What it Means for EPOCH Pi to be a B Corp

Photo by Ran Berkovich

On paper, B Corp certified companies are businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. 

Companies are assessed on impact areas (such as governance, workers, community, environment, and customers) scored, given a report card and a stamp of certification. It is a very thorough process that gives business leaders a framework to build on and set measurable goals against for improved performance and impact over time. 

In person, being a B Corp is much less about the numbers and more about the kind of people we serve and work with. Before we were “EPOCH Pi: Purposeful Investment Banking and Certified B Corp,” we were investment banking professionals who had seen what the industry had to offer and opted to look for more meaning because we believe in the importance of a purpose beyond profit. It’s a belief that is woven into our DNA as a company and represented in our name. 

“In the traditional world of investment banking, it was really just about money,” said EPOCH Pi co-founder, Lynn Carpenter. “In the world of B Corps and conscious companies, it’s never ‘just’ — it’s about getting fair value, reasonable terms and being conscious of how a transaction will impact an organization’s mission, culture and stakeholders: the team, customers, supply chain,  community, shareholders, and environment. It is the intangibles, a large part of which is based on the culture of the organization, where value is created or destroyed and long-term value results from good execution and a thoughtful process focused on strengths and synergies. Understanding culture and values differences is an additional lens and improves outcomes for all parties and a legacy that lasts.”

While we’re proud to be part of the movement, our mission and values have always been our north star; getting a B Corp certification helped to add a level of formality by allowing us, our clients and our peers to measure that commitment. 

Now, more than ever, it’s important to strengthen that commitment and to uphold the standards that we set for ourselves in order to support and better our communities as we work through crises and societal forces changing our vision of how business should operate.

A necessary reminder and a path forward

Since receiving our B Corp certification in 2017, the world has changed. 2020 alone brought on an assortment of challenges many Americans weren’t prepared to face, from the staggering COVID-19 death toll to the building movements for racial equality and social justice.

This year can’t be labeled a “wake-up call.” Not when individuals and communities have been ringing the alarm and calling for change for years, but it’s fair to say that these compounded crises have served as a deeply painful reminder that we are all in the same boat. Our world is interconnected and it is changing, we are witnessing a shift where people think more critically and thoughtfully about the companies we buy from, work for, partner with, and invest in. Not merely for what they sell, or the service they provide but also for the way they care for their stakeholders. 

“We are all impacted in some way — clearly some more than others — but we’re all interconnected,” said Lynn. “You can’t escape doing the right thing and being aware of people being impacted.”

So, what does the path forward look like and how can we do better? Moving on from 2020 won’t be an easy task and no one has all the right answers, but when looking at groups like B Corporation, Conscious Capitalism or Small Giants, a common theme emerges.

“It often comes back to people who think not just about themselves, but about making the world a better place — whatever that means for them,” said Lynn. “That’s one of the beautiful things about being a part of these communities. You’re surrounded by people who are always thinking about the bigger picture and about things bigger than themselves that are equally important. Whether it’s the COVID-19 pandemic or the Black Lives Matter movement;  they elevate and accelerate change. How we treat and care for people, employees, customers, and suppliers, will become an increasingly important strategic business imperative where companies align their values with those of their stakeholders. In the end that is how long-term value will be created and sustained.”

With 2020 hitting everyone hard, more and more people are demanding a certain level of decency and humanity from their employers and the companies they support with their dollar.

In response, corporations have come out with grand declarations of solidarity and billionaire CEOs have thrown the equivalent of pocket change at philanthropic causes hoping to shirk off responsibility, but we have to do better in order to affect real, lasting change. As 2021 approaches, we hope to see corporations stay true to the promises they’ve made under the pressure of crisis and to see a more universal espousal of conscious movements. That 2020 will be transformed into a year of reinvention and regeneration in 2021.

As a part of B Corporation and other change-making groups like Conscious Capitalism or Small Giants, it is our job to lead, encourage and welcome broader adoption. Advancing impact manifests in a myriad of ways and is made more clear by seeing B Corps in action. 

For EPOCH Pi, it means doing our part to help sustain value and impact without compromising mission, vision or culture, whether we’re helping a company find the right buyer(s) or capital provider(s). We do it by recognizing authenticity and meeting business leaders where they are to help propel and preserve the power of business as a force for good, where profits and growth are a means to a greater end: positive impact for employees, communities, the environment as well as shareholders.

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