Burton, the Burlington snowboard company that employs 1,100 people around the world, is the latest Vermont company to gain certification as a benefit corporation, or B Corp.
Burton joins dozens of other Vermont companies in the certification, in which companies pledge to follow environmental and social sustainability practices that make community benefit a priority, not just profits.
The company has spent seven years working on its community and environmental impact, said Ali Kenney, Burton’s senior vice president of global strategy and insights. The company, which makes snowboards, clothing and backpacks, operates in dozens of factories in Europe and Asia in addition to its manufacturing plant in Burlington.
“We have a really strong code of conduct for the way that all factories have to do business,” Kenney said. She said Burton uses a third-party auditing program for textile production, Bluesign, to make sure the factories are following accepted labor rights practices and environmental regulations.
“It’s been a seven-year really intensive journey,” she said. “I personally probably have gone to 70 factories in 14 countries, making sure that they are honest and are good-intentioned people.”
“We have a goal to be 100% Bluesign-approved,” she said.
The concept of benefit corporations started gaining stature around 2010, and now companies in retail, manufacturing, tech, service, professional services, private education, and food and beverage production describe themselves as B Corp-certified.
In Vermont, the list of better-known B Corps includes Rhino Foods in Burlington, Chroma Technology in Bellows Falls, King Arthur Flour in Norwich, Clean Yield Asset Management in Norwich, and SunCommon in Waterbury.
Vermont statute defines benefit corporations at length, saying that, among other things, such corporations promote economic opportunity, preserve or improve the environment, improve human health, and promote the arts or sciences or advancement of knowledge.
“We are thrilled to welcome Burton into the global family of Certified B Corporations not just for its commitments to positive impact at the company, but also its dedication to empowering snowboarders around the world to use business as a force for good,” Andy Fyfe of the certifying agency, B Lab, said in a press release from Burton. “They’re paving the way for the rest of the outdoor industry to follow.”
Burton, the first company to make snowboards, was founded by Jake Burton Carpenter in the southern Vermont town of Manchester in 1977. It now employs about 410 people in Vermont, with 700 in North America and 1,100 worldwide.
Burton has three full-time staff members dedicated to its sustainability mission, Kenney said. Company surveys of customers have found that they care about the principles behind the environmental and community sustainability initiatives.
“I personally believe that democracy and government aren’t going to solve everything, especially the way our government is now,” Kenney said. “But we’re a brand that young people love, and if we’re educating people about climate and the environment and human rights, we’ll also be able to change and evolve our customers to get it and believe in it.”
