Burton Becomes a B Corps

[press release]

Burlington, VT (October 16, 2019) Burton, the world’s leading snowboard company, today announced that it’s becoming a Certified B Corporation^®. As a sustainability leader within the outdoor and winter sports industries, Burton is proud to become the first snowboard company to receive this certification, which reinforces the brand’s commitment to doing business as a force for good. Widely recognized as the gold standard for responsible business, B Corps are committed to practicing the highest social and environmental standards.

 “Burton has always stood for more than snowboarding,” said Donna Carpenter, Co-CEO of Burton. “Our values around community, sustainability and women’s leadership are as much a part of our identity as pioneering the sport. Now more than ever, companies need to step up and speak up on issues that impact the world we all share. So we’re all very proud to join the B Corp community, which shares our commitment to balancing purpose with profit.”

To obtain B Corp Certification, Burton participated in the B Impact Assessment process, which evaluated everything from Burton’s operations and business model impact on workers, community, environment, and customers to supply chain, employee benefits and charitable giving.

“We are thrilled to welcome Burton into the global family of Certified B Corporations not just for its commitments to positive impact at the company, but also its dedication to empowering snowboarders around the world to use business as a force for good,” said Andy Fyfe, B Lab, Community Growth + Activation. “They’re paving the way for the rest of the outdoor industry to follow.”

For decades, Burton has chosen to take the path that has a lighter footprint, making a positive impact on its people, playground and products. Through better business practices, Burton is fostering a more socially responsible community. From committing to fair labor practices and safe working conditions throughout its supply chain to ensuring factories meet high international human rights standards, Burton is investing to improve the lives of everyone the company engages with. Additionally, the company protects its unique culture by empowering women’s leadership, providing preferred benefits to employees, offering a generous new parent policy, supporting flexible schedules and encouraging staff to give back through volunteer time off and The Chill Foundation.

To protect its playground and the mountain lifestyle, Burton works closely with Protect Our Winters to lobby for positive climate policy. Throughout the year, the company works with several other organizations to influence lawmakers to take positive action on the climate crisis. Recently, the company closed all of its owned stores and halted website sales for 24 hours to amplify the Global Climate Strikes.

When it comes to crafting safer and more environmentally responsible products, the company is steadfast about responsible production and operations. From reducing the carbon footprint of headquarters and product manufacturing to purchasing environmentally preferred materials and finding solutions to keep products in use longer, Burton is committed to positively impacting its supply chain from raw materials to landfill. All snowboards are Forest Stewardship Council™ certified, and the company is targeting 100% bluesign® products across softgoods.

And because there is always more progress to make, two years ago Burton kicked-off its new 2020 goals, spanning everything from manufacturing, to packaging, office energy usage, and Fair Labor standards. All facets of the company are working hard to meet these industry leading target.

For more information on Burton’s sustainability goals, visit Burton.com. To learn more about the B Corp movement, head here.

About Burton

In 1977, Jake Burton Carpenter founded Burton Snowboards out of his Vermont barn and has dedicated his life to snowboarding ever since. Burton has played a pivotal role in growing snowboarding from a backyard hobby to a world-class sport by creating groundbreaking products, supporting a team of top snowboarders and pushing resorts to allow snowboarding. Today, Burton designs and manufactures industry-leading products for snowboarding and the snowboard lifestyle, including snowboards, boots, bindings, outerwear and layering as well as year-round apparel, packs/bags and accessories. Privately held and owned by Jake and his wife, Burton Co-CEO Donna Carpenter, Burton’s headquarters are in Burlington, Vermont with offices in Austria, Japan, Australia, Canada and China. For more information on Burton, head to www.burton.com.

About B Corporations

Certified B Corporations are leaders of a global movement of people using business as a force for good. They meet the highest standards of overall social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability and aspire to use the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. There are nearly 3,000 Certified B Corporations in over 130 industries and 50 countries with 1 unifying goal– to redefine success in business.

About B Lab

B Lab is a nonprofit organization that serves a global movement of people using business as a force for good. Its vision is that one day all companies compete not only to be the best in the world, but the Best for the World® and as a result society will enjoy a more shared and durable prosperity. B Lab drives this systemic change by: 1.Building a global community of Certified B Corporations who meet the highest standards of verified, overall social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability; 2. Promoting Mission Alignment using innovative corporate structures like the benefit corporation to align the interests of business with those of society and to help high impact businesses be built to last; 3. Helping tens of thousands of businesses, investors, and institutions Measure What Matters, by using the B Impact Assessment and B Analytics to manage their impact — and the impact of the businesses with whom they work — with as much rigor as their profits; 4. Inspiring millions to join the movement through compelling story telling by B the Change Media.