UnTours | World’s First B Corp

During the late 1990s, UnTours & UnTours Foundation Founder, Hal Taussig, got connected with the individuals who went on to become the co-founders of B Lab. According to B Lab Co-Founder Jay Coen Gilbert, “Hal said some of the most challenging, provocative, and aspirational things to me that really inspired the B Corp movement to get off a piece of paper and into the real world.” Now, at every Champions Retreat, B Lab U.S. & Canada presents the Hal Taussig Award to an individual who most embodies the highest aspirations of the B Corp movement. First given in 2011, the award has been given to a number of exceptional individuals who carry on the vibrant, tenacious, and loving spirit of Hal by leading their respective B Corps to new heights of impact and radical kindness. Prior to the award presentation this year in Vancouver, we linked up with the team at All Purpose (a Canadian B Corp creative agency) to speak with nine of the previous Hal Taussig Award winners, who brilliantly shared about what receiving the award meant to them, what they admire about Hal, and what message they have for the B Corp community. Across these conversations, a few common themes rang clear. Many former award winners spoke about the importance of recognizing our fundamental oneness and interrelatedness as a cornerstone for the work of practicing business for good. And almost all of the former winners also brought up the importance of finding one’s purpose, leading with kindness, and living one’s values — things that Hal modeled so well. The previous winners of the Hal Taussig Award (and their respective B Corps at the time) are: 2024: Carolina Miranda (Cultivating Capital) 2022: Yvon & Melinda Chouinard (Patagonia) 2020: Dr. Tiffany Jana (TMI Consulting) 2019: Diana Marie Lee (she/they) (Sweet Livity LLC) 2018: Ted Castle (Rhino Foods, Inc.) 2017: Shainoor Khoja & Karim Khoja (Roshan (TELECOM DEVELOPMENT COMPANY AFGHANISTAN)) 2016: Kevin Trapani (The Redwoods Group) 2015: Daniel Almagor & Berry Liberman (Small Giants Academy) 2014: Bryan Welch (Ogden Publications) 2013: Roberta MacDonald (Cabot Creamery Cooperative) 2012: Mandy [Amanda] Cabot (Dansko) 2011: Fred Keller (Cascade Engineering)

Our Founder, Hal, established UnTours back in the early 1970s as a "slow travel" company designed to provide enriching, earth-connected travel experiences for travelers and locals alike that reconnect people to each other and to the Earth. And as is it turned out, he was onto something. Before terms like "social entrepreneur" or "impact investor" became mainstream, Hal was already living these ideals. During the late 1990s, Hal got connected with the individuals who went on to become the co-founders of B Lab. According to B Lab Co-Founder, Jay Coen Gilbert, “Hal said some of the most challenging, provocative, and aspirational things to me that really inspired the B Corp movement to get off a piece of paper and into the real world.” Now, at every B Lab U.S. & Canada Champions Retreat, the Hal Taussig Award honors the individual who most embodies the highest aspirations of the B Corp movement. First given in 2011, the award has been given to 12 exceptional individuals who carry on the vibrant, tenacious, and loving spirit of Hal by leading their respective B Corps to new heights of impact and radical kindness. In this B The Change article, we celebrate Hal and these incredible leaders who inspire us to live our values and use business as a force for good in the world.

Our Director of Impact at the UnTours Foundation, Sarah Payne, MBA, had the honor of presenting the Hal Taussig Award last week at the 2024 B Corp Champions Retreat in Vancouver with Jorge Fontanez of B Lab U.S. & Canada! Named after our dear founder, Hal, who inspired and challenged the creators of the B Corp movement decades ago, B Lab has given this award ever since 2011 to recognize an individual who exemplifies the highest ideals of the B Corp movement. This year the award went to Carolina Miranda of Cultivating Capital. In her way of being, Carolina carries on the humble, curious, and world-changing spirit of Hal. Congratulations, Carolina, and thank you to B Lab for the opportunity to share about this award with the rest of the B Corp community! And a special shout-out to Karen Lickteig for coordinating with us on this and being an amazing partner to work with! Carolina now joins a group of other inspiring leaders in the B Corp community who have been recognized for their work as Hal Taussig Award winners: 2022: Yvon & Melinda Chouinard (Patagonia) 2020: Dr. Tiffany Jana (TMI Consulting) 2019: Diana Marie Lee (she/they) (Sweet Livity LLC) 2018: Ted Castle (Rhino Foods, Inc.) 2017: Shainoor Khoja & Karim Khoja (Roshan (TELECOM DEVELOPMENT COMPANY AFGHANISTAN)) 2016: Kevin Trapani (The Redwoods Group) 2015: Daniel Almagor & Berry Liberman (Small Giants Academy) 2014: Bryan Welch (Ogden Publications) 2013: Roberta MacDonald (Cabot Creamery Cooperative) 2012: Mandy [Amanda] Cabot (Dansko) 2011: Fred Keller (Cascade Engineering)

The story of B Corp began when three business leaders named Jay Coen Gilbert, Bart Houlahan, and Andrew Kassoy set out to create a new type of business that could have impact woven into its corporate DNA. During this time, the soon-to-be B Lab co-founders spent months traveling across the country interviewing government, business, and other leaders to develop the standards for what a great business should be. And after learning about UnTours' business model, were inspired by our founder, Hal Taussig's practice of giving all of UnTours’ profits to the UnTours Foundation, as well as his simple lifestyle and commitment to using business as a force for good. Ultimately, B Lab would go on to model much of the B Corp framework on the example of UnTours, and UnTours was the first company to ever go through B Lab’s rigorous certification process to become the world’s very 1st Certified B Corp!

As the world's very 1st Certified B Corp, UnTours (owned by the UnTours Foundation) has always believed in the power of using travel as a force for good. This B Corp Month, we're so proud to be part of the B Tourism community and to work alongside other leaders in the industry that are creating a better future for tourism!

We're incredibly proud to be founding members of the B Corporation movement! 💚 When it’s done right, business can truly be a force for good, and that’s something we’ve always believed in. In this post, we share the story of how our late founder, Hal Taussig, inspired the B Corp movement and how we subsequently became the first-ever business to hold the B Lab certification. Do you love connecting with incredible places and cultures on your travels while knowing you're making a positive impact on people and the planet? If so, help us spread the word about UnTours by sharing this post and checking out the many other B Corporations who can guarantee your travels or purchases have a positive impact on both people and the planet.

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