We’ve talked about our drive to give back to the community and the idea of the triple bottom line: doing business with a mindfulness for social and environmental impact in addition to solely being profit driven. Today we are going to talk about our goal for building and sustaining a business that can continue to provide for and better the community around it. We will be pursuing this goal by becoming a Certified B Corporation.

Certified B Corporations are focused on having a positive impact on the world not only through the products and services they provide, but also in the way they do business. Pursuing and maintaining the certification allows the business to have a thoughtful approach to how and why it does everything. Certified B Corporations are assessed on factors in the following categories: Governance, Workers, Community, Environment, and Customers. The assessment is verified by a 3rd party before the certification is granted.

Governance assesses the business’ overall mission, ethics, accountability, and transparency. This is not only judged by its accountability from ownership to worker, but also to the customer.

The Workers category looks at the relationship between the company and its employees. This does include benefits and compensation, but also the workplace, safety, and opportunities provided to employees.

Community judges the company on its impact to the local community. This goes beyond charitable giving and also includes items like supplier relations, diversity, and local involvement.

Environment looks at the company’s commitment to conservation and reduction of waste. This is not only assessed from energy use on site, but also in the supply chain and distribution.

Customers assesses the impact the company has on its customers. This largely focuses on how the products and services that are provided have a public benefit or address a specific social or economic issue.

We will continue to give updates along our journey to achieving (and then maintaining) the B Corp certification. We will go more in depth on each of the assessment categories and our plans for each. Currently, Commonhouse Ales is the only brewery in Ohio that has is a Certified B Corporation. We look forward to having Trek Brewing join them in the pursuit to do business in a thoughtful way with a positive impact on our community!

TONIGHT is our first event for our Trek Together program, which supports our community. We’ll be hosting an event with Mental Health America of Licking County from 5-9pm. Come to Trek during those hours and $1 from EVERY pint sold will go directly to Mental Health America of Licking County.

Friends, this is what we’re all about. Our philosophy is and will always be- we believe that great beer and great people can come together to do incredible things. We’re looking forward to seeing you across that bar tonight, and we’ll continue this journey toward a Certified B Corp together.

Cheers!