Why B Corp is a home run
What are the benefits of becoming a B Corp? Crikey, there are just so many! Where do we start? Okay let’s start with these six gooduns.
- Recruitment: B Corps attract the best talent and have better staff retention
- Competitive edge: Empirical data shows that B Corps are making more money than non-B Corps in their industry. As well, B Corps proved more resilient through the pandemic.
- Brand loyalty: More customers want sustainable brands and are voting with their wallets
- Access to capital: Investors are now demanding businesses they give money to have transparency on their ESG
- Cost savings: By scrutinising their operations, B Corps have found innovative ways to significantly cut costs
- Legislation-proof: Have you noticed the raft of new ESG legislation that’s been passed all over the world? Becoming a B Corp means you’re not going to be left behind.
But don’t take our word for it, here are some real world examples of how it pays to become a B Corp business…
Nespresso CEO says its B Corp certification is helping it attract talent
“The main benefit of being a B Corp—and I didn’t expect it—is from the inside,” Nespresso CEO Guillaume Le Cunff says in a recent interview. “We brought 14,000 people across the world along in our journey. You will see it in the signature of people. To attract talent, this is part of the conversation. Any young talent interested in Nespresso, will browse and will see the B Corp label.”
https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/nespresso-ceo-says-b-corp-051714242.html
Smallhold CEO says becoming a B Corp allowed them to quantify their positive impact and explain it to the public
“We barely changed anything about Smallhold to become a B Corp,” says Andrew Carter, CEO and Co-Founder of Smallhold, an organic mushroom farming business. “We were doing all of these things already. Paying living wage, energy efficiency, circularity, sustainability, it is in the DNA of what we do, it always has been. The B Corp process has allowed us to quantify it, explain it to the public, and find ways to improve in the years to come.
“Becoming a certified B Corporation is an ongoing journey. We’re continuously working to hold ourselves accountable, which means there’s a constant need of evaluation, adaptation and collaboration— and it’s a path worth pursuing.”
https://www.forbes.com/sites/christophermarquis/2023/07/12/the-future-of-fungi-smallhold-sets-new-standards-for-farming-with-b-corp-certification/
The Body Shop asked a group of Gen Zers to critique the company – and it improved the business
The Body Shop came up with an innovative way to integrate Gen Zers into the decision-making at the company by creating a youth board of advisors. This falls in line with the B Impact Assessment’s focus on engaging with all the stakeholders in a business.
Realising that while it was encouraging global leaders to embrace young voices, the British multinational beauty retailer was not actually doing this themselves. So The Body Shop addressed this gap by creating a secondary board (or as the brand calls it, a Youth Collective) to advise its leadership team. But on this one, no over 30s are allowed to join.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/body-shop-asked-group-gen-092415743.html
Embracing The B Corp Journey
The process of becoming a B Corp certified business makes the people who run a business, and who work for a business, pause for a moment to step back and take stock. It encourages people to ask themselves questions like, ‘why do we do what we do?’ ‘What kind of impact is our business having in the world – both positive and negative?’ ‘How do we increase the positive impact we’re having?’
It is a ‘rigorous but achievable’ process. This is one of our favourite phrases at Grow Good – ‘rigorous but achievable’. It’s become our mantra. Because the journey to becoming B Corp certified is not meant to be easy. It is meant to spark discussion, debate and reflection. It is meant to stretch you. It’s meant to get you asking questions about what you do; why you do it and how you’re doing it. Mainly though, it’s meant to get you thinking about how you can genuinely drive more positive impact in the world. And it’s meant to turn you into a better, more prosperous business.
Would you like help with that?
Here at Grow Good, we exist to coach people through the process of becoming B Corp certified.
The B Corp Impact Assessment framework is free to access and provides dozens of useful insights and opportunities for any business but it can be confusing and overwhelming.
We are consultants who have completed the official training provided by B Lab, the organisation that runs the B Corp certification programme. We live, breathe and sleep B Corp. We are your B Corp buddies. We make it easier. We translate the questions into plain English and give you a host of template policies and example documents so you don’t have to start everything from scratch or reinvent the wheel. We show you how to unlock the big point scoring areas most relevant to your business.
Are you ready to go B Corp? It’s completely your decision but if you are, and if you think it would be helpful to have a guiding hand through the process, we’re here to help. Drop us a line or jump straight in and book a free 30 min discovery call with me.
Yours in purpose,
Ngā manaakitanga,
Tamara
Are you Ready to B Better?
Ready to take the plunge towards becoming a B Corp business? Let the Grow Good team guide you through the process either through 1:1 coaching or group coaching on one of our regular cohort programmes for micro businesses. Book a 30-min discovery call with Tamara here.
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