How the B Impact Assessment can support outdoor brands – Suston Magazine

Report on the B Impact Assessment as a Framework for Achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Introduction to the B Impact Assessment (BIA)

The B Impact Assessment (BIA) is a digital tool utilized by over 150,000 companies globally to measure and manage their social and environmental performance. It provides a structured framework for businesses to align their operational practices with global sustainability targets, making it an instrumental resource for advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

• The BIA enables companies to assess their impact across key areas including governance, labor practices, community engagement, and environmental stewardship.
• Its primary function is to help organizations translate their values into concrete actions that support goals such as SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production).
• The tool is particularly relevant for the outdoor industry, where brands often build their identity on principles of environmental responsibility and rely on complex global supply chains.

Aligning Corporate Operations with Key SDG Pillars through the BIA

Enhancing Governance and Institutional Strength (SDG 16)

The BIA provides a clear methodology for evaluating and improving corporate governance structures. By examining decision-making processes and accountability, companies can strengthen their internal systems, contributing to the principles of SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions).

• The assessment identifies gaps between stated values and operational realities.
• It encourages the formalization of policies, moving from individual efforts to robust, shared systems.

Promoting Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8)

A significant portion of the BIA is dedicated to workers, assessing areas like wages, benefits, training, and employee well-being. This directly supports the targets of SDG 8.

• Companies often discover that while they may pay fair wages, they lack formal policies for wage progression.
• The BIA prompts the creation of structured systems for employee management, ensuring consistent and equitable practices.

Advancing Responsible Consumption, Production, and Climate Action (SDG 12, SDG 13)

The BIA helps businesses measure their environmental footprint and implement strategies for improvement, directly addressing SDG 12 and SDG 13 (Climate Action).

• It requires companies to provide evidence for environmental claims, such as the use of recycled materials.
• The framework encourages the formalization of initiatives like product repair programs, promoting a circular economy.

Evolution of Standards and Strategic Implementation

The 2025 BIA Standards: A Shift Towards Mandatory SDG Alignment

Forthcoming changes to the BIA standards, effective in 2025, will mandate that companies meet specific criteria across several impact areas, strengthening the tool’s alignment with the SDGs. This moves the BIA from a flexible benchmarking tool to a clear standard for responsible business conduct.

1. Stakeholder Governance: Reinforces principles of accountability and transparency (SDG 16).
2. Fair Work: Ensures adherence to standards for decent work and economic inclusion (SDG 8).
3. Climate Action: Requires concrete steps to mitigate climate impact (SDG 13).
4. Human Rights: Mandates due diligence in supply chains to protect human rights (SDG 10, SDG 16).
5. Circularity: Promotes practices that support responsible consumption and production (SDG 12).
6. Collective Action: Encourages collaboration and partnerships to achieve broader sustainability goals (SDG 17).
7. Justice and Equity: Focuses on reducing inequalities within and among countries (SDG 5, SDG 10).

Strategic Value Beyond Certification

The BIA serves as a valuable internal management tool, irrespective of whether a company pursues official B Corp certification. It provides a roadmap for continuous improvement and helps align internal departments—such as sourcing, HR, and operations—around shared sustainability objectives.

Case Studies: Outdoor Brands Implementing SDGs via the BIA

Alpkit: Addressing Poverty and Climate Goals (SDG 1, SDG 13)

• The BIA compelled the company to analyze trade-offs between competing sustainability priorities.
• This led to strategic decisions regarding emissions reduction strategies (SDG 13), resource efficiency (SDG 12), and poverty reduction within its supply chain (SDG 1).

Berghaus: Enhancing Community and Environmental Engagement (SDG 11, SDG 12, SDG 17)

• The assessment highlighted opportunities for growth in community and environmental initiatives.
• In response, Berghaus expanded its repair services to promote circularity (SDG 12), improved outdoor accessibility for communities (SDG 11), and forged deeper environmental partnerships (SDG 17).

Challenges and Recommendations for Effective Integration

Addressing Criticisms and Ensuring Meaningful Impact

Critiques of the B Corp framework, including concerns about greenwashing and the complexity for smaller firms, underscore the importance of using the BIA as a tool for genuine transformation rather than a compliance exercise. Thorough engagement with the assessment can help companies build robust systems that contribute meaningfully to the SDGs.

Recommendations for Implementation

1. Integrate BIA insights into daily operations: Use the assessment to update supplier codes of conduct, review wage policies, and set circular design goals, thereby embedding SDG principles into core business functions.
2. Start with a focused area: Companies new to the BIA can begin with one section of the assessment to identify immediate strengths and areas for improvement.
3. Foster internal alignment: Use the process to bring teams together, creating a unified strategy for achieving sustainability targets.
4. Leverage the BIA for continuous improvement: The ultimate value of the BIA lies in its capacity to help companies turn their commitments into measurable, trackable, and improvable practices that advance the global Sustainable Development Goals.

1. SDGs Addressed in the Article

• SDG 1: No Poverty

  The article directly connects to this goal by mentioning that the B Impact Assessment (BIA) pushes companies to address “poverty reduction in the supply chain.” It also highlights the importance of prioritizing “local living wages,” which is a key strategy for poverty alleviation.

• SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

  This goal is central to the article’s discussion. The BIA assesses “labor practices,” and the new standards require companies to meet criteria for “fair work” and “human rights.” The article provides concrete examples, such as the need for a formal “wage progression policy” and the payment of “fair wages,” which are core components of decent work.

• SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

  This is a primary theme. The article describes how outdoor brands use the BIA to improve their operations related to “durable products,” “responsible sourcing,” and “reducing resource use.” It explicitly mentions key circular economy concepts such as using “recycled materials,” establishing “repair programs,” and setting “circular design goals,” all of which are fundamental to sustainable consumption and production patterns.

• SDG 13: Climate Action

  The article highlights that the new BIA standards include a specific impact area for “climate action.” It provides an example of a company, Alpkit, using the assessment to tighten its “emissions strategies” and choose “low-carbon shipping,” demonstrating how businesses can take concrete steps to combat climate change.

• SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

  The BIA is presented as a tool for improving corporate governance. The article mentions that it helps companies “clarify governance” and that the new standards include “stakeholder governance,” “human rights,” and “justice and equity.” This aligns with the goal of building effective, accountable, and transparent institutions, in this case, within the private sector.

• SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

  The article points to the importance of collaboration. The new BIA standards explicitly include “collective action” as a key impact area. Furthermore, the example of the brand Berghaus forming “deeper environmental partnerships” illustrates how companies can work with others to achieve broader sustainability objectives.

2. Specific Targets Identified

1. Target 8.5: Achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all.

   The article’s emphasis on assessing “labor practices” and implementing policies for “fair wages” and “wage progression” directly supports the aim of providing decent work.

2. Target 8.8: Protect labour rights and promote safe and secure working environments.

   The inclusion of “fair work” and “human rights” as mandatory criteria in the new BIA standards reflects an effort to protect labor rights within corporate supply chains.

3. Target 12.2: Achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources.

   The article mentions that the BIA prompts companies like Alpkit to focus on “reducing resource use,” which is the core objective of this target.

4. Target 12.5: Substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse.

   This target is addressed through multiple examples in the article, including companies using “recycled materials,” expanding “repair services,” and setting “circular design goals” to minimize waste throughout a product’s lifecycle.

5. Target 12.6: Encourage companies to adopt sustainable practices and integrate sustainability information into their reporting.

   The entire article is about the B Impact Assessment, a tool used by over 150,000 companies to measure, manage, and report on their social and environmental performance, directly aligning with this target.

6. Target 13.3: Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation.

   The BIA functions as a tool to build institutional capacity for “climate action.” The article describes how it helps companies develop “emissions strategies” and make decisions like choosing “low-carbon shipping,” thereby enhancing their ability to mitigate climate impact.

7. Target 17.17: Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships.

   The article highlights “collective action” as a new BIA standard and cites the example of Berghaus forming “deeper environmental partnerships,” which embodies the spirit of this target to foster collaboration for sustainable development.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied

• Formalization of Policies and Procedures

  The article implies that progress can be measured by moving from informal practices to formal, documented systems. For example, having a formal “wage progression policy” instead of just paying fair wages, or having documented proof for the use of “recycled materials” instead of just an email from a supplier.

• Adoption of Circular Economy Practices

  Progress can be indicated by the implementation and expansion of specific programs mentioned in the article, such as the existence of formal “repair programs,” the percentage of “recycled materials” used in products, and the adoption of “circular design goals” in product development.

• Implementation of Climate Strategies

  Indicators for climate action are implied through the specific actions companies take. This includes the development and implementation of “emissions strategies” and a shift towards “low-carbon shipping” options in logistics.

• Corporate Governance and Reporting

  An indicator of progress is the number of companies using tools like the BIA to assess and improve their systems. The article suggests that weaving the BIA’s findings into “everyday activities” like updating “supplier codes” is a measure of successful integration.

• Partnership and Community Engagement

  The formation of “deeper environmental partnerships” and the strength of “community engagement” activities are implied indicators of progress towards collaborative goals. The article notes that Berghaus used the BIA to identify and grow in these areas.

4. Summary Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: sustonmagazine.com