Five things we have learnt about being a B Corp

我们于2021年2月成为互益企业，是建筑环境领域为数不多的加入一个不断增长的、目标驱动的社区的公司之一。这是一个有益和具有挑战性的过程。

我们一直为自己的道德和负责任感到自豪，照顾我们的员工，并以负责任的、以人为中心的方式设计。自从我们成为一个员工所有的组织以来，我们一直在寻找一种工具，可以帮助我们衡量我们在社会和环境方面做得如何。

B Corp certification is a designation that a business is meeting high standards of verified performance, accountability, and transparency on factors from employee benefits and charitable giving to supply chain practices and input materials.

The B Corp movementis underpinned by the belief that society’s most challenging problems cannot be solved by governments and non-profit organisations alone. By harnessing the power of business, B Corps use profits and growth to a greater end: positive impact for their employees, communities, and the environment.

For businesses considering certification, we first recommend filling in the free B impact assessment tool on the B Corporation website. If the results are at all encouraging, go for the full certification (it is a long process), and keep in mind our top five tips:

Create an internal working group to lead the process

Becoming a B Corp is not an easy undertaking. After the initial self-assessment, a more formal impact assessment is required. This includes the submission of detailed policies and demonstration of compliance against a set of 200 questions, from employee wellbeing to client care, community outreach and environmental impact. All of these are scrutinised by a B Lab assessor in the US.

我给你的建议是，确保你的资深员工参与到一个广泛的群体中来，帮助汇总他们的回复。我们的人力资源总监、财务总监、常务董事、可持续发展主管和社会价值主管都是认证过程和每个影响领域的持续管理的关键。

Don’t forget internal comms

I think one of the things we got wrong last year was powering ahead with the accreditation without taking enough time to embed the concept into the company. We used B Corp month (March) to focus discussions in all our offices to start us all thinking what the next steps might be.

Make data and measurement part of your processes

我们正在开发内部系统来衡量我们的社会价值，尤其是与社区内的工作相关的价值。例如，我们的员工有多少小时参加志愿活动，我们的学校和大学的拓展项目表现如何，我们可以在哪里改进这些?

With social value having such a wide influence across so many areas of the business it is important to be confident in what you are measuring and therefore achieving – and it is definitely not as binary as other measurement areas.

We have invested a great deal of time behind the scenes this year to ensure the data entry structure allows for the recording of all additional value provided.

We’re also working with Insight6, a customer experience consultancy, to set up our engagement programme, which allows us to get detailed client feedback on the work that we do.

Use the B Corp network

One of the interesting aspects of B Corp has been the range of groups in the global community you can join. There is a built environment national sector group, that has brought us closer to companies such as Ward Williams, igloo Regeneration and FORE Partnership, and there are local groups, including ones in Bristol and Bath, Cornwall and Manchester.

It has also facilitated new relationships with other architects such as Dialog in the US and Hayball in Australia – it’s an exciting ecosystem.

Keep going!

Being a B Corp is not a file and forget process whereby you complete a checklist and move on. For us, and many others it is the core of our business. So it is an ongoing, living, breathing framework, and an evolving set of standards that we as a firm agree to adhere to.

We are now into our second year as a B Corp and continue to focus on ways that we can improve our business across five impact areas: governance, workers, environment, customers and community.