Tillamook County Creamery Association (TCCA) has recertified as a B Corporation, reinforcing the farmer-owned dairy co-op's dedication to its six Stewardship Commitments. 

TCCA was initially certified as a B Corp in 2020. Every three years, companies must go through a rigorous recertification process to maintain their B Corp certification, which measures a company's performance in five impact areas – governance, workers, customers, community and the environment. The recertification process includes responding to more than 250 questions involving significant data analysis and documentation.

For TCCA, recertification also included an extensive verification process, auditing visits to the TCCA production plant, offices, and Creamery facilities in Tillamook, and confidential employee and staff interviews.

A score of 80 or higher qualifies a business for B Corp certification. TCCA recertified with a score of 94.1, an increase of 7.5 points from the initial certification in 2020. The median score for the 50,000 businesses that have completed the assessment is 50.9. 

TCCA saw the most significant score increase in the environment category, driven by the co-op's Climate Action Plan, packaging goals, facilities and farm stewardship-related projects. TCCA also scored high in the employees category due to its generous pay, benefits, and learning and development programs.

"At TCCA, we are committed to making progress toward delivering on our stewardship commitments,” says Paul Snyder, TCCA executive vice president of stewardship. “Meeting the high standards set by B Corp validates our recent stewardship efforts and the work that our farmer-owners began over a century ago. This recertification is especially important as we continue to grow nationally and deepen our relationships with fans across the country."

Consumers have growing awareness of the B Corp label, helping to drive purchases. Among those who know about B Corp certification, about 67 percent say it makes them much more likely or somewhat more likely to buy the product, which is a 10-point increase since 2019, according to data from The Hartman Group. The B Corp seal is displayed on Tillamook products to show consumers that the product meets high social and environmental performance standards.

The B Corp community is growing exponentially. When TCCA was first certified, there were 3,600 certified companies. Now, there are more than 8,200 Certified B Corps in 162 industries and 96 countries around the world.