March is B Corp Month and we want to celebrate and share with you all about what being B Corp means. We’re so lucky to be a part of this movement!
Libra is brewed at Upstreet Craft Brewing in Charlottetown, PEI. Upstreet was founded in 2015, and by 2017 we became the first business in the province to become B corporation certified.
Certified B Corporations are part of a global movement of leaders that find new innovative ways to use business as a force for good. B Corps around the world are working together to redefine success in business and build a more inclusive and sustainable economy. What do these businesses share in common? They meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performances, public transparency and legal accountability. We are honored and proud to be a part of something that is making a significant difference worldwide.
We started Upstreet with the mission to refresh the community and create viable employment on PEI. To us, this has always meant brewing unique, well-crafted products that people would get excited about, but it also sent us on a mission to find innovative new ways to do business. We set out to build a successful company that would also strengthen our community, and the standards set by B Labs have helped guide us in these pursuits and challenged us to be a better business.
Day to day, we work hard to maintain our certification. Here’s some ways we achieve this:
Sourcing supplies- For all inputs into our brewing supplies we seek out locally owned suppliers first, always. Upstreet makes great effort to source inputs from the Maritimes, not just to reduce our footprint, but to also support businesses in our historically economically repressed region. We aim to source from underrepresented populations by purchasing from women owned businesses and young entrepreneurs.
Donations- Over the years, we have donated over 570,000kgs of spent grain used in our brewing to cattle farmers on the Island. Upstreet has also been collecting proceeds from every sale of our APA, Do Gooder since 2016 and donating it to local artists and community groups to help support local arts. Over the years, we’ve expanded the fund to include sales in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to support local artists and community groups in our communities there as well.
Volunteering- Each of our employees is entitled to three paid days or 24 hours annually to volunteer for a charity of their choosing. By offering this initiative to our employees, we hope to show them that we care a great deal about our community, that we have confidence in their ability to do good, and that they can take pride in being an Upstreet employee. By offering this initiative to our employees, we empower them to give back to their community.
Energy- Our taproom is powered by 100% renewable energy!
Upstreet’s mission has always been to Refresh the Community and B Corporation Certification is the guiding light that helps us continue to do so, daily.
Keep an eye on our social media all month as we bring you #BehindTheB- opening our doors to show you what being a B Corp company is all about!
