Upgrade complete - we're now a Certified B Corp!

Sophie Ross
Jul 23
5 min read

You're going for B Corp Certification - are you crazy?? That’s the reaction we got more than once. To be honest, we weren’t entirely sure ourselves at first. Becoming a Certified B Corp always seemed like a big, bold goal – something for companies with a lot more time, money and capacity than us. But here’s what we discovered along the way: we were already doing a lot of the 'B Corp' things. We just hadn’t formalised them.

Where It All Began

Our B Corp journey kicked off while working with a global cosmetics brand. They were undergoing B Corp recertification themselves and needed a solution that would help them monitor their energy and water usage in real time, helping to identify leaks/wastage, or track the outcome of improvement practices.

That experience sparked something in us. As a team, we began talking about B Corp. Some of us already knew what it was about; for others, it was a whole new concept. But the more we learned, the more it pushed us to reflect on the kind of business we wanted to be.

Could we be a B Corp too? We gave the B Impact Assessment a crack – and holy heck, we weren’t that far off.

While we genuinely believed in the B Corp mission, our motivation wasn’t purely altruistic. As we learned more, we saw a community of purpose-driven businesses that we not only wanted to join, but also support. These are the kinds of organisations we love working with - ones committed to making a positive impact. By going through the process ourselves, we gained a deeper understanding of the data and reporting challenges these businesses face, and potential ways we can help them measure what matters.

How we became certified

A big part of our success in achieving B Corp certification comes down to the nature of our work. Many of our projects focus on improving resource consumption efficiency—helping clients monitor and reduce their energy and water use. Beyond that, our solutions support the protection of natural capital through ecosystem monitoring, endangered species detection, and pest identification. They also contribute directly to community wellbeing by monitoring and alerting on natural hazards like fire and flood. This strong alignment between our day-to-day operations and positive impact was a key driver in our certification outcome.

We were off to a good start with our solution offerings, but what needed work was the formalisation of our internal processes and policies. The whole process took us about a year to document our internal practices, write policies, and gather data. We set up new processes to collect and track information, not just from within our team, but from clients and suppliers too.

An example of the range of policies and guidebooks developed as part of B Corp certification — An example of the types of documentation developed to formalise our policies, procedures, and processes.

We also worked with some fantastic B Corp consultants to help guide us through the tougher bits. A huge shout out to Caroline at Sustainability 360, and Tim at Grow Good for their guidance and resources.

While we're proud of what we've achieved, we know this is just the beginning. B Corp certification isn't a finish line - it's a commitment to continuous improvement. With new standards on the horizon, we’re anticipating more to consider and implement as we work toward recertification.

So… What Is B Corp?

B Corp certification is a globally recognised standard for businesses that balance profit with purpose. It’s assessed by B Lab, a non-profit organisation that assesses companies across five key areas: governance, workers, community, environment and customers.

To become certified, businesses must meet high standards of social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency. The process involves completing the B Impact Assessment, making a legal commitment to stakeholder governance, and undergoing a rigorous verification process. B Corps form part of a global movement using business as a force for good—committed not just to being the best in the world, but the best for the world.

B Corp Certification Framework — B Corp areas for impact measurement

Why We Chose B Corp

We were drawn to B Corp certification because it’s holistic and rigorous. It’s not just about environmental impact (although that’s definitely important). It’s about ethics, transparency, accountability, and how we engage with everyone who touches our business – from our team to our tech providers.

For us, that meant looking at:

How we support our staff and prioritise their wellbeing
How we reduce our waste and carbon emissions
How we support our clients to use resources more efficiently
How we contribute to broader community resilience through projects related to fire, flood and climate risk

What was our B Corp score?

To give you some context, the average company that completes the B Impact Assessment scores around 50. You need 80 to be eligible for certification. We scored 100.8 – and we’re super proud to have scored so highly on our first certification round.

Some key things that we implemented to support our certification

Here are a few things we put in place to help reach that score:

Legal commitment: We updated our governing documents to legally commit to considering our social and environmental impact in every decision we make.
Data collection: We surveyed our clients, suppliers, and team members to understand where we’re doing well - and where we can improve.
Robust policies: From waste management and ethical marketing to our organisational sustainability strategy, we’ve put policies in place that reflect our values.
Carbon footprint: We began formally measuring our carbon emissions to better understand our environmental impact - including energy use, travel, and operational activities. This baseline allows us to set meaningful reduction goals and make informed decisions as we work toward greater climate responsibility. Carbon accounting is now part of our ongoing impact tracking, alongside waste measurement on our public impact dashboard.
Public transparency: We’ve launched our Impact Dashboard so anyone can see what kind of change we’re working towards.

One of the more challenging aspects? Supplier engagement. It can be particularly tricky with larger suppliers - as a smaller business, we’re not always in a position to demand compliance or detailed disclosures. Our requests for information can sometimes go unanswered, but it’s an area we’re actively reflecting on and committed to improving over time.

This is just the beginning. B Corp Certification has helped shine a light on what we were already doing, and where we need to go next. It’s confirmed what we’ve always believed – that business can and should be a force for good.

If you're thinking about starting the journey too, we say go for it. You might be closer than you think.

A great place to start is the How to become certified resources from B Lab.