Recently, the Faction brand became one of the companies certified by the B Corporation. A label that measures the positive impact of the company on society and the environment. We Rock Sport explains everything in three questions.
What is the B Corporation label?
Conceived in 2006 in the United States and appearing in France in 2015, the B Corporation certification was designed with the objective of putting corporate performance at the service of the general interest. In concrete terms, this label aims to reduce inequality, alleviate poverty, ensure a healthier environment, make communities more resilient and create better quality jobs. The labeling process begins with a self-assessment by the company, which must answer more than 400 questions on its environmental impact practices, its relations with its stakeholders and its governance practices.
These criteria are monitored by the NGO "B-Lab", which then awards a score out of 200. 80 or more is required to obtain the label, which is valid for three years (companies are therefore reassessed after this period and encouraged to improve their performance). The criteria include the maximum wage gap between the highest and lowest paid employees, the ecological impact of the company's activities and employee well-being. The label thus applies high standards of transparency, responsibility and societal performance.
On what strong criteria has the Faction brand been recognized by the B Corp community?
To obtain B Corp™ certificationFaction (whose skis you can find on Private Sport Shop at this address) was independently and thoroughly evaluated and awarded a score of 93.5, exceeding the 80-point requirement. To achieve this, Faction was able to build on its environmental strengths, such as its ski production facility in Austria using 100 % of renewable energy, which reduces carbon emissions by nearly 50 %. In addition, the brand's ski tips are made with sustainable wood cores harvested with FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) accredited partners.
Faction also uses an environmentally friendly bio-resin, made up of 35% of plant molecules, but with the same structural properties as resins made from petrochemicals. The brand also aims to reduce the waste it generates by recycling sole, edge and topsheet scraps for reuse in production. Finally, Faction is committed to the environment donating 1% of sales from Agent, Dancer and La Machine skis to nonprofit organizations that fight global warming, in partnership with 1% for the Planet.
What other initiatives does Faction have in place to meet B Corporation standards for social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability?
Global Head of Supply Chain and ESG at Faction, Sara Asmoarp, says that an annual calculation of the company's carbon footprint is made each year: "This helps us make informed decisions about how to reduce our emissions year on year. When we can't reduce them, we compensate by using high-quality carbon offsets, investing in sustainable energy production. For the 2020-21 season, we are offsetting our Scope 1, 2 and a portion of our Scope 3 emissions, totaling 618,000 kg of CO2, which is equivalent to 1.9 million miles driven."
"We have also created lasting and important relationships with partners such as Protect our Winters and Coombs Outdoors, a group of dedicated community members who guide and empower more than 100 children each year and whose mentoring we support. Finally, all film-related emissions are calculated with WeAreAlbert, and we offset the emissions we can't avoid through high-level projects with Climate Partner. In fact, our latest feature film, Roots (see below), is certified climate neutral."