Global outdoor, lifestyle and sports company, KMD Brands, has announced that all three of its brands – Kathmandu, Rip Curl and Oboz – are now Certified B Corporations. The KMD Brands group is one of the first multinational companies in Australia and New Zealand to have all individual brands certified.
B Corps are for-profit organisations whose performance is measured across five impact areas: governance, workers, customers, community and the environment. Companies must document their positive impact to apply using the B Impact Assessment tool, and undergo an independent verification process every three years to achieve and maintain certification.
KMD Brands managing director and group CEO, Michael Daly said B Corp certification was a significant achievement because it meant the entire business was now part of a global community of businesses that meet high standards of social and environmental impact, accountability, and transparency.
“At KMD Brands, we continually push ourselves across our group of Brands to be better and being B Corp Certified is recognition of that and of our commitment to balancing people, planet and profit. This is a great achievement for our business and our people,” Daly said.
“We are a large organisation and have a responsibility to consider the impact of our decisions on our customers, employees, shareholders, the wider community, and the environment, and being B Corp certified across our entire business demonstrates that we take this responsibility seriously, and that we need to continue working hard to retain our certification.”