This week, Hazel Horvath, Founder and CEO of Ecolytics, joined Sophia Maroon, Founder and CEO of Dress It Up Dressing, a salad dressing company, for the panel "Becoming a B-Corp Movement: How it’s Profitable to do Good" at DC Startup and Tech Week.
The conversation, moderated by Karen Lickteig from B Lab, covered a wide range of topics. Lickteig asked Horvath and Maroon about their decision to become B Corps, the benefits, their role in climate action, advice for startups who want to prioritize sustainability, and their hopes for the future of the B Corp movement. Read on for a summary of the panel's key questions.
Why did you decide to become a B Corp, and what was the process like?
Horvath: Ecolytics is a software platform that helps companies build data-driven sustainability programs. We work with companies to streamline the B Corp process or to start integrating sustainability into their business with real value. We became a B Corp to "walk the talk," and we've seen cascading benefits from it.
"It’s a little meta, but we use our own software to track our data, and we were able to certify in two months."
Maroon:
It was important to build a company that reflected my personal values. I wanted to show that we weren’t just about making money—we’re making a healthy product, and I felt our company should reflect those same values, promoting health and well-being for both the climate and individuals. Becoming a B Corp was a way to communicate that to our customers, but also to hold ourselves accountable, ensuring we are always striving to improve. Sometimes you even get competitive with yourself to achieve a better score. It took two years to certify, and while it was difficult in the beginning, knowing from the start that we wanted to be a B Corp helped us.
What are the benefits of becoming a B Corp?
Horvath: It’s such a great network! B Corps want to work with and buy from other B Corps. Also, B Corps help employee retention. As Gen Z enters the workforce, they want to work at companies that share their values.
Maroon: It definitely helps with employee retention. People are attracted to working for a company that’s more than just a place to spend 40 hours a week. As we’ve shared what we do as a B Corp, some of our suppliers have even become B Corps.
"We’re not just building a company, we’re building a way of doing business."
How do you see your role in climate action, and what has your company done to combat climate change?
Horvath: Ecolytics is in the service industry, so we don’t produce tangible waste or emissions, but we still focus on our carbon footprint, especially in terms of our supply chain decisions. We ensure that we work with suppliers who mitigate their footprint or are also B Corps. The other key area is business travel. We evaluate every purchasing decision, not just from a cost perspective but from an emissions perspective as well.
Maroon: We use recyclable glass and metal packaging, unlike many companies that rely on plastics. Most dressings contain water mixed with preserving gums, but our product has no gums and no water—it’s all salad dressing. Our concentrated formula offers richer flavor in smaller servings, so customers get more out of each bottle. We're also focused on cutting out unnecessary middlemen to reduce our overall environmental impact.
What advice do you have for startups that want to incorporate sustainability?
Horvath and Maroon: Look at the B Impact Assessment to see what the stakeholder model looks like—it’s a great first step.
What are your hopes for the B Corp movement?
Horvath and Maroon: We hope that becoming a B Corp becomes the standard in business.
Final Thoughts
DC Startup and Tech Week provided an ideal opportunity for Horvath to share Ecolytics’ commitment to advancing the B Corp movement and to highlight how businesses can drive both impact and profit through certification. For companies interested in B Corp certification or exploring how sustainability can add value to their operations, Ecolytics is here to help—request a demo to learn more. https://www.ecolytics.io/demo
