Hempfield Botanicals, a Lancaster, Pennsylvania-based cannabidiol (CBD) product manufacturer, became a Certified B Corporation on May 2, 2019. After a rigorous assessment process, the company has achieved a distinction that only approximately 2,200 companies worldwide can claim.

B Corporation Certification is far more than a stamp of approval on a business’ products and services. It involves an in-depth assessment (and verification by the non-profit organization B Lab) to determine if a company meets “the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose.”

Some of Hempfield Botanicals’ business certifications, practices, processes, and protocols that have enabled it to achieve B Corporations status include:

• a supplier diversity policy, buying from preferred, local, minority and women-owned suppliers within a 200-mile radius
• paying team members for monthly community volunteer involvement
• charitable giving practices, such as donating to local non-profit organizations
• tracking use of water and electricity to determine ways to lessen the company’s impact on the environment
• taking steps to become a zero-waste manufacturing facility
• chemical reduction methods: use of non-toxic cleaners and unbleached paper products
• increase in fair trade purchases
• regular monitoring of key performance indicators to assess if the company is meeting its social and environmental objectives
• providing advanced skills and life skills training, quality assurance methodology, and other development opportunities for full-time team members
• a board of directors that has formally agreed to balance profit and purpose

Hempfield Botanicals, along with its sister-brand, Makes Scents Natural Spa Line, attained a score of 81.2 on its B Impact Assessment by B Lab, which will be updated and verified every three years to maintain certification.