B Corp – the beginning…
Welcome to the first post in what will be a series documenting our journey to B Corp. As we embark on this path, we want to share our experiences, challenges, and learnings with you, in the hope we can encourage others to join us – we realise the process is the important thing with B Corp. Whether you’re another business leader, a potential employee, or simply interested in sustainable business practices, we hope this series will inspire and inform you.
What is a B Corp?
B Corporations, or B Corps, are for-profit companies that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and accountability. The goal is to give balance to profit, people and the planet, using business as a force for good. B Corps are certified by B Lab, a nonprofit organisation that rigorously evaluates companies against a comprehensive and fairly scary set of standards.
Why B Corp certification matters
This is not greenwashing. That would be too easy.
This is:
Social and environmental impact: B Corp certification requires companies to make a positive impact on society and the environment. This means actively working to improve social equity, environmental sustainability, and community wellbeing.
Transparency: B Corps commit to being transparent with their stakeholders, providing insights into their practices, performance, and impact. This builds trust. We have been making the mistake of not talking enough about what we do because we thought it would be mistaken for marketing.
Accountability: B Corps must meet high standards of accountability, ensuring that they consider the interests of all stakeholders, not just shareholders. This includes employees, customers, suppliers, community, and the environment. This feels right.
Worker advantage: Employees/recruits are increasingly favouring companies with strong ethical practices. B Corp certification can attract the most engaged and thoughtful talent. And it’s not just the gen Z people. We like diversity in thinking in BidCraft.
Continuous improvement: The certification process encourages ongoing improvement. Companies are motivated to set and achieve new goals, fostering innovation and growth. We love this one because one of our values is to stay curious. Going through the process is more important to us – even if we don’t get to B Corp we will have made change to get there.
Our commitment to becoming a B Corp
BidCraft was set up because Jon knew there must be a better way – a better way of bidding for the people doing it and the results achieved. It feels like a natural extension for us to pursue B Corp certification because it aligns with what we believe is right and our long-term vision. B Corp is a movement for companies that make change.
So we commit to the process, because the process makes companies do better.
The cunning plan
Here’s what you can expect from our journey
Transparency: We’ll share every step of the process, from initial research to final certification, including our successes and setbacks. There will be setbacks…we’ll get things wrong…but we’ll get there.
Engagement: We’ll involve our crew, clients, and partners in the journey, fostering a culture of sustainability and shared responsibility. We hope to work with specialists who can help us, starting with the amazingly bright and enthusiastic students at Bath University’s School of Management.
Impact: We’ll focus on making tangible improvements in our social and environmental practices, setting ambitious goals and measuring our progress. This will be a challenge for a remote-first consulting company, but we know we can do more. We welcome ideas and will share what we learn.
We’re genuinely excited to take this journey and invite you to join in. Whoever you are, we hope you find this story useful in some way. Cheer us on. Join us.