A lot of people and businesses want to help the earth. However, at times it can be challenging to pinpoint exactly how. That’s why Cohabs is over the moon to become a B Corp Certified company.
What exactly is B Corp?
Let’s dive into the details of what being a certified B Corporation really entails.
“B Corps are for-profit, mission-driven companies that seek to balance purpose and profit while boldly reimagining the role that business plays in society. Certified B Corps meet B Lab’s high standards for social and environmental impact, making a clear commitment to stakeholder governance, and demonstrating accountability and transparency.“
B Lab ® is the nonprofit network transforming the global economy to benefit all people, communities, and the planet. This international network of organizations leads economic systems change to support a collective vision of an inclusive, equitable, and regenerative economy.
By harnessing the power of business, B Lab positively impacts more than 161 industries in more than 93 countries, helping them balance profit with purpose. They are shifting our economic system from profiting only a few to benefiting all, from concentrating wealth and power to ensuring equity, from extraction to regeneration, and from prioritizing individualism to embracing interdependence.
What does B Corp Certification mean?
B Corp Certification does not mean that we are perfect, nor that we have achieved the highest impact possible.
What it does mean is that Cohabs is now part of a global community of businesses working collectively for economic systems change. In order to stay committed to this work, we must meet the rising standards for social and environmental performance.
After deciding to go for certification through B Lab, Cohabs got access to the B Impact Assessment tool, which included many questions divided into five categories: Governance, Workers, Environment, Community, and Customers. In order to achieve certification you need to obtain at least 80 points.
Looking to become B Corp Certified yourself? Read more here.
Cohabs’ impact from day one
Since our founding in 2016, we’ve been on a mission to shape a better tomorrow by improving the way we live today.
A core principle of coliving is to share resources, from household appliances to shared spaces, all of which have a significant impact on energy consumption and CO2 emissions.
Cohabs also chooses to renovate old buildings in fairly poor condition, instead of building from scratch, which has a much better impact on the environment while improving the energy efficiency of old buildings.
Our vision of impact is based on two pillars: People & Planet.
People because we have a very strong effect on an entire ecosystem: our employees, our suppliers, our members, but also society in general. That’s why, almost 3 years ago, we opened solidarity rooms, accessible to people with refugee status who have access to all our facilities and services at a reduced price.
We also organize monthly events with our community, and around ten of them are solidarity events: cooking for homeless people, clothing collection for people in need, Christmas gift distribution, and more.
Solidarity is also an important part of Cohabs’ values and we try our best to keep our community informed and create opportunities for them to give back.
We also have the “Planet” pillar, which mainly impacts the way we renovate our homes, and make our members aware of the need to consume less energy. For example, our Ma Campagne 232 house was a project to spearhead the use of sustainable materials and processes across the entire renovation and design process.
We try to insulate all our projects as much as possible. We have also installed devices for pressure reduction for showers and taps in all our homes and installed solar panels on all houses where possible, enabling us to reduce our energy consumption by almost 16% by the end of 2022.
Interested in learning more? Discover our 2023 Impact report!
What are our next steps as a B Corp?
Today, our main challenge is to continue improving the way we renovate our homes, and to replicate this internationally, as we are growing fast.
Our recent B Corp Certification is a way to measure our impact and have guidelines with high standards in order to improve our governance and impact on people and the planet.
As Cohabs continues to expand and grow, being a Certified B Corporation will help us ensure we are taking the right steps to remain a business that looks out for all people, communities, and the planet.
