California Accounting Firm Launches Sensiba Center for Sustainability

The northern California accounting and business consulting firm Sensiba San Filippo LLP has launched the Sensiba Center for Sustainability. The newly branded effort brings greater clarity to the firm’s Impact Consulting practice and is devoted to helping companies establish and implement strategic plans for positively impacting social and environmental change in their local communities and globally.

The Sensiba Center for Sustainability, the first of its kind in California, provides a full spectrum of services to advise companies at every phase of the transition to a purpose-driven business model. From businesses just beginning to explore the concept of adopting a formal sustainability program to those that have already decided to undertake B Corp certification or Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) compliance reporting, SSF’s expert advisors take a highly personalized approach intended to turn every client’s vision for a more sustainable company into a reality.

“Companies that hope to be thriving 10 years from now have by and large accepted that incorporating sustainability into their business models in a serious and thoughtful way is no longer optional. However, knowing how to get started – and even where you’d like to end up – is far from obvious,” said Managing Partner John Sensiba. “After Sensiba San Filippo went through the B Corp process ourselves, we quickly began to see the many benefits this shift in our business model had on our employees and company culture, client relationships, and communities. We’re excited to work with our existing clients and new companies that are ready to begin or significantly enhance their sustainability programs.”

SSF, which became a Certified B Corp in 2018, is the only B Corp accounting and consulting firm in California and one of just seven such firms in the United States.

The Sensiba Center for Sustainability’s suite of services include:

Program Development & Brand Voice: SSF helps clients establish a sustainability vision; create a framework for transitioning to a new business model; engage employees and other stakeholders in the process; manage environmental, social, and governance risks; and adapt the brand’s voice and communications approach to reflect its enhanced mission and purpose.

Certifications & Compliance Reports: SSF guides clients through every step of the B Corp certification process and serves as a liaison with the certifying body B Lab, and guides clients through the process of preparing SASB reporting in the initial year and beyond.

Assessments & Measurement: SSF works with clients to obtain a comprehensive and collaborative look at the sustainability of their current operations via tools such as Carbon Footprint Assessment, Commercial Property Performance Feasibility Study, the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals, and more.

Ahead of the launch of the Sensiba Center for Sustainability, the firm surveyed more than 350 Northern California businesses about their approach to sustainability. The resulting report, the Sustainability in Business 2020 Report, revealed that:

80% of respondents said sustainability is extremely relevant to their company, and 95% think related initiatives are important.
The top three reasons respondents believe sustainability initiatives are important are that they’re good for the community, they reflect a company’s values and mission, and they impact future generations.
68% of respondents reported their companies have a defined sustainability strategy.
67% indicated it is very important to partner with other businesses that focus on sustainability.
Retaining and attracting employees is the strongest driving force behind sustainability initiatives at respondents’ companies, followed closely by appealing to customers.

As one respondent remarked, “Sustainability initiatives are viable and important to all businesses because it means that your company is thinking towards the future. To sustain long-term goals for a business, it’s imperative that your company not only incorporate efforts to compete with other businesses, but to think of future goals that make a positive impact on our society as a whole.”

To learn more about the Sensiba Center for Sustainability, visit https://ssfllp.com/sustainability. The Sustainability in Business 2020 Report can be downloaded free of charge here.