Announcing our B Corp™ Certification
Back when Josh and I started Inardua we knew from Day 1 we wanted to launch a business that was run in an ethical manner, with a positive impact on our customers, employees, environment, and the local community. Even going back to our very first blog post, we talked about our intent in becoming a certified B Corp™.
And here we are 2 years later delighted to announce that we’ve been successful in those efforts!
It’s been massively rewarding using the B Corp™ Assessment framework as a guide for how to structure and manage our business, and it’s something we’d encourage all organisations – large and small alike – to consider.
So, what are B Corps™, why did we want to become one, and how do you go about doing the same?
Put simply, B Corp’s™ are companies that have been verified as having high standards of environmental and social performance, transparency, and accountability.
From micro-businesses to enterprise-level corporations, we have a responsibility to function as a Force For Good. There are over 4,700 B Corps™ around the world, across 155 industries in 78 countries, with 394,000 workers – representing a global community that recognizes that the world’s most challenging problems cannot be solved by governments and nonprofits alone.
Each of those B Corps™ has signed up to a Declaration of Interdependence which summarises the visions and goals of the B Corps™ movement:
The UK alone has a rapidly growing community of B Corps™, with over 600 organisations with 39,700 (now 39,708!) workers represented across 55 industries. The movement is broad, global and important – and that’s why we’re so proud to be a part of it.
You can discover the great organisations that are already B Corp™ Certified here, and it provides a great way for both you as an individual, and your business as a whole, to make ethically responsible purchasing decisions.
Why did we want to become one?
Put simply, we wanted the business to have a wider purpose than simply profit.
It’s becoming clearer and clearer that we need the planet to limit global warming to (at least) 1.5 degrees compared to pre-industrial levels if we’re to avoid a catastrophic impact on future generations and our natural world.
In addition, recent events have highlighted the extent to which structural racism and sexism still exist even with our core institutions. We want to promote a workplace with equal opportunities regardless of sex, race, or age.
As a small business we can play a small part in a large movement to demonstrate that positive change is possible and beneficial for all.
An awareness of issues we face in the world around us prompted an interest in wanting a business that was run in an ethical manner, but the practical positives which can be gained by being a Certified B Corp™ were what got us interested in specifically going down this route.
These are summarised on the B Corp™ site and give a feel for the potential tangible impacts being a B Corp™ can make available:
We haven’t even mentioned the fact that B Corps™ have on average:
Faster growth in turnover
Greater levels of employee retention, engagement and diversity
Higher levels of innovation
How do you do it?
We won’t lie, it takes time, commitment, and a willingness to genuinely incorporate environmental and social performance, transparency, and accountability within your business.
That said, although the assessment is thorough, B Labs™ provide a great framework from which to work from and help guide you through the entire process bit-by-bit.
Your first port-of-call should be B Corps™ own easy 5 step guide to how to become a B Corp.
We used the B Impact Assessment tool as a best-practice framework from which to help set up the governance, processes and benefits our company had in place when setting up – we’d honestly say going through the process has helped us in becoming a better run company!
So, what next?
It certainly isn’t a case of now we’re certified we’re done and dusted. We will always be looking to improve how our business runs, and in particular how it can make a positive impact on society and the environment.
We want to continue offering our employees time and support for their professional development, and to continue in our Pledge 1% commitment. We will be looking for ways for the business to become carbon neutral as we grow, and to ensure that we have the same friendly and helpful relationships with our customers as we engage in more projects.
We want our team to always be an active part in feeding back how we can help them, and how we can continue to make a positive impact in the above areas and beyond. It’s a team effort and we’re delighted to have been joined by such a friendly bunch at the same time we become B Corp™ certified.
If you’d ever like to discuss how we became a B Corp™, how we can help your organisation use Salesforce, or how a B Corp™ certification could help your business we’re always available for a chat!
Best wishes
Rowan
