COLCHESTER — Green Mountain Power is the world’s first utility to become a certified B Corp, or benefit corporation. The state’s largest electric utility has joined nearly two dozen other Vermont companies that have met a high standard for social and environmental consciousness.
Green Mountain Power now joins the ranks of Ben & Jerry’s, one of the early adopters of a corporate social mission. The founders of the ice cream company celebrated GMP’s certification Monday at a news conference in Colchester at the utility’s headquarters.
“They have proven by becoming a certified B Corp that it works for businesses of any size no matter whether you’re in the feel-good, sweet ice-cream business or whether you’re in the heavy-duty power business,” said Ben Cohen, a cofounder of Ben & Jerry’s. “It makes sense to be a business that serves the needs of a community.”
The utility passed a scoring threshold set by B Lab, a nonprofit that certifies companies for how they treat workers, impact the environment and engage with the community. GMP scored 84 out of 200, which is above average.
Coen Gilbert, one of the cofounders of B Lab, said now GMP will have to consider the impacts of their business decisions not just on investors, but society more generally. He said there are almost 1,200 B Corps from over 120 industries in 35 countries around the world.
“[They] all have one unifying goal which is to redefine success in business so that one day all companies follow their leadership to compete to not only be the best in the world, but to be the best for the world,” Gilbert said.
He said GMP treats its employees well. The company’s lowest wage is $17.78 per hour, except for students and interns, according to the so-called B Impact Assessment. All employees received bonuses in the last year. The company also pays 80 percent of health care premiums and offers a fully funded pension plan for tenured employees.
The company was also credited for working on microgrids, energy storage technologies and building renewable energy generation like wind and solar farms in Vermont.
Mary Powell, president and CEO at GMP, said the decision will help the company’s bottom line. To improve the company’s score, she said the company can work with the state’s energy efficiency utility to reduce energy consumption at company buildings.
According to the company’s assessment, between 20 percent and 49 percent of its buildings are LEED certified. While the company has specific reduction targets for energy usage, it does not measure water usage nor have reduction targets.
Jerry Greenfield, cofounder of Ben & Jerry’s, said the certification has helped the business gauge what works well and how they can go further.
“It’s a really valuable management tool,” he said. “And in addition to that, it lets you see how you are doing with other companies around the world.”
GMP also received credit for electricity production and distribution. The utility generates, distributes and sells power to more than 250,000 customers in Vermont. Some of this power is generated with renewables, such as wind and solar, and a percentage the renewable power is sold out of state (with the exception of hydro power) to other electric suppliers to drive down electric rates for Vermont customers. Customers can choose to purchase renewable power only.
Green Mountain Power’s portfolio is 64 percent renewable; 47 percent is from in state and out of state hydro power (35 percent is from Hydro Quebec). Seventeen percent of the company’s renewable energy credits for power from wind, solar and biomass are sold out of state.
GMP received credit from B Lab for solar, wind and biomass power and somewhat less credit for the hydro power because it is a second-tier source of renewable energy. The company received zero credit for the remaining market power it purchased from other suppliers in the region.
Editor’s note: Details about the company’s renewable portfolio were clarified at 7:09 a.m. Dec. 2.
