Portt & Co
Seven years ago, Matt Portt founded Portt & Co to offer clients an outsourced finance department. Providing accounting acumen predominantly to London-based food and drink start-ups, the 20-strong team works from south-west England and Romania.
The decision to go for B Corp status was personal for Portt. “Before my second child was born, I was thinking about the world we’ll leave for the next generation. That was a trigger for me to start talking about it in the business. One of our clients had attained B Corp certification, so we discussed it internally and found there was a strong desire for us to get our own.”
Beginning the process in January 2021, they quickly realised they needed guidance through the necessary operational shifts. “We appointed a B Leader right at the start. We had a long way to go, as we hadn’t factored B Corp requirements into our procedures and processes. Although we had a lot of good intentions in the business, we hadn’t formalised those commitments. We had to go from 21 to 80 on the points scale.”
They submitted their application 10 months later, having interrogated their sustainability strengths and weaknesses along the way. “We scored incredibly highly on workers, but as a smaller company, governance was a challenge. And while we were committed to environmental issues, there were things we didn’t have control over, because we were in a managed office. There are some changes you can’t make overnight if you’re going from zero to certification: contracts that need time to be renewed and processes that take time to implement.”
Portt believes B Corp status makes the company more attractive to potential recruits and potential clients. “Increasingly, people are looking for a signal of intent from businesses with values that align to their own. And some B Corps want to work with other B Corps, which is why they’ve come to us.”
He sees longevity and resilience in the model. “When you become a B Corp, you’re trying to transcend profit and the concept of just maximising short-term shareholder value. The more people in the movement, the more attraction that movement gains, which in turn maximises long-term shareholder value.”
When you become a B Corp, you’re trying to transcend profit and the concept of just maximising short-term shareholder value.
Stripe & Stare
Creators of “the world’s comfiest knickers”, Stripe & Stare co-founders Nicola Piercy and Katie Lopes set up their business in 2017 to offer customers cool, comfortable, sustainable underwear. The team of 20 is based largely at the Devon warehouse, with 25% of the team located in West London.
The company began its B Corp certification in April 2021. “We wanted to find a highly regarded accreditation that would show our customers we are genuinely trying to do things differently, that our range is produced in as sustainable a way as possible, and that we look after all the people we work with,” says Lopes. “We felt B Corp was the best external verification.”
The process took 15 months to complete, largely because of the number of businesses awaiting evaluation. “There’s a huge amount of paperwork that goes into the process, so it was a big job to gather everything needed – the time it took was the biggest challenge we faced,” reveals Lopes.
“I would definitely recommend finding a B Leader: we would not have been able to get through the process without ours,” she adds. “She made the experience as straightforward as possible. It’s an incredibly thorough verification and everything needed to be backed up with evidence.”
While B Corp is a recognised brand in their industry, Lopes feels more work is needed to raise its profile among the wider population. Within their consumer base, they are trying to promote it as an authentic signal of sustainability.
Rather than losing value as the B Corp network grows, they believe it will gain in status. “Hopefully as more companies receive certification, it will increase awareness and understanding of what you have to do to achieve it. There are no short cuts, and they really look at every single aspect of your business.”
Hopefully as more companies receive certification, it will increase awareness and understanding of what you have to do to achieve it.
Kid-A
Founded in 2019, Winchester-based Kid-A is the first telecommunications consultancy in the UK to become a B Corp. “We aim to be the best at what we do, the best place to work and the best company to work with – and it shouldn’t cost our planet a ruddy thing!” proclaims its website.
Over three years, the team has grown to 15-strong and turned over around £4.5m. As an outsourcer for network operators, they manage all of Vodafone UK’s accessories business. But as a B2B, B Corp wasn’t an obvious move. “When we set the company up, our priority was creating a good place to work. In the telecoms industry and certainly consumer electronic accessories, there’s a lot of waste, and we wanted to make sure we’re doing whatever we can from a sustainable and social perspective,” says co-founder Andy Silcock.
“I was looking at a way to make our business more robust in our partners’ eyes. The more I looked into B Corp, the more I saw it was quite close to what we were already doing,” he adds. “The framework around people and governance resonated with us. Ultimately, I wanted to make sure that we’re accountable, that we’re not just greedy idiots who are going to break the world to make a profit.”
The certification process went smoothly, taking around six months. “We were already doing a lot of the things B Lab measures, so didn’t have to pivot.” They also used a B Leader to guide them through, and test their authenticity.
The biggest challenge was navigating the initial assessment, with some elements seeming over complicated. They realised that including some products to score points was counter-productive. “We’d created a sustainable phone case for Vodafone. B Corp said it could be a separate line in the product valuation, but because it was in its infancy, the numbers weren’t hitting relevant thresholds.”
B Corp status has opened up new conversations for Kid-A, both in their sector, and the B community. “Business leaders have an obligation morally and professionally to create businesses that are good; not just for people, but for the planet,” believes Silcock. “I think B Corp will evolve, it will get harder, and businesses will rise to the challenge, so that it remains a valuable ethical and sustainable certification.”
Business leaders have an obligation morally and professionally to create businesses that are good; not just for people, but for the planet.
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