Our impact above all
Les Affûtés (the Montreal project that created Sharpen) has emerged as a response to programmed obsolescence and the culture of the quick-bought-quick-thrown.
It is fundamental to change our ways of doing things, as we now know, and we think we can make our contribution here, helping everyone to become more autonomous and thus more capable of making and repairing their objects.
Everything we have done since our beginnings, from the activities we give to the materials we use, from the recovery of wood from the city to the reuse of our sawdust, is aimed at respecting this philosophy of well done, patient, sustainable and resource-efficient.
What is a B Corp?
Certified B Corporations, B Corps in short, are companies that use their structure as a force for good.
In particular, the B Corps are committed to:
- Meet the highest standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability to all their stakeholders.
- Use the power of business to solve the world’s most pressing problems.
- Unlike traditional companies, B Corps are legally required to consider the impact of their decisions on all stakeholders: customers, workers, communities and the environment.
There are currently more than 3,000 B Corps members in 150 industries and 60 countries around the world.
Why be a B Corp?
For us, being a B Corp means proclaiming many things:
- That we want to try, at our level, to set an example, to inspire others to use the economy to have a positive impact.
- That we want to keep improving, by exchanging with others like us, and by putting our certification back on the line every 3 years.
- That we want to guarantee to our users that they also act at their level when they use our services, and that we keep our commitments.
Here are some of the actions that have enabled us to become a B Corp
Sharing knowledge
The heart of our mission is to give everyone the autonomy and pride to do by themselves, to make, repair, get involved, instead of consuming.
Minimising our waste
Wood dust reused in chicken coops, solid wood reused as firewood, scraps of plywood reused in creation, we go to great lengths to achieve a record level of waste savings.
Repairing rather than throwing away
We’re lucky enough to have the tools and skills, so we fix whatever we can…and we teach others how to do it!
Helping those in need
The rates for everything we do are meant to be affordable, but we especially lower our prices when we can help a public structure or one that helps people in difficulty.
Paying fair wages
The impact on others starts with the impact on oneself. We pay fair wages (starting at 60% above the minimum wage), and pay 50% above average for our teachers.
Sharing information and decisions
Everything is shared and discussed together here: financial figures, wage policy, investments, future strategy, etc..
Our B Corp score
We are B Corp certified, and by a wide margin: you have to reach a score of 80 on the B Corp evaluation, and we got 96!
We stand out in particular for our actions in these fields:
- environment (29.6 points)
- workers (21.5 points)
- community (19.1 points)
The full evaluation is available here.
