Intrepid CEO Talks With TravelPulse About Achieving B Corporation Status

Intrepid Travel made headlines earlier this month with its industry-leading announcement that it had achieved B Corporation status.

The new designation, reserved only for businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, makes Intrepid the global travel industry’s largest company to have secured such elite recognition.

In obtaining B Corporation certification, Intrepid joins the likes of companies such as Patagonia, which is legendary for its environmental stewardship and advocacy, Ben & Jerry’s and Danone.

Getting to this point, however, was no small undertaking for the Australia-based tour operator.

During an in-depth interview with TravelPulse, Intrepid CEO James Thornton explained that securing B Corporation certification was an effort that took years but was incredibly useful for a company that has long defined itself as a purpose-driven enterprise.

“It was important to us to have a company that had a purpose beyond profit,” said Thornton. “Growth is easy to measure in terms of revenue and profits, but how do you measure having purpose beyond profit?”

Intrepid’s answer to that question was the pursuit of B Corporation status.

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The process, far more rigorous the initially anticipated, spanned a full three years and involved the assistance of at least 40 staff members who worked to get the 23 companies Intrepid operates certified.

Reaching the finish line also required completing a B Corp Impact Assessment, which is designed to measure a company’s positive impact on its workers, community, customers and environment, assessing both day-to-day operations and overall business model.

As part of its effort to align with the detailed B Corporation standards, Intrepid implemented or expanded a handful of programs, including introducing a parental care scheme that involves providing both mothers and fathers paid time away from work beyond the statutory norms in each country where Intrepid operates.

The tour company also solidified and expanded its volunteer day offerings for staff members, allowing individuals to spend as many as three workdays supporting causes they’re passionate about.

The completion of a Disclosure Questionnaire was also required. Designed to go beyond assessing a businesses’ “positive” impact, the questionnaire focuses on any negative impacts a company may have had. To further root out any such information, there are background checks and a public complaint process.

And still, there’s more. After completing all the phases of the B Impact Assessment, companies undergo a multi-step verification process to determine if they meet the 80-point bar for certification—including meeting certain transparency requirements.

The fact that Intrepid was willing to go through such a rigorous process to solidify its credibility as a company that's doing business for the greater good should come as no surprise.

Intrepid has long made clear that it’s committed not just to treading lightly, but to making a difference in the places it operates and visits. It does that by investing in local communities, human rights initiatives, wildlife conservation projects and the environment.

What’s more, since 2010, Intrepid has been a carbon-neutral business. It now operates 27 carbon-neutral offices and offers more than 1400 carbon-offset trips. Through its not-for-profit arm, The Intrepid Foundation, the company has invested more than $5 million in grassroots projects around the world—projects that address such issues as health care, education, community development and animal welfare.

Given this history, B Corporation status practically seems like a logical next step.

“Intrepid has a vision to change the way people see the world. Becoming a B Corp puts the structure in place to measure how we are impacting the way people see the world,” said Thornton.

The new certification does more than measure the Intrepid’s impact, it is also meant to be a trust mark for customers and for the industry, explained Thornton.

“There’s lots of greenwashing going on out there and being a B Corp distinguishes good marketing from companies that are actually operating for good,” he continued.

And still, there is yet another reason Intrepid chose to pursue B Corporation status, as a means of continuous improvement, because in order to be recertified again in three years’ time, the company will need to prove that it’s still doing everything it was doing when first certified. Between now and then, Intrepid will also work to improve in areas where it scored lower during this initial certification process.

“We scored disproportionately well for such things as governance and workers, but we were slightly below the norm for environment and for communities, and so now we will work to become particularly strong in those areas,” Thornton explained.

But perhaps most importantly of all, the newly achieved B Corporation status secures Intrepid’s mission for future generations. In countries where it is legally able to do so, Intrepid intends to change its articles of incorporation, locking in its status as a benefit corporation.

"This secures our legacy for the long term,” said Thornton. “If I leave the business tomorrow, whoever takes on new ownership, they can’t just decide we are a for-profit corporation.”