“Since our founding in 1909, Tillamook has embraced the stewardship values that B Corps also represent,” said Paul Snyder, executive vice president of stewardship at Tillamook.
“While this is a new honor that we are both pleased and humbled to receive, the actions that earned us this certification are not new to us. We have a commitments more than 100 years old to caring for our cows and farms, our people and products, our communities and the environment.”
Snyder said as a stakeholder-driven business, the B Corp third-party validation reflects how Tillamook values environmental, social and governance metrics as much as other business metrics.
B Corps are for-profit companies that use the power of business to build a more inclusive and sustainable economy.
The B Corp certification process measures a company’s performance in five impact areas, including governance, workers, customers, community and the environment. There are currently more than 3,500 B Corps in 150 industries and 74 countries around the world.
To qualify for the certification, Tillamook responded to 220 questions in the key impact areas along with 58 additional disclosure questions. More than 90% of the questions were verified with documentation, data, policies and/or verbal confirmations.
“We welcome Tillamook to a world-wide family of businesses that consistently balance purpose and profit,” said Stephanie Ryan, community development at B Lab US & Canada.
“Tillamook now joins a dynamic community of leaders who are committed to using business as a force for good.”
“Tillamook has been dedicated to stewardship since the beginning, so we didn’t have to change who we are to become B Corp certified. But we did have to prove how we live out our commitments to all our stakeholders,” said Jocelyn Bridson, director of environment & community impact, Tillamook.
“We follow a model of continuous improvement, and we are always pushing to do better. Earning B Corp certification is a sign that we are on the right track and it offers a platform to improve our practices and performance over time.”
The B Corp certification logo will eventually appear on all Tillamook brand packaging.
“Our farmer-owners built this co-op with a long-term outlook to ensure that farms and communities are here for generations to come. In recent years – as evidenced by the B Corp certification – we have doubled down on our commitment to stewardship and formalized it by developing a Stewardship charter and establishing policies and programs that have integrated this work in all aspects of our business and expansion efforts,” said Bridson.
Tillamook reported to B Impact Assessment Version 6, the most recent survey to date, and will hold B Corp certification for three years before being required to go through a renewal process. The B Impact Assessment is updated every three years to improve the clarity, consistency, and insight of the assessment and its scoring, stay up to date with best practices and innovations in impact measurement, and accommodate ongoing user and stakeholder feedback.
“We see our B Corp certification as a milestone – not an end zone,” said Snyder.