THE B CORP CREW: What it means to be a B Corp in 2021

March 30, 2021By Alec Mills

What it Means to be a B Corp in 2021

Got B Corp ambitions? We dare you to be better

To celebrate B Corp Month 2021, we dare you to send this link to your boss:

Don’t worry, it’s not porn.

It’s a link to The B Impact Assessment, “the most credible tool a company can use to measure its impact on its workers, community, environment, and customers.”

It will assess how your company performs against dozens of best practices. Taking the Assessment alone will be a valuable, eye-opening experience for your company.

And it’s the first step in becoming a B Corp and using business as a force for good.

We’d love to advise your on your journey to becoming a B Corp so if you think we can help you, email us at hello@wearedame.co

The technical definition: B Corps are businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose.

In other words, B Corps use their business powers as a force for good. We like to think of it as echoing the good acts and deeds we undertake on a personal level, and dialling up to corporate level.

There are 450+ B Corps in the UK, many of which you’ll recognise: Patagonia, Finisterre, Aesop, Graze, Veja, The Body Shop, Oddbox, Brewdog, Ocean Bottle, Who gives a crap, Teapigs, Divine Chocolate, Elvis & Kresse and many more...

You can spot a B Corp with this label:

So look out for it when you buy a product or use a service.

We all have the power to change the world, just vote with your wallet.

Did you know a B Corp company is 11x more likely to be carbon neutral than an ordinary businesses? When the period product industry emits the same carbon as 3 million cars driving for a year, we think that's pretty important. Here's a graph we made comparing disposable period products with our products - we're not perfect, but it's a huge leap forward.” - Alec, co-founder of DAME.

DAME team members nominate their favourite B Corps:

ELVIS & KRESSE - Nominated by Celia, co-founder “Mine is always going to be Elvis & Kresse (I'm an embarrassing fangirl) just because it lives and breathes it’s values and commitment to profit with purpose. Plus it is always pushing itself, and therefore others, to do better.”

PATAGONIA - Nominated by Alec, co-founder “Patagonia was a B Corp before B Corp existed - they founded the entire movement. Wanting to preserve rock-faces they climbed, they set out to make products that cause as little harm as possible - it's about as authentic as it gets. The work of founder Yvonne Chunard and his team in the last decades of the 20th century has set the standard for what businesses should aim for this century. Whatsmore, they make it clear the B Corp standard is the absolute minimum. Love love love.”

AESOP - Nominated by Sophie, content editor “I’m obsessed with Aesop who recently certified as a B Corp, which was music to my ears. From the tube of hand cream on my bedside table to the store designs around the world to the way it conducts its business, everything about Aesop is thoughtful and elegant. If only more businesses operated that way.”

FINISTERRE - Nominated by Anna W, new product development “Every product from Finisterre is so thought through, looks great and is made for people that want to swim/surf/be outdoors. I love that you can almost feel the sea and ocean in everything they make.”

THE BODY SHOP - Nominated by Richard, Sustainability and Impact Advisor "The Body Shop were a B Corp before B Corp was even a thing. Their founder Anita Roddick wrote the handbook on how to do business with soul. They lost their way a bit after Anita sold the business, and if B Corp is a way for them to re-find that countercultural magic, then that's just ace".

“Patagonia was a B Corp before B Corp existed - they founded the entire movement. Whatsmore, they make it clear the B Corp standard is the absolute minimum.” - Alec Mills, DAME

B Corp brands that give back

Our planet and its people co-exist in a finely tuned balance. Capitalist enterprise often profits without recognising the hidden societal and environmental cost. By giving back, B Corps balance profit with purpose.

ALLBIRDS are developing a 100% natural plant leather, coming in December 2021. A lower impact leather means 40x less carbon impact than traditional leather.

CHARITY BANKoffers loans for social good. It’s B Corp score is 128.7, which is a WHOPPER! 81% of projects supported would not have happened without their loans geared towards charities and social missions.

COOK For every kid’s meal COOK sell, they donate a free school meal in Malawi through a partnership with One Feeds Two. Cook has provided more than 2 MILLION school meals so far.

DAME Can’t resist including our carbon offsetting programme here. We offset all 112.88 tonnes of CO2 we’ve been responsible for. We searched long and hard to find an offsetting programme that was truly impactful, measurable and furthers our mission to support women around the world. We decided on funding a freshwater bore hole project in Uganda. The boreholes provide safe drinking water, which in turn prevents women and girls from having to collect water and the firewood to boil it. This helps lower the number of sexual assaults, and increases their time in education.

“It's amazing what buying a box of B Corp tampons can achieve.” - Alec Mills, DAME

ELVIS & KRESSE Since 2005 Elvis & Kresse have been donating 50% of profit from their fire hose collection. Last year Elvis & Kresse donated a whopping £51,917.63 to the Fire Fighters Charity.

We asked some of our favourite B Corp employees, Why do you love working for a B Corp?

Adelle Gingell, Positive Impact Manager, Finisterre "Working for a company who you know are trying to create positive change brings an added level of pride to my work and I feel part of something bigger. Working for a B Corp, the culture, ethics and the positive treatment of staff help us to know our work really matters. Happy workers do good work, it’s that simple."

Charlie Darkin, Greenhouse PR “We need to develop a business culture that supports people and the planet. I love working for a B Corp because together, everyone at Greenhouse PR, is working to make that a reality."

“B Corp represents a look into the future when all businesses will adopt a philosophy that focuses as much on supporting the environment and society as much as if not more than profit.” - Shyamal Lallah, Thomson & Scott

Anna Foks, Sustainability Coordinator, Teapigs “I love working for a B Corp as we are among 430 business in the UK that are making positive changes to support people and the planet. Being a BCorp encourages people all across the business to be involved in change.”

Shyamal Lallah, Sales & Partnerships Director, Thomson & Scott “B Corp represents a look into the future when all businesses will adopt a philosophy that focuses as much on supporting the environment and society as much as if not more than profit. As someone in sales, there’s a powerful feeling that comes with the knowledge that the product you’re putting forward is part of that progress.”

Jo Chidley, Founder, Beauty Kitchen “I always thought there was a better way to do business where everyone who touches the business gains something positive from it. B Corp gives the framework and the community to understand how to do this every day, and at Beauty Kitchen you know you are part of something that is truly trying to make the world a better place through business!”

Richard Jones, Form Editor, Form Nutrition "Past work has made me keenly interested in sustainability. So to work for a company that puts it at the heart of what they do, among other environmental and societal concerns, is not only a pleasure, it's also a source of inspiration and fascination."

Bryan Bumgardner, Form Head of Growth, Form Nutrition "Working for Form Nutrition combines my personal values with my career goals. That’s an alignment we all should have and never take for granted!"