Reducing Waste in National Parks Act
U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, alongside eleven fellow Senate members, has ushered in the Reducing Waste in National Parks Act. This significant legislation aims to reinstate the Obama-era directive banning the sale of single-use plastic water bottles across all U.S. National Parks. This move is an important step towards preserving the natural beauty and integrity of these cherished public lands.
Raise your reusable bag high and celebrate a milestone in our journey towards using business as a force for good - ChicoBag is proud to mark its 10th anniversary as a Certified B Corporation.
This incredible achievement is a testament to a fierce commitment to environmental and social responsibility. A commitment that has been, and will continue to be, a work in progress. The certification process pushes us to always do a #littlebitbetter by balancing purpose and profit to create value for our workers, customers, and community while keeping the environment and our shareholders at the core of what we do. In this blog, we’ll take you through a few of the significant milestones in our recertification journeys over the last decade while emphasizing how each step has made us a #littlebitbetter
What is a Certified B Corporation?
Certified B Corporations, often referred to as B Corps, are companies that have met the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability. Being a B Corp means embracing a holistic approach to business, where profit is just one of many goals, and the welfare of people and the planet are integral to the company’s mission.
Officially certified with an overall score of 105
“We became a B Corp because we wanted to share our long-held business ethics, our standards, and our sustainability practices with the larger world. We are excited to add our voice to the growing community of companies with a mission, and to show the world there is a better way to do business. We hope others are inspired to join us.” -Andy Keller, ChicoBag Founder
Re-certified, Score- 118.6
Progress was made from the last assessment. Retrofits of office faucets to low flow fixtures, installation of rain barrels, and energy-efficient lighting helped make our operations a little bit cleaner after this assessment.
Re-certified - New Assessment and Category - “Customers” Score- 114.5
we lost a bit of ground but doubled down after this assessment and became Climate Neutral certified in 2019. This impacted our next assessment significantly.
Re-certified, Score- 129.6
Climate Neutral Certification and Mission Lock helped us achieve improvement over past scores. We also achieved living wages for all! Full disclosure: the calculation and methodology for determining a living wage has changed and the bar has since been raised, so we’ll need to be a little bit better, once again.
Throughout the years we were also honored to receive the “Best for the World” in Environment Category for 9 straight years. We also received “Best for the World” Overall in 2018. The B Corp Best for the World honoree system ended in 2023, but our efforts to receive this honor have only increased.
What’s Next?
In addition to working toward a living wage for all (again), we’re focused on customer and employee feedback loops and systems in the near future. We have some impactful product improvements coming in 2024 that drastically reduce our impact and improve product accessibility - we’re really proud and excited to share!
ChicoBag and To-Go Ware are committed to continuous improvement, sustainability and doing things #littlebitbetter. We invite you to share your valuable feedback to help us enhance our impact and better meet the needs of our community and the environment. Thank you for being an essential part of our journey towards positive change. Any input you may have can be sent to info@chicobag.com