Spring 2019 B Corp Clinic Kick-Off

February 3, 2019 dlhaugle

Have you ever wondered how companies become B Corps? B Corps—like Ben & Jerry’s, New Belgium Brewing, and Patagonia—are “for-profit companies certified by the nonprofit B Lab to meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency.” For the last three years, the NC State B Corp Clinic, a multi-school collaborative program has helped North Carolina companies achieve B Corp certification by working with teams of graduate and undergraduate students from universities across the state.

Companies are matched with a team of students (intentionally designed to include students from multiple schools and disciplines) to go through the assessment process and identify strategies they can take to improve their BCorp scores. Students gain hands-on consulting experience and the chance to learn about social and environmental impact assessment and sustainable business models.

Interested in learning more? NC State’s Poole College of Management Business Sustainability Collaborative administers the B Corp Clinic, and will host an info session for the Spring 2019 B Corp Clinic on Fri., February 8, from 10:30 AM – 12:30 PM at the Frontier.

To learn more about the timeline, process, and companies involved, students can:

– attend in person at The Frontier

– participate virtually via Zoom videoconference from anywhere

– participate virtually on campus (faciliated Zoom videoconference in Nelson 3135)

– can’t make any of the above but still interested in learning more (there’s an option for that too, we’ll follow up with a recording of the kickoff)

After the kickoff, we’ll send everyone a recording of the kickoff and an invitation to apply to participate in the Clinic.

Over the last three years, the B Corp Clinic has worked with over 230+ students on 41 projects and helped companies make progress on 1800+ points towards certification, including 6 companies that have become B Corp Certified. You can read more about our past B Corp Clinic projects and hear from past students participants in our new B Corp Clinic video. The B Corp Clinic launch event will feature an introduction to B Corporations, an opportunity to learn more about the Spring 2019 B Corp Clinic projects, student expectations and how to get involved.

Spring 2019 B Corp Clinic Kickoff Agenda:

10:30 – 10:45 – Welcome to the B Corp Clinic Kickoff

Jessica Thomas, Director, NC State Poole College Business Sustainability Collaborative

10:45 – 11:00 – Understanding B Corporations, the B Impact Assessment and the Movement

Representative from B Lab

11:00 – 11:15 – All About the B Corp Clinic

Jessica Thomas, Director, NC State Poole College Business Sustainability Collaborative

11:15 – 11:50 – Pitches from the Participating Companies

11:50 – 12:00 – Questions & Next Steps

12:00 – Grab lunch & Meet the Spring 2019 B Corp Clinic Companies (networking with company representatives)

Spring 2019 B Corp Clinic Timeline:

Friday, February 8, 10:30am – 12:30pm – B Corp Clinic Kickoff (The Frontier, 800 Park Offices Drive, RTP)
Friday, February 15, 5pm – Deadline for student applications
Monday, February 18 – Teams announced
Friday, February 22, 12 – 1pm – Orientation (virtual event)
Friday, March 29, 12 – 2pm – Interim presentations (virtual event)
Friday, April 26, 10:30 – 12:30 – Final project presentations and closing celebration (The Frontier, 800 Park Offices Drive, RTP)

For those joining us in person, The Frontier is located at 800 Park Offices Dr, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709. You can find directions here. Once you arrive at the Frontier, look for signs for “The Classroom.”

Join us for lunch and a chance to learn more about the Spring 2019 B Corp Clinic. We look forward to seeing you (in-person or virtually) on Friday, February 8th, at 10:30 AM!