Our Benefit Company Status 

At our core, we care about people: the people who make our work possible, the clients we collaborate with, and the communities we're part of. As a Benefit Company, we're legally required to consider how our decisions affect our workers, customers, suppliers, community, and the environment. It's a way to stay accountable to our values and be transparent about our impact.

About This Report

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CTRS Market Intelligence is a benefit company incorporated under the British Columbia Business Corporations Act. This report covers our fiscal year from October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026, and is prepared and published in accordance with Division 1.1 of the BCBCA. It provides an assessment of our performance in conducting business in a responsible and sustainable manner and in promoting public benefits, as set out in our articles of incorporation.

 

This report has been approved by the directors of CTRS Market Intelligence and is signed by the undersigned director to evidence that approval.

Our Benefit Provision

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Our articles of incorporation state: "This company is a benefit company and, as such, has purposes that include conducting its business in a responsible and sustainable manner and promoting one or more public benefits."

 

We pursue this commitment through four areas of practice: fair and transparent employment, community investment through in-kind and pro bono work, mentorship and capacity building, and inclusive economic participation.

Third-Party Standard

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We assess our performance using the B Impact Assessment, developed by B Lab. The B Impact Assessment is a comprehensive framework that evaluates a company's performance across five areas: governance, workers, community, environment, and customers.

 

CTRS was previously a Certified B Corporation and completed the full B Impact Assessment as part of that certification process, scoring 99.3 out of 200. We subsequently re-took the assessment and scored approximately 120. We chose not to renew our certification in 2024 after raising concerns with B Lab about the certification of multi-level marketing companies and divisions of multinational corporations whose broader practices we felt were inconsistent with the spirit of the program. When those concerns were not addressed to our satisfaction, we concluded that continued certification did not reflect our values.

 

We continue to use the B Impact Assessment framework as our third-party standard due to our deep familiarity with its methodology and its status as the most comprehensive publicly available standard for evaluating responsible business practices. Our objection was to the certifying body's governance decisions, not to the quality of the assessment tool itself. Based on our current operations and commitments, we estimate that we would continue to score well above the 80-point certification threshold.

 

We selected this standard because of our direct experience with it and because it covers the full breadth of our operations, not just environmental or social dimensions in isolation.

How We Demonstrated Our Commitments in FY26

Fair and Transparent Employment

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CTRS remained a Certified Living Wage Employer through FY26 and is fully compliant with the Living Wage BC standard. In practice, we go well beyond it. Our lowest-paid team member earns $52 per hour, nearly 80% above the current living wage of just under $29 per hour.

We set our rates this way on purpose. The living wage calculation assumes full-time work, but many of the people on our contract-based team work part time so they can balance other priorities, such as caring for children, older family members, or their own health. Our rates are designed to provide a genuine living wage for people working part-time hours.

 

Every team member also receives a 5% cost of living increase at the start of each fiscal year, applied across the board, so our rates keep pace with rising expenses. We maintain a pay transparency policy and operate with a stakeholder primacy model that balances the interests of the people who work with us, our clients, the community, and our shareholders rather than prioritizing shareholder returns alone.

Community Investment: In-Kind and Pro Bono Work

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We have committed at least 5% of our annual work to pro bono engagements since becoming a benefit company, and maintained that commitment in FY26. Non-profit and community clients receive a discounted rate of 25% or more, and some of our "low bono" clients receive significantly deeper discounts. In every case, we record the difference as an in-kind contribution.

For non-profits and community organizations, an in-kind contribution is worth more than a discount. Our in-kind contribution letters document the value of the support we provide. 

 

Organizations can use them to:

• Meet matching or cost-share requirements, which many funders accept in-kind contributions toward.

• Show community support in grant applications.

• Stretch limited budgets further.

 

A discount helps once. A documented contribution can help an organization unlock additional funding.

 

In FY26, organizations that benefited from our pro bono, volunteer, and in-kind work included:

• American Biochar Institute

• Construction Foundation of BC

• Food Banks BC

• Hupacasath First Nation

• Insights Career Network

• International Biochar Initiative

• New Ventures BC

• Open Door Group (Untapped Workplace Inclusion Awards)

 

Much of our pro bono work also happens informally throughout the year. In FY26 we provided pro bono advisory support to at least four businesses, with engagements ranging from 8 to 50 hours, covering business strategy, pricing, growth, and channel partnerships. We also reviewed surveys and strategic plans for partner organizations at no cost and served as a volunteer judge for the New Ventures BC technology competition. In June 2026, CTRS President Aaron Cruikshank joined the Board of Directors of Food Banks BC.

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Mentorship and Capacity Building

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Aaron taught Market Research for Product Development (DMED 540) at the Centre for Digital Media in Vancouver in the Spring 2026 term, the course's second offering, contributing to workforce development in the technology and digital media sectors. He continues to serve on the Centre for Digital Media's Program Advisory Committee, helping to shape curriculum and program direction.

 

Aaron served as a mentor in the Canadian Queer Chamber of Commerce's OUT for Business mentorship program for the 2025-2026 cohort, and joined Mosaic Accelerator as a mentor in September 2026.

 

He also gave guest lectures in post-secondary classrooms and spoke at events supporting non-profit communities, including:

• A co-presentation with Sherese Johnson at the Vancouver Island Economic Alliance's 2025 State of the Island Economic Summit, on the AI-supported formative assessment tool we developed for the Campbell River Business Growth Track program.

• Workshops on navigating the hidden job market for the Insights Career Network and the Construction Foundation of BC.

• Several presentations for the Insights Career Network.

• Sessions for CQCC supplier diversity members on pitching to large buyers and building B2B partnerships.

• A presentation at BCcampus's 2025 Digital Learning Strategy Forum.

 

Aaron offered one-on-one career guidance to emerging researchers and analysts navigating a difficult job market. CTRS also served as the client partner for an SFU Beedie MBA student consulting project.

Inclusive Economic Participation

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CTRS remains a certified LGBT+ Business Enterprise through the CQCC and a designated supplier diversity partner. In FY26 we teamed with another CQCC-certified supplier, Blueboxfish Research & Strategy, on a joint bid, putting supplier diversity into practice in how we build project teams.

 

In April 2026, our President was re-appointed by BC's Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction to the Presidents Group, an advisory body that works to improve employment conditions for individuals with disabilities or other barriers to employment. He also served on the selection committee for the 2026 Untapped Workplace Inclusion Awards, which recognize BC employers and individuals advancing inclusive employment.

 

Our client work this year also supported Indigenous and BIPOC-led economic development, including a childcare feasibility study for Hupacasath First Nation and market validation for a new BIPOC publishing imprint at Medicine Wheel Publishing. These commitments reflect our belief that market intelligence as a discipline should be practiced by, and accessible to, a diverse range of people and organizations.

Circumstances That Hindered Our Commitments

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Our decision not to renew B Corp certification means we no longer carry an external verification of our performance against the B Impact Assessment. While we stand behind that decision and continue to self-assess against the framework, we acknowledge that the absence of third-party verification reduces external accountability. We remain open to alternative formal verification processes should a suitable option emerge.

 

As a small firm, the reach of our pro bono work is limited by our own capacity. To amplify it, we are building a network of like-minded firms committed to doing pro bono work in their own communities, which we plan to launch in FY27.

 

Kwantlen Polytechnic University paused its School of Business program advisory committees during FY26, so our President's advisory role there was inactive this year.

Assessment Summary

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B Impact Assessment Areas:

1. Governance

2. Workers

3. Community

4. Environment

5. Customers

 

Self-Assessed Status:

1. Governance: Strong. Benefit company structure, stakeholder primacy model, transparent operations.

2. Workers: Strong. Living Wage certification maintained, minimum rates nearly 80% above the living wage, an annual 5% cost of living increase for all team members, and pay transparency.

3. Community: Strong. 5%+ pro bono commitment maintained, pro bono, volunteer, and in-kind contributions to eight organizations, pro bono advisory support for at least four businesses, board service with Food Banks BC, and active mentorship through CQCC and Mosaic Accelerator.

4. Environment: Moderate. As a professional services consultancy, our direct environmental footprint is limited. We do not maintain a formal environmental policy or carbon offset program.

5. Customers: Strong. Long-term client relationships across public, private, and non-profit sectors with an emphasis on accessible, actionable market intelligence.

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Based on this self-assessment against the B Impact Assessment framework, we estimate our current score at approximately 120 out of 200, which exceeds the 80-point threshold for B Corp certification.

Director Approval

This benefit report was approved by the directors of CTRS Market Intelligence on October 12, 2026.

 

/s/ Aaron Cruikshank

 

President and Director, CTRS Market Intelligence