Prologue
This story begins with a small organisation and a bold ambition: to harness business in the UK as a force for good.
Led by forward-thinking optimists across a range of business sectors, our heroes are the ever-growing community of Certified B Corporations in the UK, taking their place within a global movement advocating for economic systems change.
In addition to their commitment to achieving the highest standards of social and environmental performance, their stories are of response and resilience – of meeting the challenges of the climate and ecological emergency, racial injustice and the most disruptive and dangerous pandemic for generations.
Meet the heroes of our story, the B Corp community
What is a B Corp?
Certified B Corporations (B Corps for short) are businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency and legal accountability.
How do you certify as a B Corp?
Impact management:
B Corps measure, manage and report their impact across the whole business using the B Impact Assessment. Businesses must score 80 points or more to certify.
Mission Lock:
B Corps consider the impact of their decisions on all stakeholders, not just shareholders. They commit to this by amending their Articles of Association.
Click here to visit the B Impact Assessment
How do B Corps measure impact?
Governance
The Governance Impact Area evaluates a company's overall mission, ethics, accountability and transparency. This includes an assessment of corporate boards and governing bodies, codes of ethics, financial metrics, as well as corporate forms and amendments that consider stakeholders regardless of company ownership.
Environment
The Environment Impact Area evaluates the company's overall environmental stewardship, including how the company identifies and manages general environmental impacts. This includes its management of air and climate issues, water sustainability, and impacts on land and life.
Customers
The Customers Impact Area evaluates the company's value to their direct customers and the consumers of their products or services. Companies are recognised for their contributions to education, infrastructure, underserved communities, society and the environment, health and wellness and more.
Workers
The Workers Impact Area evaluates the company's contribution to its employees' financial, physical, professional, and social wellbeing. Companies are assessed based on financial security for their workers; the health, wellness and safety of their employees; employee satisfaction; workforce development efforts and available career growth opportunities.
Community
The Community Impact Area evaluates the company's positive impact on the external communities in which the company operates. Companies are assessed based on local and national economic impact, poverty elimination, diversity, equity, inclusion and justice, charitable contributions and more.
In the face of these threats and upheavals, it is clearer than ever that we cannot return to business as usual.
To bring about real and lasting change we must create an inclusive, equitable and regenerative economic system that works for all.
B Corps are the building blocks of this new system, creating a solid foundation of positive impact and proving that the model of stakeholder governance works for all of us.
Now the legal responsibility of all businesses should be to protect all stakeholders – workers, customers, suppliers, community and the environment – and not just shareholders.
As B Lab UK advocates for legislative change to make this happen, we want to celebrate and thank our B Corps in the UK. These companies – their leaders and employees – have powered our story of growth as we enter the next chapter of turning ambition into possibilities.
The B Corp community meets in Amsterdam for the 2019 B Corp Summit
What is B Lab?
B Lab is a network of nonprofits transforming the global economy to benefit all people, communities and the planet. A leader in economic systems change, our global network creates standards, policies and tools for business, and we certify companies – known as B Corps – who are leading the way.
Hello, from B Lab UK!