by Rebecca Walker — April 21, 2010—Intuit announced it has launched a small business sustainability assessment, hoping to shine a spotlight on the unsung good deeds performed by local companies throughout the U.S.
The company, famous for its TurboTax, Quicken and QuickBooks software, teamed up with nonprofit B Lab to create the Local Hero Challenge, a 10-question assessment covering five key areas: accountability, community, consumers, employees, and environment.
Their answers generate a score that comes with an associated banner, including scout, booster, mentor, pioneer and local hero. It follows Intuit’s Love a Local Business campaign, where consumers nominate their favorite small businesses to win prizes and free advertising.
The assessment isn’t comprehensive, but it does give small businesses access to sustainability with criteria they can use to evaluate their performance and inform their business decisions, while also sharing the results with their customers and communities.
The development is considered a coup for B Lab, the nonprofit that created the sustainable business standards now governing nearly 300 companies in 54 industries.
Famous B Corps include Method, Seventh Generation, New Leaf Paper and Numi Organic Tea. In addition to those businesses certified, more than 1,000 others use the criteria to benchmark their performance.
Other states, including Colorado, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Washington, are considering similar legislation. In Vermont, a B Corp. bill has passed the Senate and will work through the state Assembly in the next month.
For more information, see the Intuit Web site.
