Impact Reporting

As part of our commitment to contributing to the social and enviromental good, and in keeping with our goal of becoming a certified B Corporation, we are sharing metrics related to the impact of our business.

2017 Recap

Our goals and intentions for 2017 included:

• 1.1% for the environment: Contribute at least 1.1% of revenues to charitable environmental causes.
  Status: COMPLETED and slightly exceeded. In 2017, Evident donated 1.19% of our gross revenues for the environment – to the Lancaster County Conservancy and to 1% for the Planet, of which Evident became a formal member in December 2017.
  
• Carbon offset: In addition to that goal, pay to offset a minimum of 25% of our personal and business carbon footprint.
  Status: EXCEEDED. In September 2017 we enrolled in the Carbonfund.org Carbonfree^® Partner program, offsetting more than 100% of Evident’s carbon footprint for the year and subscribing in automatic annual renewal (view PDF certificate).
  
• Local dollars: Return at least $2,500 to the local economy by using professional service providers who are located within Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
  Status: EXCEEDED. By the end of August 2017 we completed this goal, and by the end of 2017 Evident returned more than $20,000 (more than eight times our goal) to the local economy by using local independent service providers.
• Establish a minimum of 20% of Evident’s expenses (excluding labor) spent with local independent suppliers.
  Status: EXCEEDED. Excluding our charitable giving, fully 48% of Evident’s expenses in 2017 were spent with independent businesses in Central Pennsylvania.
• Monitor, record, and report on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy usage, to improve upon in 2018.
  Status: NOT COMPLETED. We did not monitor and track this impact in 2017.
• Reach a score of 80 in the B Impact Assessment.
  Status: COMPLETED. At the end of 2017, our sunverified score was 83, with this breakdown by section:
  • Governance: 13.4
  • Community: 53.4
  • Environment: 13.3
  • Customers: 2.9

In addition to these goals, in 2017 we also:

• Implemented a written policy giving preference to suppliers owned by women or individuals from underrepresented populations, and followed it.
• Created a statement on the intended social and environmental impact of Evident’s charitable contributions.
• Changed our organization’s business structure from a Pennsylvania sole proprietorship to a Pennsylvania benefit LLC.

2018 Goals and Progress

Our goals and intentions for 2018 include:

• Switch from current bank (Bank of America) to a local cooperative bank or credit union committed to serving the community.
  Status: COMPLETED. In January, we opened business accounts at Members 1st credit union and switched our banking there.
• Achieve formal recognition as a certified B Corporation.
  Status: In progress. We submitted our application on February 7, 2018, with help and encouragement from Sarah Payne and Craig Dalen at ASSETS. We have completed a review call with a B Lab analyst, provided requested verification documentation, and are awaiting review.
• Find ways to use travel expenses in a way better in line with our goals of spending with local, independent suppliers, particularly those owned by women or members of other underrepresented populations.
• Make a formal commitment to donate at least 5% of total company time to serving nonprofits. Create a structured process for selecting which organizations to support for the greatest positive impact.
  Status: In progress. We are hereby making an ongoing commitment to donate no less than 5% of total company time to serving nonprofit organizations. Details on how we select organizations will be forthcoming.
• Continue to uphold our commitments of:
  • Donating at least 1% of our gross revenues for the benefit of the environment
  • Maintaining or improving an 80+ score in the B Impact Assessment
  • Upholding our legal obligations as a Pennsylvania benefit LLC

We will continue to update this page with our progress toward these goals throughout the year and at the end of the year.

Last updated May 30, 2018