Spokane-based marketing company Treatment LLC recently became the third company in Spokane to receive a B Corp certification.

The certification, which is administered by Berwyn, Pennsylvania-based nonprofit B Lab, endorses a private company’s commitments to social and environmental responsibilities.

The first two companies in Spokane to earn B Corp certification were Measure Meant and Mutu Coffee Roasters LLC. 

Luke Baumgarten, principal at Treatment, says pursuing the certification seemed like a natural move to him and to co-founder Benji Wade.

“We’ve always done a ton of work for nonprofits. We’ve always donated a ton of our time. We have always believed in pay equity,” Baumgarten says. “We’d had very different experiences as young professionals, so it was important to us that whenever the business got ahead, we started doing benefits and health insurance before the owners gave themselves a raise.”

To receive and continue earning B Corp certification, companies must achieve a minimum score on an evaluation of social and environmental performance factors. They also must integrate B Corp commitments into company governing documents and must pay an annual fee based on annual sales. To continue receiving B Corp certification, companies must recertify every three years.

Baumgarten says Treatment, which has six employees, began considering B Corp certification about two years ago, after working with Spokane-based B Corp certification consulting company Measure Meant Consulting Inc. owners Mark and Kara Odegard to create their website.

Baumgarten says that after the project wrapped up, he and Wade decided they’d like to work more frequently with other B Corps, in addition to achieving their own certification. Treatment engaged Measure Meant to consult on the process, which took about a year to complete.

“Through the process of B Corp certification, we realized how much of it is about codifying what you do into language that you can’t really undo and that you have to hold yourself accountable to,” Baumgarten says.

He says he hopes the certification will stand as testament to the company’s commitment to the Spokane community, and could inspire other local companies to follow suit.

“One of our practical game plans is to use this to connect with larger B Corps nationwide that might need our services,” Baumgarten says.

Baumgarten is also co-founder of Fellow Coworking LLC, a coworking office company based in the Washington Cracker Building, at 304 W. Pacific. The Treatment office is located within the Fellow Coworking space.