Hiring

We just hired a new office manager at TriLibrium. We had one position and over 200 applicants. Given the economy and the time of the year, I wish I could hire them all.

I want to share with you some of the ways we brought our triple bottom line values to this process.

First, we did an EEOC hiring by widely announcing the position. We advertised on Craigslist, with the State of Oregon Employment Division, and on the Portland Green Drinks, B-Corp, and BGI websites. We also posted this on our company's Facebook page and tweeted it as well.

We used a very sophisticated, objective process that used an assessment tool, somewhat akin to Myers-Briggs, to help us identify the type of candidate we were looking for. Each applicant was given an opportunity to take the 5-10 minute online assessment and received a very detailed report about themselves as a result.

As opposed to sifting through 200+ resumes, we only looked at the resumes of the dozen people whose assessment score matched our profile and eight of these people were invited in for an initial 45-minute interview. (Please contact me directly if you'd like to speak with me about our process).

Upon meeting these eight candidates, I was amazed at how well the assessment tool helped us identify people who would be perfect for the position we identified. Most, if not all of these would not have been selected for interviews had we simply relied on their resume.

After the initial meeting, each candidate was invited back for a second, 90-minute interview. Each team member at TriLibrium was given an equal opportunity to interview and provide input in the selection process. It was OUR decision, not just MINE, and I know this openness leads to better buy in and decision making.

To eliminate bias, we used a weighted decision matrix with each team member voting. This process really helped us with our final decision as we struggled to decide between the top two candidates. Without this objective process, we might not have reached the same decision.

Finally, we sent a note of appreciation to each person who applied, took the assessment, and/or interviewed. This just seems like the decent thing to do and I got at least ten sincere emails and cards, from applicants, thanking me for letting them know they wouldn't be selected. It seems fewer companies are doing this anymore so the applicants send off resumes never to hear another word. I think this small gesture may end up leading to new customers as more and more people learn about us and the triple bottom line values that make us unique.

Biking to Work

This month is the bike to work commuter challenge sponsored by the Bicycle Transportation Alliance. Today was the first day of the challenge and I started by riding 5 miles to Toastmasters for a 7am meeting and then 2.2 miles back into work. I feel good and can't wait to see the physical results of commuting by bike every day this month.

Team TriLibrium has a goal of 100% participation on 100% of the days in September. So far so good as everyone rode to work today.

The beauty of this event is the fact that it is a month long. The length will actually force me to deal with all the issues (clothes, showers, commute time, locks, lights, storage, rain gear, etc.) that need to be solved to make daily biking viable. I had a number of logistical issues this morning that I'll get solved before next week so the commute is easy and comfortable.

Having recently completed our FY2010 green house gas inventory, I know that 80 percent of our firm's CO2 emissions is from employee commuting. We will never be sustainable driving to work in single occupancy vehicles.

So many of the changes necessary for us to become sustainable are easy and simply need to be implemented. We know we can't go on driving everywhere like we did 20 years ago but when do we actually make the change? I am hoping that today was a day of significant change. For our firm to be sustainable, we can't rely on fossil fuels to get us around.

I'll also take this time to remind readers that the tax code provides a $20/month non-taxable fringe benefit to employees who ride bikes. I mentioned it in this earlier blog post.

Sustainable This and Sustainable That

A recent triple bottom line Google Alert I've set up led me to a blog about "Sustainable Museums." Additionally, the sponsored links (advertisements) on the email had a promotion for "Sustainable Post-it Notes" and another one for "Sustainable Jobs."

I'm not trying to disparage these folks though do you see the problem here?

Before some public speaking events I've been introduced as the founder of TriLibrium, a "sustainable" CPA firm.

Can a business or organization be sustainable inside an unsustainable culture? Are there sustainable jobs in an unsustainable civilization?

Because I'm a stickler for precise language when it matters, I've had to correct the well-meaning introduction calling TriLibrium sustainable. TriLibrium is sustainably-driven and eco-conscious but I have no idea whether we are sustainable.

I've heard people refer to certain farming practices as sustainable. Really? Over what time frame and under what circumstances. Will these "sustainable" farms hold up over 5 generations? What about 500 or 1000? If not, are they really "sustainable?"

I'm sick of hearing "sustainable" used as if it is a condition already achieved. We should all be driven towards sustainability since the problems with unsustainable practices will certainly wreck havoc on us and our offspring. However, I don't think anything inside our current system is "sustainable" since our cultural system clearly isn't.

I hope you'll join me in educating all the companies who call their products or services sustainable.

Renewal and Revitalization

The Earth goes through its annual cycle of rebirth, abundance, decay, and dormancy. Our lives consists of cycles although most of us see only linearity.

Working in an accounting firm is like joining a series of cycles: New businesses starting, older ones being closed or transferred, tax seasons, year ends, visioning, implementing, etc. The cycles are endless and important.

Our firm, TriLibrium, just completed a 3-day working retreat on beautiful Whidbey Island. This is our second retreat and I find them to be critical to our firm's success and culture. We used this time to strengthen our team, renew our vision, deal with challenging issues, and bond as humans.

We can't do this work in an office and yet it must be done.

Are you taking time in your business to step away from the day to day routine to provide time to appreciate the cycles of your business?

"Benefit Corp." law passes in Maryland

I've written a number of blog posts on B-Corporations. TriLibrium, the company I founded, is a certified B-Corporation and I believe, the only public accounting firm in the country that has achieved that designation.

Part of the B-Lab (The non-profit supporting the B Community) strategy was the goal to have the B-Corp designation recognized as a distinct legal entity just like C-Corps and S-Corps. Yesterday, Maryland became the first state to pass a law recognizing B-Corporations. You can read more about that in this article.

Wish I could write more but it is April 14th. Have you filed your taxes?

Innovations Towards Sustainability

Our firm is constantly innovating towards sustainability. This is an ongoing process and in the spirit of transparency, cooperation and co-evolution, we share our ideas to help others.

One of our recent innovations is to provide a bus ticket to any client who visits us by any means other than a car. We have a pretty large number of clients who walk, bike and/or ride the bus to meet with us. When they do, we provide them with a $2 bus ticket which they can use for future travel. If they don't need or want the bus ticket, we provide them with an option of donating it to social service agency.

This encourages alternative transportation while simultaneously helping an important community organization. The cost is minimal and the return on investment high. Maybe you could implement this at your organization.

Chaos is the New Normal

Last night I attended the Illahee Lecture Series featuring Richard Heinberg, Senior Fellow at the Post Carbon Institute. I wish I had time to comment on his lecture but this is busy season at TriLibrium so I'll be brief while providing you some interesting links.

Richard's main point was that there will be no return to normal. Global economic output as measured by GDP probably peaked in 2005/2006 and that we'll never again return to that level given the direct connection between energy and our economy. The solutions are varied and diverse but the key point is that a return to "normal" is impossible given limiting factors and the sooner we embrace this fact and transition to the new paradigm the better. A movement he mentioned and that I intend to explore further is called "Transition Towns."

I'd also like to point readers to Richard's publication "Searching for a Miracle: 'Net Energy' Limits & the Fate of Industrial Society." This report explores whether any combination of known energy sources can successfully supply society's energy needs up to the year 2100. I won't give away the answer but they explore the different solutions against 10 criteria. The report is available as a free PDF download.

I'd also like to point those interested in accounting and innovation to a recent blog post by Gifford Pinchot. Gifford discusses Intrapreneuring in Accounting and the need for innovative accountants to help provide the understanding, metrics, and systems for the economy of the future.

B Corporations and the New Economy

My company, TriLibrium, is a certified B-Corporation. I believe B-Corp certification to be the current gold standard for firms dedicated to doing well by doing good.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to participate in a "State of the B Community" update. The B Corporation community is maturing and expanding. There are now more than 250 certified B-Corps total. The community has expanded to Canada and just this week, the first one will appear in Europe. On January 1st, B Labs released the new benchmarking tool, Version 2.0.

Whether or not you want to pursue B-Corporation certification, I highly recommend using the B Corporation survey to benchmark your environmental and social performance. This is a free service that will help you assess where you stand, and how you might improve. Getting a baseline benchmark is critical for performance improvement and to measure and report on your progress.

Because it is worth sharing, here is the B Corporation Member Declaration:

Declaration of Interdependence

We envision a new sector of the economy which harnesses the power of private enterprise to create public benefit. This sector is comprised of a new type of corporation – the B Corporation™ – which is purpose-driven and creates benefit for all stakeholders, not just shareholders.

As members of this emerging sector and as entrepreneurs and investors in B Corporations™,

We hold these truths to be self-evident:

• That we must be the change we seek in the world;
• That all business ought to be conducted as if people and place mattered;
• That, through their products, practices, and profits, businesses should aspire to do no harm and benefit all.

To do so, requires that we act with the understanding that we are each dependent upon another and thus responsible for each other and future generations.

TriLibrium's Sustainability Report

On Friday, we released our Sustainability Report based on the Global Report Initiative's G3 framework. You can download our report at the TriLibrium website.

The Global Reporting Inititative

TriLibrium, the firm that I founded, released its first sustainability report yesterday. We used the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework to report on our economic, environmental, and social performance. Follow this link to download a PDF of our report.

Sustainability reports based on the GRI framework allow an organization to benchmark their performance with respect to laws, norms, codes, performance standards and voluntary initiatives. It also allows a company to demonstrate commitment to sustainable development and, to compare organizational performance over time.

The GRI is a standardized approach that can be used by any size organization regardless of geographic location. Has your company prepared such a report? If so, what would it say?

If your organization is promoting its "greenness", it ought to complete or be planning to complete a Sustainability Report as well as a greenhouse gas inventory. In my opinion, a company must do these things or it risks being labeled a greenwasher and with it, its reputation and brand value.

Health Insurance - A burden on business

I don't understand why we burden businesses with the task of providing health insurance.

My company, TriLibrium, is in the process of adding this employee benefit and we've probably spent a collective 20-40 hours of our staff time discussing our needs, creating an employee census, shopping for an agent/broker, supplying information, evaluating options, etc. etc. None of which relates directly to our business as accountants and business advisors.

I have no problem paying the money but wouldn't it be nice if this was simplified? A business tax on all employers in order to provide universal health insurance would level the playing field and eliminate their administrative burden. This administrative burden is a hidden cost of our insane, for-profit private health insurance system.

Like everyone, we all want comprehensive insurance. All of us need access to health care and worry about catastrophic problems that might not be covered due to coverage gaps or maximum coverage provisions.

From an economic standpoint, it makes so much sense to create a single, large insurance pool with everyone in so we can equally spread the risk, lower administrative costs and reduce the fear and anxiety we all have around health insurance.

We need universal health care. I believe the best system is Single Payer. We could solve all these problems by adopting Medicare for All!

Green Office Space

TriLibrium is growing and that means we need to move our office. Of course we're doing everything to be as sustainable as possible and so I thought it would be fun to engage my readers in the process.

What are some of the leading edge ideas for professional office space?

What should be included? What should we avoid?

We are looking for suggestions, ideas and recommendations on every aspect of moving a business and readying the space from equipment suggestions, to materials, build out, furnishings, etc.

It is likely that we'll have new offices by February 1st. I look forward to starting a dialog and blogging about it as we move forward.

P.S. I like the "HELP" in the picture, not the paper. TriLibrium used less than three reams of paper in our first year of operations.

My 350.org action

I had a great day on the Willamette River Saturday joining approximately 200 kayaks and canoes as we wrote 350 using our boats. This was part of 350.0rg's International Day of Climate Action.

It was challenging as we had to navigate the river's current while organizing ourselves into a shape that was impossible to see from our position on the water. The action was a perfect metaphor to the climate change solution.

• It took the collective action of many.
• There was no single leader yet their was leadership from many people.
• The people, assisted the leaders by listening and responding to their guidance.
• We didn't get it right the first time but kept innovating until we figured it out.

You can watch a great video of the action here.

350.org Kayakers Action in Portland from Epicocity Project on Vimeo.

Finally, I owe a big shout out to the law firm of Roberts Kaplan for inviting me to participate. I'm looking forward to the day TriLibrium has the resources to invite clients and colleagues to such an event.

Another way to view the Triple Bottom Line

We often imagine the Triple-Bottom Line (TBL) as a three legged stool. While that metaphor works on one level, it really isn’t all that helpful. A TBL organization needs to think about and manage all three-legs successfully but it must be noted that each of the three legs are unique with different goals and objectives.

It is my experience that most business organizations tend to focus on the profit and ecological legs of the stool with a lesser focus on the people side. I think this is partially due to the pressing and well known ecological concerns as well as the relative simplicity of measuring, monitoring and making changes to the environmental forces. Dealing with people is always more complex and challenging.

When I think about the TBL, I think of each leg uniquely.

I think about the profit leg as fuel. Like a rocket, we go nowhere without fuel in our current capitalistic society. Revenues and profits are only relevant because they provide the necessary resources. In the future, when we’ve figured sustainability out and are living in a different paradigm, I’m not convinced this leg of the stool will still exist.

I think of the people leg as the reason d’etre for a business organization. Why else are we here and engaged if it isn’t to make lives better. Ideally, the purpose of any human endeavor would be the advancement of human wellbeing while creating zero to little negative environmental impact. That is how a sustainable society would operate. Humans have always had an economy and the purpose of a human economy is to meet the social, spiritual and material needs of people. Why operate a business if it isn’t to improve the lives of your employees, the community and other stakeholders?

I think of the environmental leg as the constraint leg. Our society must operate and live within the ecological limits of the planet. The planet is just fine by itself and doesn’t need anything from us except for us to stop doing damage. This should be the goal of every person and business: No damage. The economy must operate within the physical constraints of the Earth, which is a closed-system (except for sunlight).

Therefore, the goal of a TBL firm is to use profits and revenues to meet the social, spiritual and material needs within their community while minimizing any negative environmental impacts. What can your firm accomplish while holding environmental impact at zero?

In my next post I’ll share some examples of how we implement this at TriLibrium.

TriLibrium becomes a B Corporation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

TriLibrium becomes Certified B Corporation

Portland, OR – July 25, 2009 – TriLibrium, perhaps the first triple-bottom line Certified Public Accounting firm in the nation, was recently certified as a B Corporation. TriLibrium becomes the seventh B Corporation in Oregon, joining nearly 200 nationwide.

TriLibrium was founded in 2008 by Brian Setzler, MBA, CPA and Andre’ Furin, MBA, to deliver tax, accounting and business advisory services to values driven people and organizations. Both Furin and Setzler have MBAs in Sustainable Business, who along with Eric Hasham, MBA, CPA, work to deliver triple-bottom line results to TriLibrium’s clients.

B Corporations are a new type of company which use the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. B Corporations are unlike traditional responsible businesses because they:

• Meet comprehensive and transparent social and environmental performance standards.
• Institutionalize stakeholder interests.
• Build collective voice through the power of a unifying brand.

Besides measuring its traditional bottom line like every for-profit entity, TriLibrium also measures its impact on the environment as well as stakeholders within the community and works to find balance among the triple bottom lines of people, planet, and profit.

“We decided to become a B Corporation since we see that as the current gold standard for sustainably driven organizations” said Setzler. “Being a B Corporation helps us achieve even greater contributions towards creating a sustainable economy.”

Contact:
Brian C. Setzler, MBA, CPA
Brian {at} TriLibrium.com
2000 NE 42nd Street, Suite D – PMB 213
Portland, OR 97213
Ph: 503-546-2050
###

Sustainable Business Resources

I was recently interviewed by Jennifer Woofter, the Founder and President of Strategic Sustainability Consulting, for the free podcast series they offer on sustainability. In my interview, we discuss a number of issues including how accounting fits into the sustainability field.

Strategic Sustainability Consulting is building a very nice library of bite-sized podcasts on a wide variety of topics pertinent to sustainable business, including renewable energy options, carbon regulation, sustainable design and more. I’d especially like to direct you to the podcasts on Green Business Travel with Kim Allen and Green IT with Jessica Vreeswijk, both Bainbridge Graduate Institute (BGI) alumni. Jennifer and the team at Strategic Sustainability Consulting add a new podcast every week or two so check back frequently for new topics from sustainability experts.

As you know, sustainable business is the new and emerging paradigm. The folks over at ISSP (International Society of Sustainability Professionals), of which I am a member, are offering a Professional Certificate in Sustainability. You can take the individual courses ala carte, or select the appropriate courses to obtain the certificate if you’d like. Many of the instructors are top professionals in their field. People like Darcy Hitchcock, Marsha Willard and Tom Gloria, to name a few of the ISSP instructors, are both practitioners and teachers. I bring this up because there is a course on Life Cycle Assessments beginning in August that one of us from TriLibrium will be attending.

Pedalpalooza, biking and more

I love Portland. We are in the midst of Pedalpalooza, a 2-week long bike festival with over 200 events. Every day there are classes, events, parades and lots of special rides (pub rides, pizza rides, chocolate rides, naked rides, endurance rides, and many, many more). Last night I went on the Epic Pizza Ride.

I've been riding my bike more often. Today I rode my bike to a lunch appointment a little over 1 mile away, then hit the bank and the post office on the way back. I don't think it is a coincidence that I started riding more, especially for work, at the exact same time we started our carbon footprint analysis at TriLibrium. We are preparing our initial GHG report and I am certain travel will comprise over 80 percent of our emissions footprint. Riding a bike adds nothing to our footprint.

What gets measured gets managed.

This is yet another reason to do a GHG inventory report.

Preparing our greenhouse gas inventory report made me more conscious.

Biking is an easy and effective way to decrease carbon emissions, increase exercise, have more fun and unplug from the car culture.

Bike culture is so refreshing.

Successful Business Kit

We just published this book to help guide start-up businesses.  It contains useful information on:

1. The choice of legal entity
2. Registering with the tax authorities
3. Accounting and bookkeeping considerations
4. Payroll taxes and reports
5. Fiscal year-end considerations
6. Income tax considerations
7. Cash planning and forecasting
8. Credit and financing your business
9. Insurance considerations
10. Leading towards sustainability
11. Your role in the voluntary carbon market
12. LEED
13. Eco-balances
14. Selecting professional advisors

It is somewhat tailored for Oregon businesses but would be helpful for any start-up business.   

To request a copy, give us a call at the TriLibrium office.

Last week I had lunch with a salesman from XYZ Company seeking TriLibrium's business.  XYZ Company is probably ranked third in an industry dominated by two giants. 

As I was looking at his card while getting ready to send a thank you note, I was thinking about XYZ Company as a business and my thoughts were: 

1.       Why should I care about XYZ?

2.      It must be a tough and competitive market battling the two giants, especially when you compete on price.

3.      What are you doing to be sustainable?

I sent my thank you and included the following note:

“… I was thinking about XYZ and your business strategy and how a company like yours could benefit by embracing sustainability as a strategic business driver.

The market place is rapidly changing and I believe the future will NOT resemble the past. 

·         Your next generation of employees (Gen Y) care deeply about who they work for and the values of the company

·         Your customers care about this as well and will be increasingly, at least partially, basing their decisions on these factors

·         Sustainability is an excellent differentiation strategy.  Do it now and be a leader, do it later and you will inevitably play catch up forever.

·         Managing carbon emissions and the cost of polluting will be rising and is likely to be regulated.

·         “True” sustainably driven organizations have the highest relative market values

In many ways, sustainability and traditional business and management approaches are as different as night and day.  Appending the strategic plan with “green” practices is helpful, important and appreciated, but ultimately doesn’t go far enough.

I think every business has an opportunity to embrace sustainability as a strategy.  Sustainability has the ability to be a disruptive business innovation and in that environment, you are either a leader or you risk being left behind. …”

As readers and visitors to this blog, I would appreciate your thoughts and comments. 

 

TriLibrium and our GHG Reporting

Yesterday I mentioned that a TriLibrium stakeholder requested information about our GHG claims.  Here is our response.

TriLibrium will use the GHG Protocol developed by World Resources Institute.  We will include both direct and indirect emissions in our footprint and will report on the scope of our boundaries at that time.  We intend to include all employee travel.  We will probably exclude customer travel.  We will probably exclude embedded carbon in purchased items due to the cost/benefit of gathering that data.  We intend to offset 150 percent of our measured GHG footprint and believe this buffer is more than sufficient.

Our company began operations October 1, 2008.  Our current office uses 100% renewable electricity purchased from Pacific Power and we pay additional money with each bill for Salmon Habitat Restoration.  We recycle 100 percent of materials that can reasonably be recycled in Portland including glass, metal, cardboard, plastic, and paper.  We buy in bulk and reduce, reuse and recycle where we can.  We currently put out just one small garbage can per month of solid waste.

Since inception, we have logged all employee travel whether by car, bike, train or bus.  Based on our experience, this is likely to be 80 percent or more of our GHG footprint. 

We will include natural gas consumption in our footprint inventory and will offset that accordingly.  We have not selected our offset provider.  I have personally used The Climate Trust to offset my personal GHG footprint.

We intend to do an annual CSR report complete with a GHG inventory sometime this summer and then each subsequent summer.  We will select an offset provider at that time based on best practices.  Colleagues at the Bainbridge Graduate Institute developed COPEM (Carbon Offset Provider Evaluation Matrix) which we will use to guide our selection.

As noted above, we will not include customer travel in our GHG footprint.  We have excluded it from our inventory because it is hard for us to capture this data and believe it is primarily our customer’s responsibility and not ours.  We are aware of this issue however and provide our customers with ways to reduce their travel when engaging with us through the use of secure, electronic data sharing portals, mail, fax and other means.