A to B Corp. The latest on our journey.
Let’s start with an apology. It’s been 18 months since our last B Corp update. A lot of positives have happened in that time, which we’ll come on to, but in the interim we moved our London hub to a new space, which put a brief pause on our application.
While a bit of a curveball and one step back, as it delayed our original ambition to be fully accredited in 2022, we also took two steps forward. We were able to re-count our latest submission and end up with a higher overall B Impact Assessment score than before.
What this blip reminded us of, however, is how necessarily rigorous the B Corporation process is. In a world of increasing greenwashing, bluewashing and every colour of dis-and-misinformation in between, the requirement to prove our commitment to working to the highest social and environmental standards, is absolutely right.
We are building the next generation of agencies, where personal fulfillment goes beyond the work. We believe and can prove that the work we do and the people we work with delivers a meaningful and positive impact for people and planet. Ultimately, we use our growth as a means to a greater end. For example, and in no particular order, since our first B Impact Assessment, we have:
- Built a partnership with a local mentoring charity to raise funds and awareness, and create work experience opportunities for young people from under-resourced areas
- Raised internal awareness for a number of dimensions of diversity such as faith/non faith, Black History Month, working caregivers, IWD, Pride, intersectionality, neurodiversity and Mental Health Week
- Given 1% of our profits to charitable causes
- Launched National Women’s Enterprise Week through pro-bono work
- Refined our net zero carbon roadmap in line with scientific targets
- Increased financial planning for teammates through increasing our pension-matching cap
- Partnered with the Rainforest Trust UK
- Conducted our annual gender pay review and closed gaps
- Created salary range transparency
- Driving a learning culture, ensuring that each teammate has dedicated hours per month for personal development
- Created a quarterly, company-wide respite day focused on physical and mental wellbeing (and supported by our brilliant clients!)
- Held bi-annual wellbeing teammate retreats
- Continuing to offer two-days paid time for volunteering for each teammate
We’re also part of the Mayor’s Business Climate Challenge for the second year and sit on The Fitzrovia Partnership’s Sustainability Forum, where we recently gave a talk to local businesses about our own journey to becoming a B Corp. We were joined by James Ghaffri – Director of Growth & Product, B Corp UK – who gave a charmingly bruising assessment of the current sustainability situation. In short, the last three years have sharpened and intensified the climate crisis and businesses need to act now, more than ever.
If any more proof was needed about the urgency to accelerate positive impact (our mission, as it happens), I write this update just one week after the world had its hottest day – and month – ever recorded.
“This record is no surprise and a testament of climate change progressing at a worrying pace,” said Joeri Rogelj, a professor of climate science at Imperial College London’s Grantham Institute.
As the next step of our assessment takes shape, we will drive forward our initiatives, actions and real-world proof points, striving to strengthen our mission and continue to develop a business that we can all be proud of being part of.
This has been a longer road than we anticipated, but at the same time, it has made us more aware and more fulfilled by what our business is doing to accelerate positive impact. If any of our clients or partners are considering B Corp status, we’d wholeheartedly encourage that, cheer you on and support any way we can.
