Thursday, March 25 | 8:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. | Zoom
Program Description:
This session will provide an introduction to the B Corp movement, now almost 3,500 companies strong around the US and the world, and develop a deeper appreciation for why more and more companies are choosing to carefully consider and improve their impact on a diverse range of stakeholders including employees, the community and the environment.
Participants will be introduced to the B Impact Assessment (BIA), an open-access, rigorous assessment tool, which is widely regarded as a comprehensive way to assess a company’s social and environmental impact, and to B Lab, the nonprofit that serves a global movement of people using business as a force for good.
Goals & Objectives :
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Develop a high-level understanding of the B Corp movement and introduction to B Lab the global non-profit behind the movement
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Develop a clear understanding of B Corp certification and benefit corporation as an option for company incorporation (and the difference between the two)
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Learn from current B Corps about their rationale for becoming B Corps and the benefits
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Understand next steps/roadmap for becoming a B Corp
Moderated by:
Steve Tenney, Founding Partner & CEO, Great Diamond Partners
As Founding Partner and CEO of Great Diamond Partners, Steve leads the firm, supports all of its members and directs the investment strategy. He believes the gold standard of wealth management is found at the intersection of empathy and technology™, and helps the firm evolve to that level, to meet the needs of today’s clients and those of the next generation. Driven by the philosophies of conscious capitalism and sustainable investing, he is particularly interested in the B-Corp movement and its social and environmental impact.
Steve serves on the board for IFOB and has moderated past events including SPARK! and the 5Gs CEO Family Business Forum. His first-hand experience with family business and his strong desire to connect and learn from other leaders help Steve shape the conversation with panelists and share each of their stories with the audience.
Advisors:
Dr. Fiona Wilson, Director, Sustainability Institute, UNH
Fiona is the Deputy Chief Sustainability Officer for the University of New Hampshire (UNH), the state's flagship public university, a land, sea and space grant institution. She is also Director of UNH's Sustainability Institute, and an affiliate Clinical Associate Professor of Social Innovation, Social Entrepreneurship and Sustainability at the Paul College of Business & Economics. Fiona was previously a founder and Executive Director of UNH’s Center for Social Innovation and Enterprise. Her work focuses on how innovative entrepreneurial approaches can help tackle some of humanity’s biggest challenges.
Prior to her academic career, Fiona spent fifteen years in the business world (VP of Marketing for CMGI and Ogilvy & Mather Advertising.) Fiona serves on the Boards of Trustees of the Wolfe’s Neck Center for Agriculture and the Environment and Meridian Stories.
Helen Sterling Coburn, Shareholder/ Attorney, Bernstein Shur
Helen is a corporate and securities attorney at Bernstein Shur, where she counsels start-up companies raising investment capital and represents investors making investments in early-stage companies. Helen also advises on benefit corporation entity formation and/or conversion. Helen is on the Board of Directors of Maine Venture Fund, the Board of Directors of Startup Maine, and the investment committee of the newly-launched Indus Fund. She holds a BA from Dartmouth College and a JD from Boston College Law School.
B-Corp Business Speakers:
Rebecca Hamilton, Co-CEO, W.S. Badger
Rebecca is a co-Collaborative Executive Officer at Badger, a natural and organic personal care manufacturer known for its unique company philosophy and pioneering family-friendly benefits. As an advocate for the environment, ingredient transparency, and societal change, she has spoken at the White House, testified before Congress, and attended Senate and House briefings on Capitol Hill. Rebecca is a member of the National Women’s Business Council, a nonpartisan federal advisory committee tasked with recommending solutions to the SBA, Congress, and the President on the challenges 
facing women business owners.
Mary Allen Lindemann, Co-founder/Community Builder, Coffee By Design
Mary Allen co-founded Coffee By Design (CBD), a Maine owned and operated specialty coffee roastery/retailer, with her then-husband and current business partner, Alan Spear, in Portland, Maine in 1994. Committed to changing the world, one cup of coffee at a time, CBD has five coffeehouses and a micro roastery, which provides over 500 wholesale customers with sustainably sourced, craft roasted coffee. In addition to serving some of the world’s finest coffee, CBD is committed to running a sustainable business dedicated to progressive arts and social change -- here in Maine as well as around the world at origin where they buy their coffee. Coffee By 
Design is proud to be a B Corp certified business.
Mary Allen’s title of Community Builder illustrates the many hats she wears at the company. She is dedicated to ensuring that CBD stays true to its Maine roots and maintains its commitment to giving back to the local and international communities from which CBD is intimately connected. With regards to coffee, Mary Allen believes “it is an honor to represent the many farmers we buy from by serving a great cup of coffee while sharing the story behind the bean.” She has also been a founding member of several organizations which include Portland Buy Local, Women Standing Together, and the Olympia Snowe Leadership Institute. She just stepped down as the Chair of the Greater Portland Immigrant Welcome Center Board and is the current Board Chair of Portland Ovations.
Paul Turbeville, Vice President of Marketing, Pete & Gerry's Organic Eggs
As the Vice President of Marketing for Pete and Gerry's Organics in Monroe, NH, Paul oversees the marketing efforts for three brands (Pete and Gerry's Organic Eggs, Nellie's Free Range Eggs, and Carol's Eggs). He joined Pete and Gerry’s in early 2014, drawn by the opportunity to join a tight-knit, entrepreneurial team growing brands in a rapidly evolving category. Paul’s responsibilities include brand strategy, communications, innovation, 
packaging design, promotional strategy, sales planning and pricing strategy.
Paul earned an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College in May 2014. He began his career as an officer in the United States Army for six years after graduating from the United States Military Academy at West Point. When he’s not helping the world enjoy a better egg, you can find him cycling, running, hiking, cross country skiing and exploring with his family in the beautiful Upper Valley region of New Hampshire.
Ben Conniff, Co-Founder, Luke's Lobster
Ben is Co-Founder and Chief Innovation Officer of Luke's Lobster, a Maine-based sustainable seafood company with a restaurant group, branded grocery business, and direct-to-consumer online market. His current role focuses on brand and culinary innovation, sustainability, and social responsibility. He’s the author of the cookbook Real Maine Food, and has also written for many food and general interest publications. Ben sits on the board of the Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative and is an advisor to startup food and beverage companies. He lives in Portland, Maine.
