Do you genuinely believe that the reason your business exists is to use its profits to positively impact employees, communities, and the environment? That’s a huge ask for most companies. And if you can’t answer that question in the affirmative, the long road to B Corp certification really isn’t worth the pain.
And painful and long it is.
Becoming a B Corp is bloody hard!
Which is as it should be. When the movement says “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,” boy do they mean it. Becoming a B Corp is bloody hard. The standards of social and environmental commitments as well as governance and ethics of trading are far beyond any regulatory requirements. And the certification process to demonstrate these exist in the business is rigorous in the extreme.
All of which is saying that if you buy from, sell to, partner with, or apply to work for a BCorp, whether it’s Ben & Jerries, Body Shop or Beeswax Wrap Company, you know you are dealing with an exceptional business. A business that has had to demonstrate to its peers an extraordinary level not just of of integrity, ethics and social responsibility but also financial robustness.
So, what if you believe your business does exist to make a positive impact and not just money? Then, in our experience, the journey to becoming a BCorp hones and stress tests this belief beyond anything we could have foreseen. It makes you a better, clearer, more engaged business. A business full of people who know why they do what they do and are proud to do it. And it puts you in a community of like-minded business globally that inspire, support and love.
When we started our business several years ago, we wrote on our website ‘we believe that all businesses have a fundamental responsibility to protect and enhance the lives of the people who work for them, the societies we serve and the planet we share’. The process of becoming a BCorp has taught us the true meaning of those words. It’s been something of a humbling experience. And we’ve become a far better business; for our clients, our people and the societies we work within. What’s more, it’s a journey of learning and improvement we feel is only just beginning.
If you would like to know more about the BCorp movement you may be interested in this:
To find out more about how we became a BCorp you may like to read this:
So, now we’re a BCorp. Was it all worth it?
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