but we are looking forward to many more semesters in the future! If you are interested in the B Corp Clinic we will be recruiting companies for Fall 2023!

Learn more here