After 55 years, Harris Farm Markets is a certified B Corp.
What that means
The B stands for benefit - for people and the planet, not just shareholders. To earn it, a business is independently assessed on how it treats its workers, community and the environment, and how it governs the decisions that impact all of us. You can't award it to yourself. It's checked and verified by a not-for-profit called B Lab.
It also means we've joined something bigger. There are more than 10,000 B Corps around the world, employing over a million people, all working toward the same idea: that a business should be good for more than its bottom line.
How we got here
Earning it took work. But it didn't change who we are. We've been doing things this way since 1971, when David and Cathy Harris opened the first store and put the family name over the door. B Corp gives us a framework to keep improving, to bring "For the Greater Goodness" to life in a way that's checked, verified and accountable.
Here's a bit of what helped us get here....
Our growers
We build relationships with farmers that are built to last generations. We buy whole crops straight from growers and stand by them through tough seasons, not just good ones. Our buyers are at the markets before sunrise, so produce moves from farm to shelf within hours. Because Australian farmers need partners who'll see them through the bad seasons as much as the good.
Good food shouldn't go to waste
When nature delivers a glut, we drop the price rather than keep the difference. Our Imperfect Picks range sells wonky and bumpy fruit and veg for less instead of turning it away, because it tastes just as good. Since 2014, that's saved more than 54 million kilos of good food from going to waste.
Moving early on what matters
- With family values driving decisions, we've been able to act before it was required
- Removed plastic bags from our registers before the law required it
- Moved to cage-free eggs before it became industry standard
- Removed artificial colours and flavours from our shelves
- Last year we supported more than 140+ local schools, charities and community groups
Our people
We try to be a great place to work. A lot of our team have been here 20 years or more, plenty started on the shop floor and now help run the place. For some families, more than one generation has worked with us. We also work hard to give a fair go to people who are often passed over, hiring through programs like Job support, Aboriginal Employment Services and Dragonfly.
What comes next
None of this was for a badge. We did it because it's a good way to run a food business and because good food and doing good have always gone together here.
We're not claiming we have everything right. We're all a little imperfect. B Corp standards set a high bar across the board, from how we look after our people to our impact on the climate, and you can't trade a strong area off against a weak one. We'll be reassessed in 2029, and we've committed to keep improving. It's a great tool to inspire the team and keep us honest.
That's what "For the Greater Goodness" has always meant for us. Not a slogan just the way a family business tries to do things well.
Thanks for being part of it.
