Vermont Smoke & Cure, a leading small-batch meats and meat snacks company, has received the prestigious B Corporation (B Corps) Certification. The designation is granted to for-profit companies that are able to prove their business meets the highest standards of social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency.
Vermont Smoke & Cure qualified for B Corps certification because of its sustainable and socially conscious business practices such as sourcing meats raised humanely and without the use of antibiotics, using ingredients from local farms, offering commercial meat processing services to family-scale farmers, and utilizing solar power. The company also fosters an ownership culture by granting employee stock options to each of its employees.
Vermont Smoke & Cure received this prestigious award after B Lab, a nonprofit organization that certifies and supports B Corporations, extensively evaluated their values, practices and overall environmental and social responsibility. The company is proud to join an esteemed group of businesses dedicated to using business as a tool for good beyond the financial bottom line, in alignment with the company’s mantra: Better Meat for All.
“Consumers want to be able to trust where their meat comes from,” says Chris Bailey, Vermont Smoke & Cure CEO, “and it is in our company DNA to be transparent about our ingredients and sources, to seek out and use ever more humane, sustainable and healthy, high-quality ingredients, and buy from long-term partners we know and trust.”
Bailey continued, “and customers and the state of the world further demand that we as meat companies act as good neighbors, by minimizing natural resource use in our operations, and helping small farms as well as larger ones have market access by providing necessary services. Meeting these needs and inspiring others to also do so defines our central purpose as a company.”
“As a Certified B Corp, Vermont Smoke & Cure will continue to improve its practices, reduce resource use and become a sought-after employer,” Bailey concluded.
“B Lab is honored to welcome Vermont Smoke & Cure into a growing community of Certified B Corps,” said Jay Coen Gilbert, co-founder of B Lab. “The company is an example of how a business can thrive by being transparent, accountable and responsible. We can only hope that Vermont Smoke & Cure’s practices will help pave the way for other like-minded companies in the Green Mountain State and beyond.”
Source: Vermont Smoke & Cure