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 introduced in France in 2015, B Corporation certification was designed to put corporate performance at the service of the general interest. In concrete terms, this label aims to reduce inequalities, 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 over 400 questions on its environmental impact, stakeholder relations and 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 the subject of an in-depth independent evaluation, awarding it a score of 93.5, higher than the 80 points required. To achieve this, Faction was able to rely on its environmental strengths, such as its ski production facility in Austria, which uses 100 % of renewable energy, thus reducing carbon emissions by almost 50 %. In addition, the brand's spatulas are made from 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 explains that an annual calculation of the company's carbon footprint is carried out each year: "This helps us to make informed decisions on how to reduce our emissions year on year. When it's impossible to 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 part of our Scope 3 emissions, a total of 618,000 kg of CO2, equivalent to 1.9 million km driven by car."
"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 over 100 children each year and whose mentoring we support. Finally, all emissions related to film productions are calculated with WeAreAlbert, and we offset the emissions we can't avoid through high-profile projects with Climate Partner. In fact, our latest feature film, Roots (see below), is certified climate neutral."