In 1994, Dan Turner, the founder of TCG, graduated without a clear career path. Driven more by necessity than ambition, he bid on and won his first very small contract. This sparked a chain of projects that would ultimately define his career and business. With each success, TCG deepened its commitment to quality and reliability. Today, the company has grown into a $50 million enterprise with a foundation built on purpose, social responsibility, and adaptability—values that naturally align with its B Corp certification journey, though not without unique challenges as a government contractor.
A transformative family experience twelve years ago reshaped Turner’s commitment to employee support and well-being. When his premature twins were in the NICU, he was struck by the importance of work-life balance and his own privilege to prioritize his family. This realization inspired Turner to study “Best Places to Work” organizations, leading to a two-year initiative that introduced a new employee benefit every month. The effort paid off, landing TCG on those very lists. TCG became a Maryland state Public Benefit Corporation (PBC) and, in 2019, after a two-year effort, achieved B Corp certification. Each step revealed deeper layers of purpose in their work.
While B Corp certification affirmed many practices TCG already valued, it also introduced new challenges. As the team learned, B Corp standards sometimes emphasized metric-meeting in unexpected ways. Yet, as Turner reflects, “While the process has quirks, it’s a framework that pushes us to continuously better ourselves.”
Central to TCG’s alignment with B Corp principles is its dedication to people and purpose. The company actively shares these principles with its team through a dedicated B Corp information page and various initiatives designed to foster sustainability and accountability. By hosting events and dialogues around B Corp values, TCG translates its commitment to social responsibility into tangible actions, fostering an environment where employees feel connected to a mission beyond profit.
TCG also took deliberate steps to instill B Corp values within its culture. They launched an internal B Corp information hub, hosted Nathan Stuck of Profitable Purpose Consulting, the organizer of the BLD Southeast Conference, at their Annual All Hands meeting, and encouraged employees to engage with TCG’s B Corp commitments. Although clients are not directly influenced by TCG’s certification, it has significantly enhanced recruitment, particularly among mission-driven younger generations.
As TCG approaches its next recertification, the company is focused on setting meaningful goals within the B Corp framework. “In our field, it’s hard to set goals because we don’t have traditional consumer-facing impacts,” explains TCG’s Deb Buchanan, who manages TCG’s B Corp certification. TCG hopes B lab will work to support government contractors at a federal level, similar to ISO, CMMI, and other certifications that market specifically to the government in order to encourage uptake by companies that serve it. TCG’s advice to other B-curious and recertifying B Corp certificates is to treat the process as a checklist, regularly reviewing unmet criteria and tracking process.
Despite these challenges, TCG remains steadfast in its mission to work with government agencies to create meaningful change in world. From handling public FCC comments stemming from John Oliver’s piece on net neutrality to supporting the Office of Government Ethics, TCG’s projects are deeply rooted in integrity and trust. “We have the privilege of working with the government,” Turner emphasizes, underscoring the sense of duty that comes with their work.
TCG sees a clear mission as it goes into the future: to uphold its core values of integrity and purpose, reinforced by the B Corp framework. The path has not been without obstacles, but for TCG, the B Corp journey has reinforced what it means to make a difference beyond profit.