Credit Union gets international cred with B-Corp certification

One of Canada’s credit unions is the first to achieve an international certification placing it among a select group of businesses recognized for best practices featuring corporate social and environmental responsibility

“We are proud to be Canada’s first credit union to become B-Corp (B-Corporation) certified,” said DUCA Financial Services Credit Union’s President and CEO Richard Senechal. “The achievement underlines DUCA’s core values of putting people before profits and empowering our members to do more, be more and achieve more.”

Earlier this year, DUCA was the first Toronto-based employer to guarantee all employees a living wage of at least $18.52 per hour, well above the minimum wage of $11.25.

The B-Corp Certification – which comes from B Lab, a not-for-profit, global organization that aims to redefine business success to include corporate social responsibility – takes into account social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency.
 
The assessment includes benchmarking against dozens of established best practices regarding employee, community and environmental impact, and companies must achieve an overall B Impact Assessment score of 80 points to be eligible for certification. DUCA scored 92.8 points.  Most businesses achieve a score of 51 points.
 
“B-Corps improve the quality of life in our communities by creating value of society, not just shareholders. With certification, DUCA is joining an elite community that’s driving real, tangible change that creates economic opportunity, solves environmental challenges and empowers individuals,” said Joyce Sou, director of B Lab Canada. “We welcome and congratulate the DUCA team on this achievement.”

There are currently 1,366 B-Corps in 41 countries across 121 industries. In Canada 140 organizations have been awarded B-Corporations certification.