Our B Corp Impact Assessment journey

We've just submitted our Optimo | Certified B Corp B Lab UK application!

Our journey

I first heard about B Corp in 2020. I had just finished a project management contract and was starting to explore what I wanted to do with my business, who I wanted to work with and how I could help.

Amidst the plethora of free webinars that had been made available to attend during lockdown and enough spare time to really dig into what was important to me; I discovered a world of leaders talking about using business as a force for good, I found companies who were solving social and environmental challenges and I learned about emerging certification processes that could help to validate businesses with positively impactful purpose and practices.

B Corp seemed to be gathering momentum and there were particular people that I found early on in my learning curve, whom I really admired, who were talking about it. Initially, though, it seemed like something that existed for larger businesses so I just lingered on the periphery, wondering how long it might be before I could join the movement.

Then, as with most things like this, I started to hear grumbles about the certification like 'how can a company that works in animal farming or aviation possibly become a B Corp?' and reading articles about poor working practices like the stories that were emerging about bullying and culture issues at Brewdog.

As I was getting busier anyway, there was so much stuff that never seemed to make it's way to the top of my to-do list. I struggled with balance a lot of the time; juggling client work, trying to keep my marketing activity going, figuring out the best way to get some support with my workload and desperately trying not to eat too much into my own downtime. I put B Corp to the back of my mind for a while and looked at some other great ways we could challenge ourselves to be better in the meantime - so Charlotte Aitchison and I worked on becoming Green Small Business certified and signed up to the Good Business Charter and the Better Business Act .

But the more I read about it, thought about it and the more I learned from people like Fiona Ras-Jones , 👩🏻💻Hannah Cox and Danielle Thompson , it started to sound like B Corp could also be the right thing for our small business after all. And thanks to being a member of The Better Business Network , I had access to a group 'B Corp Bootcamp' that really helped me understand the assessment process.

So when Mollie V. joined the business this really gave me the headspace and extra pair of hands I needed to start working through our B Corp actions.

Going through the process isn't easy, it's certainly not a 'tick-box' exercise and it probably took the best part of a year for me to feel comfortable that we had truly operationalised the things that are asked of you. I guess it might be possible to do it more quickly, but if you want to keep your certification you have to improve year on year - and that's going to be so much easier if these practices are truly embedded into your ways of working.

What next?

I don't know for sure that we'll achieve certification. And it'll take a while until we find out, based on the current waiting list times! (And submitting the application doesn't mean we are 'B Corp Pending' so look out if you're wanting to use that terminology)!

There's still a lot of negativity about B Corp out there.

But honestly, for me, the B Corp process was pretty comprehensive as a starting point for our young business and it gave me a framework, structure, criteria and processes that make me comfortable that it's the right starting point for us.

I also know that B Corp isn't a silver bullet, or a sticker you can put on your website and assume that means nothing will ever go wrong in your business. There's an awful lot more hard work that has to go in to running a business that exists to make positive change. You have to build a culture that attracts and nurtures the right people, you have to consider all stakeholders (including the planet) in every single decision, you have to consider what type of clients, suppliers and partners you're working with and how they do things.

So if you're thinking about going through the B Corp process - I would definitely recommend it. But heads up - the application is just the beginning. Then the real hard work begins.