Ryan Honeyman is CEO of Honeyman Sustainability Consulting headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is a leader in the B Corp movement and has recently published The B Corp Handbook: How to Use Business as a Force for Good (reviewed on our blog here).
What’s the change you are trying to make in the world?
I believe that business is, for better or worse, one of the most powerful forces on the planet. At its best, business encourages collaboration, innovation and mutual wellbeing. It helps people live more vibrant and fulfilling lives. At its worst, business—and the tendency to focus on maximizing short-term profits—can lead to significant social and environmental damage.
My goal is to help companies harness the power of business as a force for good. I do this by spreading the word about B Corporations, which are a global movement of businesses (such as Patagonia, Ben & Jerry’s, Etsy, Method and New Belgium Brewery). These businesses use their innovation, speed and capacity for growth not only to make money, but also to help alleviate poverty, build stronger communities, restore the environment and inspire us to work for a higher purpose.
Are you doing anything in your professional life to disrupt a market through innovative products or new ways of doing business?
I am teaching companies about the “B Impact Assessment,” a free tool that can measures the social and environmental performance of their entire business on a scale of zero to 200 points. This enables a business to measure the impact of its operations on its workers, its community and the environment; to compare itself to its industry peers; and to competitively improve its performance over time.
What’s the biggest change you’ve made in your professional life?
My original professional goal was to work on prison reform. (I studied psychology and criminal justice in school.) I used to work at a large mental health nonprofit for emotionally troubled youth. One day, I flipped through two of my brother’s books on sustainability (Natural Capitalism by Paul Hawkins and Cradle to Cradle by Michael Braungart and William McDonough) and thought that our nonprofit should “go green.”
On a whim, I emailed the CEO of the group home and told him my idea. He called my cell phone immediately and said, “How would you like to be our first Director of Sustainability?” I had read two books on environmental responsibility and suddenly I was Director of Sustainability for a large mental health nonprofit. I started my sustainability consulting business one year later.
What’s the biggest change in your personal life?
Having a new baby daughter who is six weeks old. She’s amazing, and quite demanding—but I love every minute of it. I will say that I now understand why the satirical children’s book Go the Fuck to Sleep was a bestseller.
How do you think the B Corporation movement is affecting the way we view corporate social responsibility?
B Corp certification is incredibly valuable because it turns the ambiguous concepts of “going green” or “being a good corporate citizen” into something tangible and measurable that people can easily identify, trust and support.
For example, you could have Patagonia, North Face, and Columbia Sportwear (all companies with strong CSR programs) take the B Impact Assessment, and you could have widely varying results. Patagonia might score a 115, North Face might score an 86 and Columbia Sportwear might score a 54.
Putting a number to social and environmental performance makes people curious. People at Columbia Sportwear might start asking, “Why the heck are we a 54? What are Patagonia and North Face doing to score better than us? How can we increase our score?” And they’d benefit by improving their score because it would help them attract and retain top talent, increase consumer trust, and generate positive press and media attention, among others.
That’s exactly the response the B Corp movement wants. Now, these companies will start competing to improve their overall social and environmental performance—not just their profits. It’s a way of incentivizing companies to not just be the best in the world, but the best for the world.
Change is hard—do you have any tricks you’d like to share for making it easier?
Know yourself. Change yourself to change the world—be the change. Try to understand your motivations for wanting to change things. For me, the best way to change the world is to meditate every day. This helps me become a better listener. We have all of the answers inside of us—but we have to be still enough to hear them.
What gives you purpose in your work?
My belief that harnessing the power of business for good is one of the best answers to solving our greatest social and environmental challenges.
If you could change one thing in the world right now, what would it be?
Taking money out of politics.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
Hanging out with my friends more often. Our baby and the B Corp work have made friends a lower priority than they should be.
What are you reading right now?
I’m an audiobook guy. I just finished How Google Works by Eric Schmidt. Amazing. Fascinating. It’s completely changed how I think about goal setting, hiring and scaling a company without diluting performance.
Listening to?
Pandora’s “Hipster Cocktail Party” station. Hilarious name, good music.
Watching?
Portlandia, Parenthood, Peaky Blinders, Louis CK.
Who inspires you?
Patagonia. From their “Don’t Buy This Jacket” ad campaign, to selling repair kits in their stores instead of pushing people to buy new clothing, to creating a wetsuit out of seaweed, to making their supply chain more and more transparent, to their $20 million venture fund for environmental startups, to making high-quality gear, I’m continually amazed.
Favorite color?
Caribbean Ocean Blue. I’m a scuba diver, and when the water is that light, transparent blue, you know you’re going to have a great dive.
Rock, paper, or scissors?
B Corp. Is that an option?
Who are you following online?
Seth Godin’s daily blog. Anything with hashtag #BCorp or #BtheChange.
Who is the most progressive nonprofit or business leader you know?
Yvon Chouinard from Patagonia.
What’s one question you’d like to ask yourself—and answer?
How can you learn to trust that everything will be ok in the end? By being fully present in this moment…moment by moment.