March is B Corp Month. We are taking a closer look at what that means to help celebrate the dozens of businesses in the Global Good community – winners, partners, and judges – that are B Corps.

Becoming a B Corp is no mean feat. Assessed across five categories – governance, workers, community, the environment, and customers – organisations must meet high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability to achieve certification.  Without any commitment or initial outlay, companies can gauge where they stand against the criteria or seek direction at any time by using the B Impact Assessment.

Profit, Purpose & People

B Corp-certified or not, balancing profit with purpose determines a company’s aspirations.

With purpose at the heart of an organisation, it will not just be taking shareholders into account but the other stakeholders in a business such as the workforce, the local community and the environment.

The shift in emphasis from purely profit-driven targets to purpose-led values is growing as more businesses recognise their responsibility and role in making the world more sustainable, inclusive and equitable. There is also the external expectation. With millennials occupying at least half of the workforce, they are the most socially conscious generation of workers yet. They prioritise company culture and social impact and the majority expect their employers to contribute to a social cause.

Customers are making more ethical choices too. B Corp certification empowers consumers with the knowledge that they are supporting truly environmentally responsible businesses, instilling brand loyalty and confidence with both employees and customers.

In the Global Good community, several have achieved B Corp impact scores of over 100 including:

• YOU Underwear, a finalist in 2020, is the highest scoring B Corp in the UK with 160.5. Read their story here.
• Seacourt, our event partners, have the highest impact score for a print company in the world with 124.3.
• Toast Ale, gold winner in 2018, has an impact score of 111.8 – they are the highest scoring UK brewery. Read about where they are now here.

Check out the details of all the B Corps in the Global Good community here (more are pending B Corps but not included here). Please let us know if we have accidentally missed anyone.

Delphis Eco is one of the Global Good Awards most awarded companies and has a B Corp impact score of 96.5.

In our recent supply chain webinar, GGA judge and founder and CEO of Delphis Eco, Mark Jankovich, spoke of the benefits of accreditation for businesses. He said: “It’s really important to have independent verification. B Corp certification is a phenomenally difficult thing to achieve and takes a ridiculous amount of time but, once you get there, it’s a kitemark worth having.”

But the effort is worth it.

Why Become a B Corp?

Talking to some of the B Corps within the global community reveals the motivation behind wishing business to be a force for good.

B Corps businesses must prove their sustainability credentials, but they are also setting a benchmark where being responsible for employees, suppliers and communities, and protecting the environment are equal to if not more important than profits alone.

Certification is good for business. It will strengthen identity, shape company culture, drive growth and reach new, like-minded audiences.

Learn more about how to become a B Corp here.