.png)
In the world of business, it has often been believed that you must make a choice between making money and doing good. However, this notion is just not true. You don't have to sacrifice your financial success to align your business with your values.You might be wondering how this could work for your business. That's where B Corps come into play. Let's delve deeper into what B Corps are and how they can benefit your company.
A Certified B Corporation is a for-profit business that voluntarily meets the highest standards for social and environmental performance. These standards are intentionally set at a high level to recognise leading companies. To obtain certification, a company must fulfil stringent requirements, including conducting a comprehensive assessment of its impacts as a business.
The assessment is run and verified by B Lab, a nonprofit organisation responsible for the B Corp certification. Additionally, companies must disclose any controversial operations to B Lab and commit to transparently and publicly disclosing their performance.Unlike traditional corporations that prioritise financial profitability, B Corps take a holistic approach by considering the triple bottom line (People, Planet and Profit), aiming to address social and environmental issues through the power of business.
B Corps are a relatively new concept, with the first companies receiving certification in 2007 (since then, the UK now has over 1200 B Corps). But, there's often confusion about what they truly represent. Here's the definition provided by B Lab, the nonprofit organisation behind B Corps:"Certified B Corporations are businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. B Corps are accelerating a global culture shift to redefine success in business and build a more inclusive and sustainable economy."An analogy commonly used is that B Corp Certification is to business what Fair Trade certification is to coffee or USDA Organic certification is to milk.In essence, B Corps are companies that undergo a rigorous certification process to enhance their social and environmental performance.
Unlike other businesses that perhaps claim to be socially responsible, B Corps are committed to using their business as a force for good. They willingly subject their practices to independent verification and make their results transparent. You can view the score of any B Corp on the B Corp directory. You can view Futureproof's B Corp page here.
Companies pursuing this certification complete the B Impact Assessment (BIA) and undergo a rigorous certification process. The BIA looks at five areas of your company; Governance, Workers, Community, Environment, and Customers. Throughout the assessment, you get asked what you do and don't do across the business. Policies, processes, training and you have in place across ESG (Environment, Social and Governance). You'll be asked to show evidence, give examples and talk through what you have in place to the B Lab auditors. Here's a quick overview of the 5 sections:
- Companies are evaluated based on the alignment of their governance structure with their mission.
- Transparency, accountability, and performance in financial, social, and environmental aspects are emphasised.
- Diverse board members, stakeholder engagement, and feedback mechanisms are encouraged.
- Employee wellbeing is a priority, including fair compensation, benefits, training, and ownership opportunities.
- Workplace health and safety commitments, flexibility for special needs, and open communication channels are valued.
- Businesses are assessed on their stewardship of the community.
- Engagement with local suppliers, support for diversity and inclusion, charitable donations, and community involvement are considered positive impacts.
- Companies should show efforts to reduce their environmental footprint.
- Actions include minimising greenhouse gas emissions, reducing waste, conserving water, optimising resource use, and designing reusable products.
- Environmental impacts are evaluated across facilities, materials, emissions, resource use, transportation, distribution, and supply chain.
- Core offerings of products and services should have a positive impact.
- Education, healthcare, or financial services support can benefit customers.
- Ethical marketing, data privacy and security, and customer support or feedback mechanisms are also important considerations.
Each of these questions and areas is assigned a point weighting. There are about 200-250 question depending on your business size, location and industry. To certify as a B Corp, you'll then need to achieve 80+ points (out of a possible 200). Once companies certified, they need to continue operating as a B Corp and then re-certify 3 years later. Within this timeframe the assessment often updates, which is why B Lab expect you to be continuing to improve all year around, not just at the 3 year mark.
The B Corp Certification process really digs into your company's impact on all stakeholders. By focusing on stakeholders rather than shareholders, B Corps acknowledge the need to take responsibility for their impacts while generating profits. They understand that it's not enough to prioritise financial gain while exploiting people and harming the environment. B Corps make a firm commitment to consider all these stakeholders, ensuring that the purpose of their business extends beyond mere profit-making. They strive to create positive social and environmental change through their operations.As with anything, the choice is always yours.
But from our viewpoint, being a B Corp means you have the opportunity to merge financial success with positive social and environmental impact. By becoming part of the B Corp movement, you can play a role in reshaping the definition of business success and contribute to building a more inclusive and sustainable economy.
For more information, download our Free B Corp Guide
Check out our article on The Benefits of Becoming a B Corp
If you're interested in learning more about B Corp certification, currently in the process or already certified and wanting to improve, find out how Futureproof can help by speaking to our team today. Together, we can create a more sustainable, equitable, and prosperous future for everyone.
.png)
.svg){kind=icon}
.jpg)
