Six months a Certified B Corp: our learnings
For many years, we had heard about the b corp movement, and looked on as it gained momentum and became stronger - with more organisations certifying every year with the ambition to be better businesses for good. After all, people want to work for, buy from, and invest in businesses they believe in.
Could that be us? We definitely had intentions and ambition to evaluate and improve upon how our business impacts the world around it.
We got the good news on 28th March this year that we were a Certified B Corp; it was right at the end of B Corp month and we were proud to share with everyone!
As the initial excitement has subsided, a new feeling of responsibility has emerged. We feel responsible for delivering more impact and living up to our potential for all our stakeholders, and we want to build a business that does better and does good! So rather than wait to share our annual impact report, we thought we'd share some of what's been going on inside Maia - on our post-certification journey.
Checking on progress
Each month we use the free BIA tool to review progress with one of the B Impact Assessment Impact areas, as well as three of the United Nations SDGs, so that over the course of six months we have reviewed every area and every SDG.
We find that this “little and often” approach puts continuous improvement at the core of our small business. We really value the challenge that our independent advisor Jason Loomes of the Field Works brings to the ongoing governance of Maia. Since March we’ve added a register of our own sustainability risks and opportunities which has led us to some improvement actions already.
Focus upon People, our citizens
The combination of our commitment to continuing personal and professional development and a review of our policies led to studying for a formal qualification in Inclusion in the Workplace - and found us this summer collaborating with Andrew Holland of sendme2work to share a stand at the Dorset Chamber Business Expo promoting the multiple stakeholder benefits that disability awareness can bring. One in five of us has a disability whether visible or not, and six out of seven of us develop our condition during our working life making a compelling motive to treat everyone as an individual and to do our best to encourage participation to the best of our abilities.
Sustainability and Inclusion are closely linked - just looking at the Sustainable Development Goals for inspiration! Sustainability is broader than caring for the environment, and considering our ethical and social responsibilities helps reflect the interplay between people and planet, and importantly that Inclusion has to be achieved in the workspace, not just on paper. And for us this means how we can offer our services to a much broader audience.
Our love of food and drink - health and security
Coming back to food and drink, sustainable diets has been a hot topic this summer: the potential health impacts of diets high in ultra-processed foods have been in the headlines and we’ve seen some inspiring books from the likes of Tim Spector and “food for life” to help educate us all in the future of our food journey, including a greater focus in the plant-based category and supporting a local food culture just two examples many have been leaning towards as part of a sustainable approach in the future.
Some of our most exciting conversations have been with businesses that are thinking about how to combine healthy and nutritious products with sustainable supply chains. There are some great examples of progressive steps that we can learn from.
Paul Banks at caterer Fresha in Exeter has recently appointed a “Sustainability Chef” to go above and beyond regulation, so that they can proactively work toward greater sustainability at the same time as making a profit - by developing innovative menus that are nutritious and have reduced the carbon footprint.
Paul adds “It is a tall order! But it’s time for my business to make a dramatic change to align our operations with sustainability targets - and this role cements Fresha’s commitment. We want to achieve positive social and environmental impacts and stay competitive, which in turn requires human resources with the right skills and knowledge.
We are building in sustainability at every level of the business. By making it the norm, we stay ahead of coming legislation and add benefit for our customers. Can you future proof your business by looking at sustainability? There may be small changes to be made right now, or maybe, like me, you will find it's the time for more dramatic change.”
As Fresha will look to bridge sustainability gaps throughout their supply chain, and shape plans and policies for effective sustainability across the whole of their business, we in turn are actively looking at the different ways that we can support our clients to make an impact from exploring regenerative agriculture chains to designing and communicating healthy food brands.
In the last few weeks we’ve polled several fellow B Corps and the common themes have been that
quality and taste always win
the B Impact Assessment is an eye-opener to stakeholder impact and good governance
talking to shoppers there needs much more done around story telling, it is more than displaying another badge, no matter how impressive.
Already we have learned so much about what being a b corp really means, and we look forward to what comes next! Thanks to just some of the inspiring encouragement from good citizens along the way - Lucy Cullinane, Ali Fisher, Andy Hawkins, Nancy Hyne and Gwyn Jones.
If you are a progressive business and would like to hear more about how you can measure your own social and environmental impact, we are starting a new “couch to 5k” program in January dedicated to the food and drink sector, please get in touch if you are interested to join