Coffee By Design, a local specialty roastery, has been certified as a B Corp., an internationally recognized designation of the company’s commitment to sustainability and other standards.

“We adhere to the ‘three-legged-stool model’ for our business, emphasizing people, planet and profit,” co-owner Mary Allen Lindemann said in a news release announcing the designation Thursday. “When we first opened our doors 22 years ago, part of our focus was to support the community as a whole. Becoming a certified B Corp. is a great milestone for us, reaffirming our commitment to how we do business, which has always been to consider how our decisions impact everything around us.”

There are nearly 1,900 certified B Corps. in the world and 10 in Maine, according to the B Corp. website. Unlike traditional corporations, certified B Corp. companies are legally required to consider the impact of their decisions on all their stakeholders, including workers, suppliers, community, consumers and the environment.

To become a certified B Corp., Coffee By Design was audited by B Lab, a nonprofit that administers the process of B Corp. certification. The application process involved a review of Coffee By Design’s coffee-buying relationships, hiring, employee training, retail stores, roastery, shipping, packaging and community support. Coffee By Design’s commitment to this extends to its corporate regulations, which further state that any change in investors or ownership requires that these standards continue to be upheld, according to the release.

Coffee By Design operates a roastery and coffee house at 1 Diamond St., Portland, and has locations on Portland’s India Street, Congress Street, Washington Avenue and in Freeport at L.L.Bean. In 2014, Lindemann and co-owner Alan Spear were named Maine SBA Small Business Persons of the Year.

Revision Energy, also a Maine B Corp. company, and Coffee By Design are hosting a session about the B Corp. certification process for interested businesses at Coffee By Design’s Diamond Street location on Oct. 27 from 6-8 p.m. Anyone interested in learning more should contact Jennifer Hatch at Revision Energy, jen@revisionenergy.com.