PORTLAND — Coffee By Design, Maine’s largest independently owned and operated specialty coffee roastery, recently announced that the company is a Certified B Corporation.
To date, there are 10 Maine businesses with this certification; worldwide there are more than 1,600 Certified B Corporations from more than 120 industries in nearly 50 countries, all with the goal of redefining success in business by meeting higher standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability.
The performance standards B Corps meet are comprehensive, transparent and verified. Unlike traditional corporations, Certified B Corporations are legally required to consider the impact of their decisions on all their stakeholders, including workers, suppliers, community, consumers and the environment.
Coffee By Design co-owner and co-founder Mary Allen Lindemann said, “We adhere to the ‘three-legged stool model’ for our business, emphasizing people, planet and profit. 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 Corporation 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.”
Alan Spear, co-owner and co-founder, said, “Before we opened Coffee By Design, I used my degree in landscape architecture to work on projects focused on wetland creation, planned community development, re-forestation and stream restoration. Those core interests have been used here at Coffee By Design as well, in particular with regard to our impact on the environment. Becoming a Certified B Corporation is in line with our company ethics.”
To become a Certified B Corporation, Coffee By Design had to be audited by B Lab, a nonprofit dedicated to the process of B Corp certification. The application process involved a review of Coffee By Design’s best practices, including the company’s coffee buying relationships, hiring, employee training, retail stores, roastery, shipping, packaging and community support.
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