The movement led by businesses that have in their ideology to leave a good mark on their environment grows
This week a company called ‘with a purpose’ has taken an unusual step: its founder and CEO has donated the entire company and its future profits to the fight against climate change. Patagonia is the brand that has not left anyone indifferent with this gesture and it is one of the hundreds of companies certified as B Corp, a seal that can be translated as ‘good companies’ or ‘companies with a purpose’. But what does it mean to be BCorp today? Who can wear that seal and how do you get to this state?
Companies, in addition to achieving economic benefit, may have an objective aimed at being an engine of change among their founding principles. The movement that collects (and endorses) this type of organization is known as B Corp.
According to its principles, those that have this certification are organizations that “use their strength as a company to generate a positive impact on people and the planet”, whether it is reducing inequality and poverty, caring for the environment, strengthening communities or creating “high-quality jobs with dignity and purpose.”
Now, this movement has published a guide in Spanish, ‘B Corp Movement’, with which it is intended to answer many of the questions raised by this certification.
“Right now, many corporations are beginning to understand that sustainability is going to affect and be relevant to their business model, but they still don’t know how to start integrating this variable and many of them are wondering where to start. In the book you will find a practical answer, with concrete examples, recommendations and success stories of companies, to improve the positive impact of the company in its environment and community”, explains Pablo Sánchez, CEO of B Corp in Spain.
Five areas for change
There are five major areas, which coincide with the B Impact Assessment standard: governance, workers, community, environment and clients.
According to Sánchez, ‘Workers’ addresses how to be a good company for employees depending on the size of the company, sector and geographical location.
In the ‘Community’ area, the aim is to show how to improve its performance with practices that benefit the groups in the environment in which the company operates. In ‘Environment’, practical examples on how to improve a company’s environmental performance to increase profits, create longer-lasting relationships with suppliers and increase consumer confidence.
‘Governance’ is about how to guarantee control systems that integrate the social mission and allow establishing accountability systems for economic, social and environmental results. Finally, in ‘Clients’ they offer keys to develop business models aimed at generating a positive impact through the provision of certain products and services.
For big and small
In each of these areas, different practices, policies and indicators are reviewed that allow the company to improve its impact and also make it more attractive and competitive.
Although the advice and recommendations are generic and, therefore, “should be applied logically depending on the size of the company and its sector of activity”, examples and specific good practices from companies of multiple sizes and sectors are also offered.
It should also be noted that many of the examples and practical advice offered are from B Corp companies that operate in Spain, both large companies (Danone, Fairphone, The Body Shop, Grupo MasMóvil or ISDIN) and small companies (Heura, Aiguasol or AlgaEnergy).
In addition, those who read this book will find a section with which they can make quick assessments of the impact of the different areas, so that “any company can check the boxes or not depending on whether it meets these requirements or not,” explains Pablo Sánchez .
Good practices, better impact
Asked if the objective of the book is for more companies to achieve the status of being a B Corp, the CEO of this movement assures that the challenge is to “provide companies and professionals with tools and good practices to manage and improve their social impact and environment, thus advancing in the construction of a new inclusive and regenerative economy, which is our real goal”.
To do this, it is proposed to “adopt positive measures and redirect some of its mechanisms, from improving its corporate purpose to, consequently, its social and environmental performance.”
According to Sánchez, companies that want to become B Corp “will find additional steps to follow that are indicated as ‘Only B Corp’, and those that want to have a greater positive impact can follow the general steps and recommendations without contemplating the additional ones.”
In other words, the ultimate goal is “to seduce many companies so that they integrate culture and impact management into their day-to-day activities, all of which is compatible with viability and economic profitability”.
158 Spanish companies
There are currently 158 companies in Spain that belong to the B Corp movement. On Tuesday, the Best For The World 2022 awards were given to the Spanish B Corps that are at the forefront of the world in responsible matters. All of them are among the top 5% of the world’s benchmark companies in terms of impact by achieving the highest verified scores in any of the areas of Impact Assessment B (community, customers, environment, governance and workers) . The Spanish companies that have received this recognition are: Integral, Coconut Ventures, Parafina, Specialisterne, AlmaNatura, R4S, Visualfy, Pensium, Worldcoo, Organic Cotton Colours, Sepiia 2080, ECOALF, Flor de Doñana and LC Paper.
There are currently 158 in Spain that belong to the B Corp movement.
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