Fort Benton, Montana, April 05, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- IND HEMP, a leading environmental and agricultural company, has earned B Corp™ Certification. The rigorous certification process recognizes for-profit companies who utilize business as a force for good through exacting standards for social and environmental performance. IND HEMP joins over 8,000 certified B Corps™ to date from across 96 countries and 162 industries that employ more than 750,000 workers. B Corps are continuously improving their impact to create more inclusive workspaces, improve their climate impact, and respond to the world's ever-changing issues.
“While we, at IND HEMP, are driven everyday by our core values and ethos, we recognize the role 3rd party groups, like B-Lab play in auditing and validating our commitment as a Public Benefit Corporation,” shared Morgan Tweet, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of IND HEMP. “Certified B-Corp status complements our existing commitments in safe food and supplement manufacturing with our SQF Food Safety Certification and NASC National Animal Supplement Certifications. We are proud to add this badge, communicating outwardly the integrity of our organization and those we want to do business with.”
Headquartered in Montana, IND HEMP has built their processing infrastructure and agricultural programs to be the leading USA source for industrial hemp food ingredients and natural fiber biomaterials. The company supports farm families and rural communities by producing and supplying natural materials to make products and industries more sustainable as they regenerate the earth with agriculture. The company proudly refers to this as: The Goodness of Hemp®.
“IND HEMP was founded on core principles and values which reflect our family’s commitment to our community, our employees, and our planet,” shared Ken Elliott, co-founder and president of IND HEMP. “We believe that focusing on improving agricultural practices in our rural communities and working with farmers in Montana, we can create a company that will help repair our world and leave a better place for those generations to follow. The B-Corp Certification reflects our commitment to ‘Walk the Walk’ and to work with like-minded people to accomplish amazing things.”
IND HEMP completed a meticulous application process conducted by B Lab, the governing body of B Corp™ which examined 170+ factors, reviewing IND HEMP's customers and vendors, its record of inclusion, community involvement, corporate governance, and environmental impact, among others. Key elements such as average employee tenure, charitable giving, energy savings plan, recycling policies, employee volunteer service and employee upward mobility are also analyzed. IND HEMP attained this certification on its first attempt, which is rare, and will hold B Corps™ certification for three years before submitting to a renewal process. While the company is proud of their achievement, they are not resting on that score and have already implemented new programs such as completing the full carbon life cycle analysis (LCA) of their materials, which makes it easier to communicate sustainability benefits and carbon footprint of their materials with industry partners and will build on their B Corp™ scoring in the future.
Certified B Corporations™ (also referred to as B Corps™) are for-profit businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability to balance profit and purpose. B Corp™ businesses are required to consider the impact of their decisions on all stakeholders, customers, employees, the community and the environment. B Corp™ companies are accelerating a global cultural shift to redefine success in business and build a more sustainable and inclusive community.
IND HEMP joins a prestigious roster of B Corp™ companies including: Arbonne, Athleta, Ben & Jerry's, ButcherBox, C.F. Martin & Co, King Arthur Baking Company, MindFull, Patagonia, Tillamook, and Dr. Bronner’s, to name but a few.
About B Lab
B Lab is transforming the global economy to benefit all people, communities, and the planet. A leader in economic systems change, the global network creates standards, policies, tools, and programs for business, and we certify companies — known as B Corps — who are leading the way. To date, 8,000 B Corps across 96 countries and 162 industries employ over 750,000 workers, and more than 280,000 companies manage their impact with the B Impact Assessment and the SDG Action Manager. B Lab has created and led efforts to pass over 50 corporate statutes globally that enable stakeholder governance: www.bcorporation.net
About IND HEMP
IND HEMP, a Certified B Corporation, is a family owned, mission driven agriculture and environmental company that produces and supplies sustainable materials for industries and innovators working to make a better planet through conscious sourcing of better materials. IND HEMP controls their entire supply chain from seeds and planting through harvest with their in-house agronomy and custom harvesting teams working hand in hand with their contracted farms. While IND HEMP primarily supplies other manufacturers and industries with sustainable fiber materials and healthy food and feed ingredients, IND HEMP manages three in-house brands which demonstrate the use of the company’s material and use capabilities directly to consumers. These include the All Walks® Pet brand sold on Amazon and in specialty retailers, HEMPTANA® brand of products sold in farm and ranch stores across the country, and Montana Gold which showcases the hemp fiber in use in products from microgreen grown mats, tree rings and mulch-ready weed barriers. IND HEMP is excited this year to show their collaborative innovations with manufacturing partners to bring forth products made with Montana grown industrial hemp in textiles and bio-composites (plastics) and will be demonstrating injection molded plastic use and capabilities at the NPE- The Plastics Show, in Orlando, FL May 6-10, 2024. For more information about IND HEMP, visit www.indhemp.com.
For media inquiries, please contact: Diana Van Leuven, The VAN LEUVEN Company, diana@thevanleuvencompany.com, 314-409-9051.
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