Becoming a B Corp
Applying to become a B Corp invites you to examine the principles that guide your organization.
It has encouraged us to see the impact that internal policies can have on the individuals within our organization, how our business choices influence the business community around us, and the way that our daily habits in an office setting add up over time.
This is how we are approaching setting our ESG goals:
Environment:
We are a financial services company that, like may service oriented businesses, has a group of people who travel, a few days a week, to an office to work on their computers, at their desks. Compared to many other types of companies, it would seem that our carbon footprint would be quite small.
Just calculating an individual’s footprint is an enlightening exercise that everyone can do.
What can you do if you work in an office?
- Reduce waste – print in black and white, always print (if you have to print) double sided.
- Look at moving to being a paperless workplace.
- Aim to reduce, recycle and reuse, which means figuring out the complexities of your municipal recycling program and how your building works with its contractors and cleaners to sort waste.
- Reduce the footprint – look for office space that meets recognized standards of energy efficiency, that’s close to transit or a bike lane network.
- Reduce the number of days employees are required to be in the office (going from five days to four immediately saves 20% of the commuting footprint).
Social:
While we have always prioritized putting our people first, we were able to find ways to make even more meaningful commitments along the way. Examples in some of the areas are below:
- We have made a living wage commitment, which means that we need to consider not only our team but all of the suppliers we work with to ensure they also pay a living wage.
- We have formalized our internship programs, clarifying the roles and setting expectations for those participating in the program.
- We have increased our maternity and parental leave benefits, looking at creative ways to support new parents in our organization.
- With demanding schedules and a renewed commitment to the work/life balance of our people, our company has found ways to expand our vacation policy and we have added a sabbatical policy.
Governance:
We have added the necessary language to all of our legal agreements to ensure that we meet the criteria for both the Province of BC, where Fort Capital Partners is registered, and the B Corp organization.
- We have improved both rigor and transparency regarding management and reporting structures in the company
- We realigned and revised our job descriptions, clarifying tasks and responsibilities
- And as we have grown, migrated to virtual offices and locations in different jurisdictions, we now have regularly scheduled strategy and operational meetings.
What does this mean for our clients?
We made a commitment in 2014 to do banking differently. And becoming a B corp just fits, for us.
For our clients, this is our commitment to leadership in our community and a promise that we are putting our values to work everyday, in a framework that independently tracks and scores our ongoing efforts. Join us on our journey as we find ways to be better, everyday.
Investment banking, elevated.