Becoming a Certified B Corporation™ is a major milestone for Compass Furnished Apartments, but for us, the certification is about more than adding a new logo to our website. It also represents how we believe a business should operate.
For more than 25 years, Compass has worked to create a better furnished housing experience while supporting the people and communities around us. Becoming a Certified B Corporation gave us an opportunity to measure those efforts against rigorous standards and identify where we could keep improving.
Compass earned a verified B Impact Score of 93, exceeding the minimum score of 80 required for B Corp Certification, but a score only tells part of the story. What matters most is what those commitments look like in practice. At Compass, much of that work comes back to three areas: caring for people and communities, reducing our environmental impact, and creating a guest experience built around comfort and care.
Putting People and Communities First
Furnished housing serves people during periods of transition. Sometimes that means an employee relocating for a new position, sometimes it means a consultant arriving for a months-long project, and sometimes, it means a family suddenly traveling hundreds or thousands of miles for medical care.
Through Compass Cares, we support individuals and families who need housing during some of those difficult periods. Compass provides discounted and complimentary furnished accommodations for patients and caregivers traveling for medical treatment, recovery, and specialized care. Over the years, this program has provided thousands of discounted and complimentary nights to families who need to stay close to hospitals and treatment centers.
The goal is to give families one less thing to worry about, so instead of spending an extended medical stay in a hotel room, families have access to a furnished apartment where they have space to rest, prepare meals, do laundry, and spend time together.
One family who stayed with Compass while their daughter underwent hospitalization, surgery, and recovery described their apartment as a “safe and peaceful place” during an incredibly difficult period. They told us that having a fully equipped home allowed their family to stay together and focus on their daughter’s health. Those experiences are a major part of why Compass Cares exists.
Our community commitment also extends beyond housing, and as a member of Pledge 1%, Compass dedicates resources to nonprofit organizations and community initiatives as part of our broader commitment to giving back.
Making Furnished Housing More Sustainable
Hospitality has an environmental footprint, and we believe acknowledging that impact is an important part of operating responsibly.
Our approach to sustainability focuses on continuous improvement across the products, suppliers, processes, and everyday decisions involved in creating and operating furnished apartments. One part of that work is looking closely at what goes inside our homes.
Compass intentionally looks for suppliers whose products and business practices align with our environmental and social values, and that includes working with companies like Vybe Interior, which produces locally handmade wall art using sustainable materials while paying its employees and artists a living wage.
We also consider how the furnished apartment itself supports different everyday habits. A fully equipped kitchen gives guests the option to prepare their own meals rather than relying exclusively on restaurant meals and takeout, and reusable household items give guests what they need for daily life without treating an extended stay like a series of hotel nights.
Behind the scenes, we continue looking for ways to improve our processes and reduce our environmental footprint. We do not view sustainability as a finished project, and we know that it requires measuring where we are, learning where we have room to improve, and making better choices over time.
Creating a Better Experience for Every Guest
Social and environmental responsibility matter, and so does the experience of the people who choose to stay with us. Customer stewardship is one of the areas considered within the B Corp framework, and it connects closely with something Compass has focused on for decades: providing housing where people feel comfortable, supported, and at home.
That starts with the apartment itself, and Compass’ furnished apartments are designed for real daily living, with kitchens, living spaces, furnishings, household essentials, and other amenities that help guests settle into a new city or temporary home.
But hospitality goes beyond providing a well-equipped apartment, and our team also supports our guests throughout their stay. When questions or problems arise, people need to know someone is there to help.
That commitment is backed by our Comfort Guarantee, which states that if a guest is not satisfied within the first three days of their stay, our team will work to remedy the issue, find an alternative, or provide a full refund.
Guest feedback helps us understand whether we are delivering on that promise, and our reviews frequently mention the cleanliness of our apartments, responsiveness of our team, and personal support guests receive before and during their stays. Those details matter because temporary housing often coincides with a major change in someone’s life, whether it’s a new job, a relocation, a long-term work assignment, medical treatment, or a home renovation.
Whatever brings someone to Compass, our goal is to make the housing part of the experience easier.
Why B Corp Certification Matters to Us
B Corp Certification from B Lab looks beyond a company’s products or financial performance and evaluates them across areas including governance, workers, community, environment, and customers. Companies must meet defined standards for social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency.
For Compass, earning a verified B Impact Score of 93 gave us an independent way to assess work that has been part of our company for years, and it also gave us a framework for what comes next.
Becoming a B Corp does not mean a company has reached the end of its sustainability or social impact work, instead, the certification encourages businesses to keep measuring, improving, and holding themselves accountable.
We are proud of what we’ve accomplished so far, from helping families stay together during medical treatment to supporting nonprofit organizations, working with responsible suppliers, and improving the furnished housing experience, but we are also looking ahead.
There will always be more opportunities to support our communities, improve our environmental practices, strengthen the guest experience, and operate our business more responsibly. For Compass, being a B Corp means committing to that work for the long term, because furnished housing is what we provide, but how we provide it matters just as much.
About The Author
Lauren
Lauren, a passionate marketing professional from Vancouver, Canada, has an insatiable love for travel. Whether it’s camping off the grid in a secluded forest or enjoying the bustling streets of Manhattan, New York, she embraces every adventure with enthusiasm.