1. How long did it take to become a B Corp from start to finish?
Timescales are subject to both the existing structure and practices within your business, as well as the resources you have available, and, how quickly you can respond to any questions from B-Corp. There’s a good set of indicative timelines on the B-Corp website.
In our case, our ISO certifications and processes gave us a strong platform for our application. The B Impact Assessment is detailed and wide-ranging and delves into every corner of an organisation. It took us approximately 18 months from start to finish.
Take-away tip: assess which of the above business practices you can integrate into your business before commencing the certification process.
2. What are the assessment criteria?
B-Corp’s key assessment criteria are based around five pillars which you can read more about in our dedicated B Corp page and are explained in more detail in our pillar-focused blogs:
1. Workers
2. Governance
3. Community
4. Customers
5. Environment
These pillars collectively evaluate the business’s social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency.
3. How long did the assessment take to be approved?
The assessment process can also vary in time but it typically takes several months to work through the stages required. Work starts on the B Impact Assessment, and there’s an initial evaluation stage where B-Lab UK checks company structure and eligibility for certification, and this avoids delays further in the process. The aim at this stage is to achieve a score of 80 or more in the Assessment, as chances are points may be deducted at verification stage.
The next stage is the verification queue, whereby supporting documentation for the B Impact Assessment is uploaded. And then finally, the verification stage itself starts, where an organisation’s impact is independently assessed and verified by an analyst at B-Lab Global. It’s a 2-way process, and the analyst is really helpful. For example we were asked to supply additional evidence in certain sections, and our analyst guided us on the legal aspects of our application.
If your score drops to between 75 & 80 points during verification you are given an additional ‘improvement’ phase to get the score back up. If your score drops to less than 75, the verification process halts and you return to work on the assessment criteria and re-submit this when you are ready.
Take away tip: aim for more than 80 points before your initial assessment, as some will be chipped down in the review process.
4. How often do you have to set goals for improvement?
Whilst there are actually no specific mandated improvement goals, B Corps are committed to continual advancement in their social and environmental performance as part of their ongoing commitment to positive impact.
As a very proud certified B-Corp, we’ve set our own internal short, medium, and long-term goals to give us a structured approach to continual improvement in our business performance.
5. How often are you assessed?
B Corp certification is re-assessed every three years and they check to make sure that we continue to meet the required standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency.
We are in awe of what Anglian Print has achieved – not only are they the first printer to certify as a B Corp, but they are also the highest-scoring B Corp as a printer, we will certainly be looking to see what they have implemented and achieved to help guide us.
6. What does being certified mean to the business?
I think there’s a perception that B-Corp is all about the environment, and whilst sustainability is a key part of the certification, it’s so much more. Put simply, being a B Corp underlines our commitment to using business as a force for good. It shows that we making a positive impact from an environmental perspective, on the well-being of our team, and the ethical way in which we work with our suppliers. From a formal perspective, it demonstrates that we continue to meet high standards of verified social performance, public transparency, and legal accountability.
7. What other values does being a B Corp bring?
Being a B-Corp means that we can show what it truly means to be a responsible business in our local community and that means a lot to us. We can support fair economies, and work within our industry and networks to champion the values of the B-Corp movement.
8. Do you work with other B Corps?
Collaboration with other B Corps is one of the benefits of becoming certified, as the platform facilitates the networking of like-minded businesses dedicated to using their collective power to drive positive change called the B Hive – an online platform where B Corps can connect and collaborate.
Before becoming a B Corp we worked with the Big Issue Foundation and we have recently had our first ever B Corp to B Corp job come in from gogeta. We connected over the B Hive and we are able to offer our services and insight to help deliver their printed materials at a competitive price.
“We needed to distribute flyers and posters to gogeta’s retail and nursery partners to promote our workplace benefits and reached out to the B Corp community to help. EDWPS responded really quickly with a competitive quote and the team was incredibly helpful. They handled the job from start to finish and we’re really happy with the results. Looking forward to working together again!”
Claire Hawksley
Head of Communications
gogeta benefits
9. Do your suppliers have to be B Corps?
The B Corp movement is still at a relatively early stage in our industry and whilst we’re very proud to be certified, it’s not mandatory for our suppliers to be B Corp certified as well. That said, part of the B Impact Assessment focuses on the sustainability and social performance of our supply base and we do ensure that our suppliers align with our values of sustainability, ethical conduct, and social responsibility. We’re now working on a new supplier questionnaire where we will ask upfront about whether or not they are a B Corp or planning on becoming one.
For more details, refer to the B Corp Guide on How to Qualify at B Corp Guide.
10. What do I wish I had known at the start?
- That the process will go into every aspect of how the organisation is run.
- That the legal requirement is a key contribution to the points scored.
11. What is my best advice to anyone thinking of becoming a B Corp?
- From a company perspective, you have got to have a genuine desire to achieve certification – this is a robust and challenging commitment to doing business for the better, not a box-ticking exercise.
- Commit time to working through the process and communicate to colleagues what the process involves.
- Do everything possible to get your B Impact Assessment score well over 80.
If this has peaked your interest and you’d like to have a chat, feel free to get in touch directly.
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