We’re incredibly proud to announce that we’re officially a Certified B Corporation®.
After reaching the end of a challenging 18-month application process to reach B Corp™ status, this is undoubtedly one of our biggest achievements as a company. Although we are by no means perfect, we’re incredibly happy to be part of a movement that is dedicated to Using Business as a Force for Good™.
About B Corp™
To become B Corp™ certified, it is required for a company to rank highly for both social and environmental performance, achieving a B Impact Assessment score of 80 or above.
The B Impact Assessment involves a series of thought-provoking questions that force you to question many aspects of your business that you may never even have thought of before. The questions are designed to prompt analysis of matters such as your company policies, employee treatment and environmental impact, helping companies to recognise where change is necessary.
So, how did we do it?
In order to achieve B Corp™ status, we had to make a fundamental shift from being a profit-led business to purpose-driven, demonstrating a commitment to accountability and transparency on issues from our employee benefits and charity work, to supply chain practices and input materials.
The shift saw us double the number of clients we were serving in positive sectors, such as renewable energy and charities, and we have almost completely moved away from serving clients in harmful sectors.
Our people are the backbone of our company, which is why our existing policies, like remote working, centre around our core belief that life comes before work. The B Corp™ process encouraged us to introduce more practices and policies to benefit our people, including policies surrounding shared parental leave, miscarriage, flexible working and profit share, to name a few, as well as launching a mental health scheme allowing our team and their families to access free professional therapy.
Our Managing Director, Jake Third, said: “I am absolutely delighted for Hallam to gain B Corp™ certification. It is a recognition of our commitment to performing better business that positively impacts people and the planet. We are particularly proud as it was an 18 month application process that saw us overhaul all aspects of our business.”
What’s stopping you?
Our ultimate goal is to continue to evolve and improve, but also to encourage and help other agencies to do the same: it’s only until we begin working towards a mutual goal that we can really make a change on a wider scale.
We are among a select few agencies across the country who have reached B Corp™ status: the first digital marketing agency in Nottinghamshire and only the second in the entirety of the East Midlands. These rankings massively highlight a much-needed change within the industry. We hope we can be a leading example in creating the positive change we want to see.
And it’s not just within agencies: the desire for B Corp™ status has increased by 38% since January 2020 compared to the 2018-2019 period. This change of heart comes at a time when the climate crisis is growing in magnitude and corporate scandals are filling headlines each week, causing a lack of trust in businesses. It’s more important than ever to consider the impact of decisions on each stakeholder, not just as an ethical consideration, but to cement a positive future for your company. Having consideration for all will increase your company’s value by gaining tons of loyalty and generate positive future prospects.
Head of Strategy, Julie Reid, said: “Pursuing B Corp™ has been an agency-wide initiative and it’s been incredible to see the commitment from leadership and the engagement from our team members throughout the past 18 months. We know businesses need to make a profit to stay viable, but that doesn’t have to be at the expense of our people, the wider community or our planet. This framework gives us a way to consider the needs of all our stakeholders and find the balance between profit and purpose. In truth, achieving B Corp™ status is just the first step on our journey and we’re so excited about where we can go from here.”
Want to work with a Certified B Corporation®? Or any questions you have that you think we might be able to help with? Get in touch here.
