Burton’s headquarters in Burlington, Vermont. Photo: Burton
In the world of international corporations and global business, the prevailing ethic for decades has been one that puts the interests of shareholders above all else. That, in turn, has driven a notion of business that’s entirely profit-oriented with little interest in social welfare, the environment, or the well-being of employees.
Lately, though, there’s been a trend geared toward using business for good, reinventing the standard profit-oriented practices of yore toward a higher purpose of environmental stewardship, fair wages, and doing the least harm.
Many of those companies paving the way for what a business of the future that works toward public good can look like (think Patagonia, Klean Kanteen, and the like) all have one thing in common – they’re held to some of the highest standards of environmental and social responsibility, transparency, and accountability as Certified B Corporations.
On Wednesday, Burton Snowboards announced its inclusion on the list as the first snowboard company to become a Certified B Corp – underscoring the company’s commitment to the planet and its people.
“Burton has always stood for more than snowboarding,” said Burton co-CEO Donna Carpenter in a statement. “Our values around community, sustainability and women’s leadership are as much a part of our identity as pioneering the sport. Now more than ever, companies need to step up and speak up on issues that impact the world we all share. So we’re all very proud to join the B Corp community, which shares our commitment to balancing purpose with profit.”
The announcement comes after Burton unveiled a list of incredibly ambitious sustainability goals back in 2017 that remain some of the boldest and furthest reaching in the industry. The aim was to reach them by 2020, and to date, considerable progress has been made. But, what’s perhaps even more admirable is the level of transparency around what’s been achieved so far (including a progress tracker now on Burton’s website).
Since launching its 2020 Sustainability Goals, all Burton snowboards are now made with Forest Stewardship Council-certified wood cores, and 40 percent of products are now bluesign-certified with the goal of 100 percent in the near future, among other landmark achievements.
But, transparency about progress also means being honest about snags. And to the company’s credit, Burton doesn’t try to hide that efforts to reduce carbon emissions from hardgoods production and at the company’s global headquarters have so far been a challenge.
“Burton’s product development team is working hard to reduce carbon emissions across all hardgoods categories without compromising on technical performance,” the site reads. “This is proving to be a challenge for some categories, but we’re committed to making positive progress for future seasons.”
Now, Burton’s B Corporation status serves as validation for the work the company has already done, and most especially where its headed.
