B Lab Recognizes Clearinghouse CDFI as Best For The World™ for the 5th Consecutive Year
Lake Forest, CA – July 13, 2022 – Clearinghouse Community Development Financial Institution (Clearinghouse CDFI), has been named a 2022 Best for the World™ B Corp™ in recognition of its exceptional positive impact on its Customers and Governance. This is the 5th year in a row that Clearinghouse CDFI has earned this recognition. Best for the World is a distinction granted by B Lab to Certified B Corporations (B Corps) whose verified B Impact Scores in the five impact areas evaluated in the B Impact Assessment—community, customers, environment, governance, and workers—rank in the top 5% of all B Corps in their corresponding size group.
Clearinghouse CDFI earned the honor of being named ‘Best for Customers’ and ‘Best for Governance.’ B lab describes ‘Best for Customers’ as, “setting the standard for serving their customers, offering products or services that support the greater good, often focusing on underserved populations.” Those companies who are honored as ‘Best for Governance’ have “achieved a top score in overall mission, ethics, accountability and transparency.”
“We are grateful to again receive this recognition,” said Douglas J. Bystry, Clearinghouse CDFI President and CEO. “Five years of awards is a testament to our consistency during often turbulent economic times. I am proud of our team for their tireless work to ensure Clearinghouse CDFI’s mission-based approach continues to positively impact the communities we serve.”
Every year, Best for the World recognizes the top-performing B Corps creating the greatest positive impact through their businesses. More than a badge of honor, Best for the World provides an opportunity for recognized companies to share knowledge, learnings, and best practices with the B Corp community and businesses outside of the community to encourage innovation and transformation across the business sector. The full lists are available at bcorporation.net.
The Best for the World recognition is administered by B Lab, the global nonprofit network that certifies and mobilizes B Corps, which are businesses that meet high standards of positive social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. Today, there are more than 5,000 B Corps across 80 countries and 155 industries, unified by one common goal: building an inclusive, equitable, and regenerative economic system.
“Each Best for the World edition is an opportunity to raise the bar for how businesses can and should operate to create real and lasting positive impact for their workers, customers, communities, and the environment,” said Dan Osusky, Head of Standards and Insights at B Lab Global. “While no company is perfect and even the best companies can and should continue to strive to improve, the B Corps recognized as Best for the World can provide us all — standards setters, B Corps, non B Corps, and sustainability advocates — with inspiration on what true leadership in business can look like to make progress on addressing our current global challenges.”
B Corp Certification doesn’t just evaluate a product or service, it assesses the overall social and environmental impact of the company that stands behind it. To achieve B Corp Certification, a company must meet a score of at least 80 points on the B Impact Assessment, an evaluation of a company’s positive impact, and pass a risk review, an evaluation of a company’s negative impact; change their corporate governance structure to be accountable to all stakeholders, not just shareholders; and exhibit transparency by allowing information about their B Corp Certification performance to be publicly available on their B Corp profile on B Lab’s website.
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About Clearinghouse Community Development Financial Institution
(Clearinghouse CDFI):
Clearinghouse CDFI addresses unmet credit needs throughout the U.S. and in Indian Country through direct lending, equity investments, and financial assistance. We have helped bridge the gap between conventional lending standards and the needs of low-income, distressed, and communities of color. Clearinghouse CDFI is also a B Corp—a certification received from the nonprofit B Lab. B Corps are companies who meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability, and use business as a force for good.
Clearinghouse CDFI has funded $1.98 billion in total loans for over 2,250 community projects over the past 24 years. These projects have created or retained more than 23,000 jobs and benefited over 2.7 million people. Clearinghouse CDFI has also funded over 460 PPP loans that have helped save 1,600 jobs across 28 states. 63% of Clearinghouse CDFI’s PPP borrowers are minority- or women-owned businesses.
More information is available at: www.ccdfi.com.
About B Lab: B Lab is transforming the global economy to benefit all people, communities, and the planet. A leader in economic systems change, our global network creates standards, policies, tools, and programs for business, and we certify companies — known as B Corps — who are leading the way. To date, our community includes 400,000 workers in over 5,000 B Corps across 80 countries and 155 industries, and more than 200,000 companies manage their impact with the B Impact Assessment and the SDG Action Manager. B Lab has created and led efforts to pass over 50 corporate statutes globally that enable stakeholder governance, with over 10,000 companies using the legal framework. To learn more and join the movement, visit www.bcorporation.net.
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Media Contacts:
Ron Demeter, Partner
Vectis Strategies on behalf of Clearinghouse CDFI
Phone: 310-614-1059
Email: rdemeter@vectisstrategies.com
B Lab Contact: press@bcorporation.net
Download the PDF: 2022 – CCDFI Named Best for the World
