RNL Design announced Oct. 6, it is now a Certified B Corporation. RNL joins the global community of Certified B Corporations (B Corps) with one unifying goal – to redefine success in business. B Corps are certified by the nonprofit B Lab to meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, improving the quality of life in our communities through business.
“Certified B Corporations distinguish themselves by committing to higher standards of transparency, accountability and performance, creating a better way of doing business,” said Kim Coupounas, director of B Lab’s Colorado office. “B Corps come from over 130 different industries and over 40 countries, and RNL is among a handful of world-class architecture and design firms that have achieved B Corp certification. We look forward to seeing the continued positive impact the company will have on planning, architecture and design around the world.”
B Corp certification is essentially to sustainable business what Fair Trade certification is to coffee or USDA Organic certification is to milk. To become certified, RNL had to prove that the company met stringent performance requirements outlined in the B Impact Assessment, a globally-recognized standard that looks at environmental performance, how a company treats its employees, the impact the company has on its customers and the broader community, as well as the company’s accountability, governance, and transparency practices.
“B Lab is all about putting standards around what it means to be a truly sustainable and responsible company,” said Josh Gould, AIA, and CEO of RNL. “Becoming a Certified B Corporation helps us formalize the attitude and philosophy upon which RNL was built. We are keenly aware of how we as architects, landscape architects, planners, and interior designers shape the world we live in, and we are deeply committed to ensuring a more sustainable future through our work.”
“As designers and planners, we believe we have a responsibility to the communities we serve every day, and that commitment should be reflected not just in the design decisions we make, but in the decisions we make as a business,” said Rachel Bannon-Godfrey, RNL’s director of Sustainability. “From discussions during design meetings to the policies we enact in our own offices, it was clear our values are aligned with the ethos behind the B Corp movement, one of aiming to be the best for the world, not just the best in the world.”
