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(Courtesy Lawson’s Finest Liquids)
March marks the start of B Corp Month, and the team at Lawson’s Finest Liquids are celebrating their certification as one of only 18 B Corp breweries in the US, which is a very big deal.
So what does it mean to be a B Corp anyway?
To Lawson’s Finest, co-founders Sean and Karen Lawson, it means operating their business as a force for good. The Waitsfield, Vermont brewery was certified in 2023 according to the rigorous standards set by B Lab, the non-profit behind the whole B Corp certification process.
But Lawson’s has always been the “purpose-driven” company they are today. Beginning as a home-based 1-barrel nanobrewery in 2008, Lawson’s Finest expanded production capacity in 2011 and 2014, growing its reach across nine states in the Northeast.
In 2018, Lawson’s Finest opened its popular destination Brewery, Taproom and Retail Store in central Vermont’s Mad River Valley town of Waitsfield, which we can’t recommend highly enough. When it’s about the freshest beer in a scenic location, Lawson’s Finest owns it.
(Karen and Sean Lawson: Courtesy Lawson’s Finest Liquids)
“Since our inception, we’ve been focused not only on making the finest possible beer, but on making a positive impact,” said Karen Lawson, co-owner of Lawson’s Finest Liquids. “Now that we’ve achieved B Corp Certification, we’re more motivated than ever to continue to make a difference.”
Many craft breweries tout their relationship with their community, but Lawson’s commitment is a on whole different scale.
One of the ways Lawson’s Finest Liquids contributes to the community is through its Social Impact Program, which it lovingly refers to as the SIP.
Since 2018, the SIP has donated over $2 million to local, worthwhile causes and community-building efforts, supporting over 300 nonprofit organizations committed to advancing healthy communities, food and economic security, natural resource protection, sustainable recreation, and diversity, equity and inclusion.
Sustainability is also at the forefront of the brewery’s initiatives.
(Courtesy Lawson’s Finest Liquids)
Multiple on-campus solar installations, including the largest solar canopy in Vermont, are located at the brewery’s Waitsfield campus, offsetting 100% of the electricity used by the brewery and taproom.
Lawson’s Finest also provides electric vehicle charging stations to the community, monitors and reduces resource use, including water, electricity and propane, and partners with local waste management companies to recycle brewery plastic wrap, grain bags and can metal.
They pull out-of-code beer from shelves to be processed in an Anaerobic Digester to recover energy and nutrients from organic byproducts for reuse. The Lawson’s Finest team also diverts food scraps and spent grain waste through a local partnership with Gaylord Farm in Waitsfield who utilizes all of this material for animal feed.
With 80 employees, Lawson’s Finest Liquids also offers its team time to recharge. New employee benefits in 2024 include the “Sipbatical, a month off of work with a $1,000 stipend, available to team members after five years of service.”
And in March Lawson’s Finest Liquids is celebrating its inclusion in the global community of B Corps that meet and surpass its high standards of social and environmental impact.
“We’re in business to do good, and doing good business allows us to amplify the amount of good we do,” said Adeline Druart, Lawson’s Finest’s CEO. “B Corp Month allows us to reflect on the progress we’re making and recommit to improvement.”
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