What Being a B Corp Means To River Capital
River Capital is proud to have achieved our B Corp certification in 2016 reflecting our community focus and integrity in all that we do.
River spoke with the B Lab AANZ team to talk about what being a B Corp means for us and the approach we’ve taken to recertification.
Passing it forward: River Capital
River Capital is a boutique investment firm that wants to see its investors succeed, and the community too. Barry and Suzi Carp established the South Yarra-based firm in 1996. Today, whilst their team has expanded, they are still proudly independent, a model they explain ensures the firm is “free from the influence of other financial services groups”.
River Capital is no stranger to recertification. Originally certifying in 2016, they were early adopters of the B Corp movement in Australia. Their commitment to continuous improvement remains unwavering, in fact in this recertification the firm celebrated an increase in their B Impact Score.
“It was fantastic to see the improvement in a measurable way through our score, increasing from 80 to 94. We focused mainly on improving areas of governance, primarily through our dealing policies and ESG risk matrices. It is ethical for us to look after our investors’ data and ensure that we maintain high levels of respect for their privacy of information.”
— River Capital
Each year River Capital donate a portion of profits to local not-for-profits. They also commit to passing their knowledge forward by offering students from underrepresented groups the opportunity to bolster their studies with on-the-ground internship experiences.
“Since we first certified, we have extended our intern program with Melbourne University, a program focused on providing First in the Family degree candidates with intern opportunities. In 2024, we are working with a charity called Western Chances to place students from disadvantaged backgrounds within our intern program. Our team help select the local not-for-profit organisations that we contribute a proportion of profits to each year.”
“Additionally, we have also set higher ESG benchmarks since last certifying and see this as an important way to ensure our values align with our actions.”
“Across the next three years we want to increase the number of hours invested by our team in volunteering for not for profit organisations we are connected to. We are committed to finding ways to extend how inclusive our work environment is.”
— River Capital
Of course, we couldn’t complete our chat with River Capital without first asking these B Corp community veterans to share some words of wisdom for others embarking on the recertification process.
“We would advise any B Corps looking to recertify to work closely as a team and keep a good record of previous recertification documentation. It is very helpful to stay on track with a timeline for recertification and be consistent with efforts to meet these timelines. Don’t leave it too late!”
“It is also worth mentioning that the B Corp team can be an invaluable resource throughout the process so make sure to reach out to them.”
— River Capital
Click here to read the full B Lab AANZ article.
Click here to learn more about B Corp Certification.
