As B Corp month closes ...

To me, B Corp is an important movement simply because it demonstrates, encourages, and supports another way of doing business that’s better on so many levels than a purely profit driven business model. The #BCorp approach focuses more holistically by looking at five pillars 1) governance, (2) workers, (3) community, (4) environment and (5) customers, and it creates a fairer environment for business to act as a force for good. This is a better way for the world.

They say hindsight is a great thing, and looking back, I appreciate that I have always believed strongly that business has a responsibility to be a force for good. I’ve almost always stood on the side of believing that there was a better way to do business whilst also making things more equal, enjoyable, kinder and easier. And whilst I haven’t always worked for and with, GOOD businesses, I do know for sure, that when I did work for businesses and individuals whose values echoed mine, then I thrived, and they benefitted because I threw myself fully behind them to deliver the results they needed. So, the concept of working with, for, and on behalf of businesses that mirror your values is sound and it’s also why for me, and for many others, B Corp is a fantastic way to align with other likeminded people, businesses and brands.

A business goal and ambition

In discovering B Corp, way back in 2017 when the amazing @Anna Guyer mentioned B Corp (https://bcorporation.uk/about-b-lab-uk/b-lab-uk/our-standards)  to me, I was immediately engaged and achieving B Corp accreditation became a North Star for me and a key business objective. Although my ambition to achieve this, in amongst all the other mayhem of running and SME agency business, wasn’t supported by the entire team at the time, I know it would be quite different today, given the significant growth of the B Corp movement, thanks in part to growing numbers and the annual B Corp month of March. And that’s progress right?

A growing movement

To date, there are over 2300 accredited companies in the UK. London is home to the largest B Corp community, with Bristol, Manchester, Brighton, and Bath following in order. The Southwest B Corp Community boasts a significant share of the total (see here https://www.raconteur.net/infographics/b-corporations-across-the-uk ) which isn’t at all surprising having engaged with many of them through fantastic events like B Changemakers, Cornwall Chamber of Commerce, Blue Earth Summit, and Good fest. Southwest B Corp leaders are very often spearheading the innovation, thinking, action and investment in new ways of doing business.

When my former agency, Siren Comms, achieved accreditation in 2022, it was having begun the process in 2018 but then being side swiped by COVID, delaying our progress significantly. At that time, we were one of just a thousand companies in the UK that had accredited.  To see such significant numbers accredited in the last couple of years, shows the increasing appetite for B Corp and proves its influence is gathering pace.

However you look at it, the  B Corp movement is growing rapidly, and whilst it will be interesting to see the impact of the new standards on the numbers maintaining after re-accreditation, and the numbers setting out on their accreditation journeys in the coming months, I’m confident that with growing consumer awareness, the desire from people to work for ‘good’ businesses will maintain its steady march.

A better way to do business

The purpose of B Corp is to champion another way to do business, especially for new, young and SME businesses who are amongst those most inclined to accredit.  Looking back on my first business startup phase, I can really understand the appeal of B Corp today - a readymade framework to operate, measure, improve and grow your business, with the added benefit of accessing a receptive community of likeminded people who want to support, share and offer their experience and knowledge.  Alongside this there is the interest and expectation from investors, talent, and customers to engage with business that are doing good in the world. What’s not to like really?  If B Corp had been more visible to me twenty-five years ago when I started out, then much of my early learning about business ownership might have been much easier.

Evidence for change is undeniable

Despite the volatility of the current economic outlook, it remains incumbent on business to double down and find new ways of working.  We all see the daily reports of energy and supply chain risk, of mother nature screaming that we need to stop poisoning and polluting the very planet that sustains us. There is unequivocal evidence that change is needed.  As business leaders and decision makers, we have an opportunity to make change and work towards creating a better, fairer, and kinder way of doing business.  

I’m going again

Having achieved accreditation m at Siren Comms, I am committed again to accrediting as @Force4GoodConsultancy. B Corp is a stamp that I believe in and want to promote, despite the much leaner company I now run.

There are exciting benefits to beginning the accreditation process for businesses of all shapes and sizes. See B Changemakers | Short Courses - University of Plymouth; I can attest to the value of such courses. Other business leaders that were part of the same cohort as me were drawn from a broad range of sectors and service industries: a printing company, a manufacturer of recycled plastic sunglasses, a platform for crowdfunding to support ideas for societal change, a family run jam-making brand and a locally focused firm of accountants.  All were passionate, engaged, and ready to make change because they wanted to be part of creating a better community of businesses to help lift the floor in Cornwall, to protect the environment, and to contribute as they’re able to address the challenges we face.

What’s involved - BIA is a business hero tool

To my mind, the hero tool of B Corp is the BIA (Business Impact Assessment). This is central to the accreditation process and used as a blueprint to set up, run and develop your business. It takes time to understand but the BIA but the framework is gold dust. It will always be much easier for a smaller business or start up to embed the values, processes, and behaviours of B Corp into their business than it will be for a larger business, which faces bigger challenges to retro fit new systems and values, but whilst it’s harder it’s not impossible!

·        The BIA scores your position across the five pillars of business operation. With a potential two hundred points available, to accredit, a business must score at least eighty points.

·        When you submit your BIA for assessment, there is a paper review which flags queries and requests evidence to support your score.  This part lasts for around one month.

·        Following this there is a live, online interview with an assessor.  As part of the interview, you are asked about your specific answers and to provide evidence of your approach. There is no hiding. You are grilled in a friendly way and expected to easily prove that your policy, position of way of acting, is a living and breathing part of your day-to-day business operations.

·        If they are happy all is as it should be, you accredit.

In truth of course, having achieved accreditation, its only now that the work is just beginning 😊 

What’s next

·        The accreditation period lasts three years.  You are expected to re-accredit at that point.

·        During the three-year period, its encouraged - expected really - that you report annually on your progress to ensure that the standards set are maintained and possibly improved upon each year. Accountability and public transparency of your commitments are underlying expectations of B Corp.

·        The principal of continual improvement sits central to B Corp and your business impact can be measured and tracked using the BIA. 

Top four reasons to join the B Corp movement

For me, the B Corp approach to doing business is a robust and sustainable way to operate and grow. It celebrates best practice, encourages innovation and responsibility beyond shareholder values. I recommend looking at B Corp for all businesses – it offers a great framework to structure, create, operate, assess, and grow. Here are my top four reasons to join:

1.      The Community – is vibrant, energetic, likeminded, and incredibly collaborative. In Cornwall in particular there is little air of competition, instead the community is focused on supporting each other to be better, sharing ways to improve with the shared aim to lift the floor to the betterment of all.

2.      The Accreditation Process – is an opportunity for authentic collaboration within a business. The framework provides a brilliant blueprint which - once you get your head around it – makes great sense and creates opportunity for discussion, debate, and consensus. It unites your internal team around is something that’s of recognisable benefit to all.

3.      The BIA – the best free tool out there – access the BIA panel and dashboard and take a look.

4.      Accountability and measurement – I’ve been fighting to prove my worth and the worth of what I do for business for ever. The encouragement to measure to be the best you can be is a great bi product of what B Corp delivers. We are by nature competitive, and this objective, rational well-designed method of measurement and evaluation of your impact on the world is a valuable output of B Corp.

A good place to start

Like most things in life B Corp, isn’t perfect. There are a great many accreditations out there, and B Corp is just one. Like all things it has its doubters, people who don’t think the B Corp assessment and scoring is strict enough, nor as good as it could be. The purists say it’s not as robust as it should be, that businesses are accrediting for the wrong reasons, that standards aren’t high enough, or that businesses that shouldn’t allowed to begin the process are promoting B Corp. But it’s better than anything else I’ve seen. It encourages better and has a strong code of ethics and is accessible my most people.

In answer to some of the concerns, this April, new standards are coming that will see a higher base level and make it harder to attain the valued mark. We wait to see how these new standards will be transitioned in.

A step towards better

The decision to step away from the more institutional and linear focus on profit and shareholder value only, takes bravery in this difficult economic environment. But as more businesses accredit with B Corp and embrace and embed the B Corp way of business, the better it is for us all.

I really hope by this time next year; I too will be accredited again with my new business. Once again a fully-fledged member of the vibrant, entrepreneurial movement that is focused on better things for more people, and on protecting this precious planet and enriching the communities we belong to.

Happy B Corp Month to all.