Earlier this year we started our application to become a B Corporation! Read on to find out what B Corp means and why we want to be a B Corp...
What is a B Corp?
B Corp stands for Benefit Corporation.
A Benefit Corporation is different to your usual business because its purpose and mission aims to benefit people and the planet.
B Corp is a movement
B Corp is unique to other certifications because it is also a social movement.
The movement wants to change the legal purpose of a business from 'making profit for shareholders' to 'balancing profit creation with creating positive impact for people and the planet'.
This change is to prevent businesses pursuing profitable ventures that may cause long term harm to nature and society.
Balancing people, planet, and profit is called the triple bottom line.
The Legal Bit
Although we're not officially a B Corp yet, we have legally stated that:
"The purpose of our company is to promote the success of the company for the benefit of its members as a whole and to have a material positive impact on society and the environment."
This was changed in our articles of association, the written rules for directors and shareholders, of how the company should be run.
We are joining 400 other businesses in the UK that share this vision.
This might sound a bit radical but we're some of the first movers in a new wave of stakeholder capitalism. The shift to this model is being spoken about in nearly all political and economic forums in the world. So it makes sense to start doing the hard work now.
How do you become a B Corp?
To become a B Corp, you have to complete the B Impact Assessment, a series of questions that evaluates every nook and cranny of the business to ensure it is ethical and sustainable.
The assessment is broken down into 5 areas: governance, workers, community, environment, and customers.
You gain points in each area depending on the evidence you can produce to show that you have met specific criteria.
80 points are required to become a B Corp and the highest amount of points you can gain is 200.
It is one of the most rigorous application processes in the world at the moment for a business to show that they meet ethical and sustainable standards.
Why now?
Coming out of the pandemic having thrived rather than deteriorated put a lot of things into perspective. Ultimately, we are extremely grateful to our customers for allowing us to continue spreading happiness one cup of tea at a time.
A core value of Bird & Blend has been sustainability and social responsibility since day one, literally:
As part of the original business plan drafted up by Krisi and Mike, 'no waste' and 'environmental responsibility' were top priorities. We look forward to continuing this effort as a B Corp.
Why we love B Corp
For us B Corp isn't just a tick box exercise that gives us a big badge at the end to say we did it.
We're using the B Corp framework to improve our business. It's a great way for us to set a baseline of how ethical we are and then set goals to make improvements that are beneficial for society and the planet.
