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Why I’m applying for B Corp Certification
Soleil Marketing's B Corp Journey (part 1)
This post was originally written by Maria Soleil in March 2022 however it is still relevant today.
I’m in my second year of business and I’m starting the challenging process of applying for B Corp Certification.
I’m also doing it as a sole trader, which isn’t particularly common.
If you don’t already know, B Corps are (in B Lab’s own words):
“businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose”
It’s disappointing that this commitment to social and environmental performance, transparency and legal accountability isn’t already standard practice in business, but here we are.
There are only 782 certified B Corps in the UK at the time of writing, but there are thousands of businesses going through the certification process. There’s a backlog of businesses applying, which reflects the growth of the purpose-driven movement in the last couple of years.
I was massively inspired ever since I came across the B Corp movement almost two years ago, and now is the right time to take Soleil Marketing through the process.
How does B Corp certification work?
To qualify for B Corp status, a business needs to score at least 80 points out of 200 in a performance assessment covering these five topics:
- Governance
- Workers
- Community
- Environment
- Customers
You first have to complete a B Impact Assessment which scores you against each area. Then you need to work through each area making sure you can evidence any claims you make. You also have to update your company articles, among other things, to ensure the ‘legal accountability’ aspect I mentioned above.
Depending on the size of your business, having your application reviewed and then receiving certification can take months or even years.
And this is just the beginning of the journey - every three years you have to recertify to make sure you’re still worthy of the B Corp badge.
Why I’m doing it now
There are several reasons why I made the choice to do this now:
As Soleil Marketing is still relatively young, it’s the ideal time to get the right formal structures and processes in place to ensure I’m operating in a way that aligns to my personal values and what the planet needs. I’m setting the foundations for future business growth.
I’m already doing a lot of what B Lab requires. I donate a percentage of my time and turnover to causes which make a difference, I’m tracking the carbon footprint of my business and creating a reduction plan; I also indirectly make a positive impact on people and planet through my client work with social enterprises, charities, non-profits and purpose-driven companies.
It strengthens my influence on other business owners and helps spread the message that we need to prioritise all stakeholders. I believe the profit-driven business model needs a shake up in the UK and globally, which is also a reason why I support the Better Business Act. Business needs to change, universally.
I want to show my commitment to doing better business for planet and people, I want to be held to account, and having independent verification is the best way to do this.
Where am I in the certification process?
My current score is 94.9 out of 200. I’m working my way through building the evidence for the score. I’ve got a RAG report of things I need to do, such as tracking details about my suppliers, improving data transparency, creating formal feedback processes for clients, creating a theory of change for my services and much more.
In April I will re-do the assessment based on the 2021-22 tax year. After that, I will apply for certification, which should take a few months.
It’s important to not that I'm not doing this alone - I’m working with Andy Hawkins from Business on Purpose to go through the journey.
I’ve learnt a lot by going through this process, and I’m only about one third of the way through. There is still a lot to do and a lot more to learn. Certification is by no means a dead cert as well - I have to put in the work.
What to expect in Part 2 of this blog?
Maria has now completed her journey and part 2 will cover the lessons she has learnt and also what effect being a B Corps has had on her business journey.
Maria Soleil
mariasoleil@sustainologyuk.com
Maria is an award-winning qualified marketing and communications consultant who helps purpose-driven businesses increase turnover and brand awareness.
She has 10 years of experience in marcomms roles across a variety of sectors including social housing, B2B multinational construction,travel,
social enterprise, charities and healthcare.
She holds a mini MBA in Marketing from Marketing Week and is Carbon Literacy Accredited.
A member of the Better Business Network, she also mentors underrepresented business owners and is a volunteer for her local wildlife trust.
