B Corp just raised the bar. The new standards are the biggest change in nearly 20 years. Every B Corp now has to meet minimum requirements across seven impact areas, checked by independent auditors.
That’s a challenge. It’s also a rare chance to step back and ask what the framework could do for your organisation, whether or not you certify.
This week, 5 stories make the business case:
🌿 Growth and resilience
🌿 Customer trust
🌿 Hiring talent
🌿 Purpose-led governance
🌿 Discounted finance
The FuturePlanet community will soon be convening a workshop in collaboration with Philosophy to explore this in more depth. If you are curious about the theme and how the BCorp framework could benefit your organisation. RSVP by reply, or:
Apply to join the FuturePlanet community here ⬇
B Corps are businesses certified for social and environmental performance, public transparency and legal accountability. In B Lab UK’s report, turnover at small and medium-sized B Corps grew 20% in one year, against 3% for all UK businesses of that size. Of B Corps certified before Covid-19, 93% remained active, against 84% of similar UK firms that never used B Lab’s impact assessment. But firms that used the assessment without certifying fared almost as well, at 88%. That fits B Lab UK’s aim of every business behaving like a B Corp, not becoming one. [Read more]
This four-country study of 648 European B Corps found sales rose for up to two years after certifying. Return on assets, profit relative to assets, dipped as firms invested to certify, but for just a year. So the gain outlasted the dip. The authors credit the gain to customer trust, and say it faded as the market absorbed the news, not because certification stopped working. They think most effort comes upfront, with renewals needing only upkeep, and advise treating certification as “a long-term strategic investment, not a short-term cost”. [Read more]
Cook, a frozen ready-meals brand, helped found the UK B Corp movement. Co-CEO Rosie Brown told The Observer that staff costs were rising, but the B Corp badge had made great employees and partners easier to find. The pull of purpose and autonomy at work helps give B Corps an edge in hiring scarce talent, said Hilary Cottam, author of The Work We Need. Brown also said B Corp has “given us resilience through those storms of Covid and inflation”. Through those storms, she said, Cook protected its people, its ingredients and its farmers, and B Corp gave the company clarity on what’s important. [Read more]
Certification as a B Corp helped energy supplier Good Energy build a more transparent, sustainable and purposeful business, the company said. That included a clear path to reduce gas’s share of its profits each year, with the goal of phasing out fossil gas by 2040. Once certified, it also had one year to legally embed its commitment to positive social and environmental impact alongside profitability, a change that needed a 75% shareholder vote. While it was a public company, its largest shareholder repeatedly blocked that vote, but under new ownership Good Energy made the commitment legally binding. [Read more]
A certified responsible business can build trust with customers, partners and employees, attract talent, demonstrate accountability and now cut finance costs. HSBC UK’s Business Impact Initiative offers eligible small and medium-sized B Corps up-front fee discounts on selected loan and trade products. It aims to help incentivise businesses that customers, employees and society increasingly expect to have a positive impact in their community and incorporate sustainability into their working practices. Rob King, head of sustainable finance and transition, called the discounts “a tangible pricing benefit that supports their growth”. [Discover here]
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