KMC, a company that has gained a reputation for providing some of the most well-planned, conducive to work, yet sustainable office spaces for some of the world’s most innovative and progressive companies, recently achieved B Corp certification. They are the first company in their industry to do so, and only the fifth company to ever achieve this in the Philippines.
B Corp certification is a recognition granted by B Lab, an organization and a movement dedicated to holding the global corporate sector to the highest standards of environment, social, and governance (ESG) with the mission to “Transform the global economy into a more inclusive, equitable, and regenerative system.”
Among other things, B Lab evaluates companies on how well they look out for their employees’ quality of life, not just in terms of fair compensation, but work-life balance, and well-being. They also look at the social impact of a company in terms of how much money it spends on CSR, but also how impactful a company’s CSR undertakings are, and whether companies can inspire participation among employees.
The median score of most companies globally that even aspire to achieve this recognition, and that submit themselves to B Lab for assessment is 50.9. The passing score for B Corp Certification is 80. KMC CEO for Workspace Solutions and co-founder Mike McCollough shared that although ESG has always been in the DNA of KMC, it was only 3 years ago that he first thought of B Corp Certification as an achievable goal: “It was a dream of mine about three years ago. We finally took it seriously about two years ago and it’s taken us, you know, two years to get through that process.”
At a celebration to mark the achievement, McCollough was also quick to stress that it was entirely a team effort: “We didn’t pass when we scored ourselves a year and a half ago, so this was a work in progress for everybody, the HR team the facilities team, we had to increase benefits, there’s just many many things we had to do better to achieve that score.”
Over the years, KMC has emerged as not just an industry leader, but an active force for genuine good, the company has been a leader in the development of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) spaces, they provide affordable, convenient, and environment-friendly co-living spaces for employees, a 24/7 nursing hotline, and have contributed both resources and employee volunteers to a wide range of carefully selected charitable efforts.
Despite achieving B Corp certification, in a country where the 7.10 million Filipinos or 15.9% of the workforce were underemployed just last year, KMC will not be resting on its laurels: McCollough recons that for revalidation, the company will be targeting a score of 85, vs the score of 80.4 they earned this year. And he has a clear vision of how to do it: “So anything that makes a living environment cleaner and safer, better for our employees. That’s gonna be our focus over these next couple years, also around health, wellness, diet, exercise, all things we want to help make an impact with.”
In an environment where profitability for a few is the guiding principle, KMC stands as a shining example of the power of doing good, and doing it well.
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