Sustainability: How to make a difference
We recently had the pleasure of welcoming our VP of the Benelux region, Eric Dragt, to our UK office for a team catch up, as well as a session on B Corp and sustainability. Eric’s own agency, En Serio, achieved B Corp status in 2023, and so he led an insightful session for our UK team about what it means to be a B Corporation, and how to achieve this prestigious certification.
What is B Corp?
There’s no planet B, and consumers and companies are becoming increasingly more aware of how we treat our planet and the people on it. With the intention of holding businesses to a higher standard, B Lab – known for certifying B Corporations – started its journey in 2006. It set out to create a set of standards that can be met by corporations, to positively change business behaviours to help address societal challenges. Eighteen years later, B Corp is held in high esteem for consumers and businesses all over the globe due to its exceptional socioeconomic standards.
The Big 5
To achieve B Corp status, B Lab assesses a company’s impact across five areas: governance, workers, community, environment, and customers. Each of the five impact areas assesses a different societal or environmental effect the business has on the surrounding community. To achieve B Corp status, a company must consider and have a positive impact in all five areas.
Governance: B Lab assesses a company’s overall mission and engagement around its social and environmental impact, ethics, and transparency. In this area the company must prove continuous improvement for high-quality social and environmental business standards.
Workers: B Lab measures a company’s contribution to its employees’ financial security, health and safety, wellness, career development, engagement, and satisfaction. B Lab considers what skills training and development companies can offer to support those who may face barriers to work. B Lab also considers whether your business model is designed to benefit your employees.
Community: The impact businesses have on local communities is also considered for a B Corporation certification. B Lab focuses on a company’s engagement and impact on the communities in which it operates. Businesses must prove they have positively impacted the community around them, with businesses that help specific community-oriented pain points favoured highly.
Environment: B Lab also considers a company’s environmental management practices and its impact on the air, climate, water, land, and biodiversity. This isn’t just limited to the business itself but includes the environmental impact of the supply chains and other distribution channels used by the company too.
Customers: In this impact area, B Lab considers the quality of a business products and services, how ethically it markets products, its data privacy policy, and its feedback channels.
How to Become B Corp Certified
Becoming B Corp certified can bring about a myriad of business benefits including excellent brand building, becoming more attractive to customers, and increased investment opportunities. However, gaining this accreditation isn’t easy. There is a three-step process companies must go through to become certified: a self-assessment, meeting legal accountability requirements, and signing the Declaration of Interdependence.
Self-assessment: The self-assessment evaluates how your company interacts with your workers, customers, community, and environment. The self-assessment is then verified by the B Lab team, who meticulously analyse and verify the claims made during the assessment. Evidence and supporting documentation may be required by the B Lab team.
Legal accountability requirement: Businesses must show that most of their revenue is made through trading, that the business is within a competitive marketplace, and it isn’t operating as a public body or charity. Businesses will also need to provide documentation stating success is for the benefit of shareholders, employees, and suppliers. Businesses must also commit to making a positive impact on society and the environment.
Signing the declaration: B Corp’s declaration states that businesses “Must be the change they seek in the world”, and the last step in becoming B Corp certified, is signing this declaration. After receiving accreditation, B Lab reassesses B Corp statuses every three years, and companies must maintain high standards during this time to keep their status.
We’d like to thank Eric for talking us through his experience of becoming B Corp certified and the changes his team have already made to achieve this, and we are looking forward to working to implement more sustainable strategies across our regions.
Being sustainable is important to us. If it’s important to you too, get in touch today to find out how we can support your PR journey.
