Becoming B Corp certified is hugely exciting. That huge sigh of relief you breathe when you first get wind of the news. Namely due to the sheer work involved in getting your business over the line.
Truthfully, change is always uncomfortable. But it’s a hugely important element of bettering ourselves and our businesses. And in the case of B Corp certification, there is a huge warm, fuzzy feeling waiting for you, knowing you have carried your business over that all-important first line.
Here’s some of the advice we wish we’d received before we set out on our B Corp journeys.
1.Voice your intention to anyone who will listen
It can take any employee at any level of an organisation to express an interest in doing ‘better business’ for the environment. If B Corp certification is something that has interested you, or has simply been on your mind, why not voice your thoughts? Chances are you aren’t the only one thinking in an environmentally conscious way.
2. Check how your business currently scores against B Corp’s criteria?
Taking stock of where you are now, is the best guide to knowing how far you have to travel on your B Corp journey. Every B Corp application starts with your knowing your ‘B Impact Score’, and this is something you can do yourself online for free. To quote B Corp; “any score higher than 0 points is a good score”, as a positive score indicates that your business is doing something positive for society and the environment. You needs 80 points to become a certified B Corp.
3. Assess your appetite for certification
Having completed the B Corp application process ourselves for both Water Skills Academy and dewerstone, we feel we are well-placed to pose this question. Yes, outside help exists, but if you are looking for somebody to take on the application process for you, then does this just become a tick box exercise for your business?
For us the passion to become caring and ethical businesses is personal, and is hugely driven by the environments within which we work, everyday. For certification you have to pass stringent assessment criteria across governance, workers, community, environment, customers. And it’s not easy. But since when was anything worth having, a walk in the park? Be real with yourself about how much you are willing to shift or sacrifice to make it happen.
4. A good dose of positive influence and inspiration helps keep you energised
With over 1,100 B Corps in the UK, there are more than enough B Corp neighbours to become acquainted with, and some of them could be working in the same sector as you. B Corp have lots of online resources but it’s not until you achieve certification that you are eligible to join and access the ‘B Hive’. The list of UK B Corps is a public one, so a short research exercise can usually get you the contact details of the people in the know. And nothing beats picking the brains of someone who’s been through the process themselves. This is one of the main reasons why we set up the ‘B Corps Feeding B Corps’ community specifically for the paddlesports industry, in a bid to offer nuggets of advice to paddlesports businesses at every stage of the process and allow them gain a support network for their B Corp journey.
Reach out via emails or invite someone for lunch, and ask all the seemingly ridiculous questions you want. It will help you get to your destination.
5. Don’t avoid the formalities
We work in a relatively laid back industry. But as much as that has its plus points, when it comes to B Corp certification, getting every process and policy down on paper and formalised is a must. Leave no stone unturned and put every corner of your business under scrutiny. On the plus side it will make you reassess every aspect of your business including the ones that don’t get reviewed as much as they should.