SAM Magazine—Lafayette, Colo., Feb. 13, 2024—Snowsports school management software provider flaik is now a Certified B Corporation after satisfying the required criteria to earn the recognition, scoring 86.2 out of 100 in the evaluation of five primary areas relating to the company’s business practices: governance, workers, community, environment, and customers.

Why seek B Corp certification? “It was about formalizing parts of our business that have been in place for years but never written down and about measuring what matters,” said CEO Steve Kenny. “Certification gave us a framework and lens to view the business from a different perspective and moving through the process made us a better company—it allowed us to understand what was truly important and what we needed to focus on.”

One of the strongest areas in flaik’s bid for certification was how the company treats its staff. For example: staff get four to five weeks paid leave per year; the company pays 100 percent coverage of medical benefits and offers extended coverage in Canada; staff receive two weeks of paid professional development per year; and the company conducts regular pay equity analyses and has a policy that limits the highest to lowest pay ratio. 

Environmental efforts include policies to reduce the impact of travel, a lithium ion battery disposal/recycling program, and incorporating recycled materials in the hardware flaik produces and taking cradle-to-grave ownership of all its equipment.

For governance, flaik changed its legal structure last year to become a Colorado Public Benefit corporation to ensure that it’s legally required to consider all stakeholders (people, places, planet) alongside financial performance, and also incorporated social and environmental metrics into management performance reporting to ensure that it internally aligns with the voice flaik puts into the public. 

Speaking of its voice, Australian-born Kenny took the opportunity to share the news of flaik’s B Corp certification in a unique, tongue-in-cheek way, crafting a press release in Aussie slang—and it’s a fun read: 

flaik Goes 'Fair Dinkum' as a Certified B Corporation: Good Onya Mates, Yeah, Nah, Yeah!

G'day mates! In a move as unsurprising as finding a kangaroo on the bunny slopes, flaik has just carved its way into the exclusive circle of Certified B Corporations. That's right; we’re now officially as good for the world as a meat pie in your hands after a run down the mountain in a onesie spun from moonbeams!

"We're chuffed as a wombat on a fresh pow run, mate," says Steve Kenny, flaik’s CEO. “Becoming a B Corp was tougher than a two-dollar steak after sliding down an East Coast mogul field, and we've slalomed through with a bit of true blue grit to make sure that we’ve giving a fair shake of the sauce bottle to our mates and our mob."

"Our crew's spread wider than fresh powder on a bluebird day—from the sunburnt Aussie outback to the frosty peaks of the Canadian Rockies and right through to the high-altitude thrills of Colorado's mountains, we're all about carving our mark. Bagging B Corp status? It's like nailing the perfect line down a Colorado couloir; we're not just spinning yarns, we're making epic moves in the heart of the Rockies, mates!"

Fair Dinkum Business with a Side of Chuckles:

• Sustainability? Yeah, Nah, Yeah! We've turned green, but not with envy. We're giving a crap about the impact we have and leave on the planet and the values that we live every day. Crikey mates, it's the good stuff!
• Fair Shake of the Sauce Bottle: From fair wages to a work-life balance that's as harmonious as an après-ski singalong, we're all about keeping our team happier than a skier (yeah, nah, yeah, boarders too) on a powder day.
• As Transparent as a Clean Goggle Lens: We're laying it all out on the table, clearer than a bluebird day. No hidden moguls here, mates! We keep everyone in the loop because no one likes being the last to know, especially when it comes to how we're tackling the big issues, like ensuring every ski jacket is as green as the Jindy hills on a bad snow year (too soon?).

"Join us as we throw another shrimp on the barbie and toast to a brighter future," invites Steve Kenny, while waxing his skis against an Outback sunset. "Together, we're not just dreaming of a better world; we're carving it out one turn at a time, fair dinkum style!"

PS. Yeah, we chose a slightly humorous way to announce :) Just cause. We are stoked to be a B Corp, as it’s about public recognition of our values and the way we treat the people that we work with and the places that we play.

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