What an Idaho Optics Start-Up Saw in Becoming Part of a Triple Bottom Line Community

Meet Erica Buyalos, Founder and CEO of Blue Planet Optics (BPO), the one-stop shop for sustainable contact lens products. BPO is a certified Benefit Corporation for Good.

When you become part of a community whose values align with yours, you reap many benefits. You can get advice from other conscientious leaders about challenges in your advice. You can learn from the trials and tribulations they faced. And you can be supported by a community that wants you to succeed in creating meaningful change in the world.

And that’s just what entrepreneur Erica Buyalos saw when she and her company became a certified Benefit Corporation for Good. Gaining access to other successful triple bottom line companies was a critical part of her mission in growing a social impact business such as Blue Planet Optics.

Recently, we interviewed Erica about becoming a certified Benefit Corporation for Good. Here’s what she had to say about it, the motivation for doing it and why it was right for her business and its mission.

1.  What motivated you to become a triple bottom line company?

Connecting with other entrepreneurs in the social impact space has been a crucial building block for Blue Planet Optics. I love learning from others and following along with their journeys. Plus, I knew I needed a lot of guidance to build a company that makes a profound impact. That’s where following the lead of other triple-bottom-line companies became my autobiographical template. I stumbled across Benefit Corporations for Good because I had been following a few companies that focused on sustainability and decided to certify through BCFG.

2.  Was it difficult getting internal support for moving toward this model?

No! Everyone was on board and liked the idea of certification and accountability through BCFG.

3. How long did it take you to officially become a triple-bottom-line company?

About one month.

4. Have you seen any change in culture since you became a triple bottom line company?

Not necessarily. However, it did change our prioritization of specific tasks. We moved up some priorities in the assessment areas we scored lower on. For example, there were certain areas that we needed to be more transparent in/provide more information on, and we quickly added those to our website.

5. Have you experienced any positive outcomes since becoming a triple bottom line company?

Yes! Our audience is just as happy to see certification as we are. After all, it’s one thing to declare the impact you’re making; it’s another to follow the guidelines of those who’ve excelled at it before you.

6. Would you recommend this business model to others? Why or why not?

Absolutely. Reaching for the triple bottom line will stretch your creativity and make you even prouder of what you’re putting out into the world.

7. What is the most important trait to have as a conscientious leader of a triple bottom line company?

It is so hard to pick just one characteristic. However, I would say I deeply admire just that, conscientious leaders. Leaders who are present when you’re in the room with them. Leaders who cheer on their employees' milestones, goals, and general well-being. Leaders who are your friend.

8. What lessons have you learned in the process?

Don’t try to do everything at once. Run things through the lens of your big-picture goals and piecemeal the changes you want to make. You’ll save money and emotional energy that way, especially if you’re trying to make an impact in a market that’s not seen it before.

9. Is being a triple bottom line company part of your current brand message?

Absolutely. Our brand is focused on bringing sustainability to an industry that hasn’t seen much of it before - the eyecare industry. Because of this, our brand has always centered around environmental impact, which is part of the triple bottom line. However, we haven’t always done our due diligence in the other areas. We’re working on improvement in these areas next and will naturally build that into our brand message.

10. What is the single best reason you'd give for another company or peer to become a triple bottom line company?

Mentorship! The best way to learn and improve is to be inspired by those around you. Build your guidebook by joining a community that naturally rubs off on you and that you can also give back to.

You can learn more about Blue Planet Optics here.

You read more about why other business leaders chose to become a certified benefit corporation here.

And you can discover the 6 simple steps to becoming a certified benefit corporation here.

~benefitcorporationsforgood.com~