Becoming a B Corp: Driving positive change across the industry

Sponsored by Sanofi Consumer Healthcare

Consumers increasingly look to buy products from brands and companies that reflect their own values, and walk the talk. As shoppers – particularly Gen Z and millennial – increase their loyalty to sustainable and purpose-driven brands, most major retailers are re-evaluating their offerings to align with the growing demand to meet societal and environmental goals. For instance, products marketed as sustainable offerings grew 2.7x faster than those that were not. In addition to driving positive change, embedding social impact and sustainability into a company’s strategy can deliver incremental value through increased revenue, employee engagement and retention, stock performance, company reputation, risk reduction, and more.

With products in nearly 54 million households sold in over 80% of U.S. and Canadian retailers, Sanofi Consumer Healthcare North America (CHC NA) – the maker of trusted brands like Allegra, Dulcolax, Icy Hot, Unisom and Xyzal – is now the first, large consumer health company to attain B Corp certification. Becoming B Corp certified means Sanofi CHC NA is part of a community transforming over 6,000 businesses into forces for good. The certification process, viewed as one of the most trusted and rigorous, requires an assessment by B Lab, a nonprofit organization that evaluates companies to help ensure they meet high standards of social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency.

As part of the company’s commitment to championing better self-care for a healthier society and planet, Sanofi CHC NA and its brands have made important progress on ambitious social and environmental goals – from reducing their carbon footprint and cutting down waste, to sourcing materials more responsibly and supporting the wellbeing of communities where they do business. For example, Allegra, Sanofi’s over-the-counter allergy medication found in more than 50 million North American households is working to eliminate approximately 35 tons of plastic packaging per year by removing plastic windows from product packaging.

Sanofi CHC NA’s B Corp certification is more than a badge of sustainability accomplishments; it is helping the company understand and improve its own impact and that of multinational corporations at large. While multinationals account for nearly 25% of jobs globally and contribute nearly 30% to the global Gross Domestic Product, or GDP, they are also responsible for nearly a fifth of the planet’s CO₂ emissions. As such, these large enterprises have an important role to play by committing to make social impact and sustainability core pillars of their businesses.

We cannot have heathy people without a healthy planet. Sanofi CHC NA is championing this ambitious and rigorous sustainability certification to inspire and accelerate a global movement to help transform the industry.