Becoming a B Corp
The five things we’ve changed
As any B Corp will tell you, achieving certification is quite a journey. It’s not just a matter of getting your ducks in a row, you need to reorganise your entire business – from the sheds to the feed.
So, what did we learn from the process? And what were the biggest changes we made?
1. Locking in our mission
Why are we here? What’s the ultimate goal of Ink? B Corp may not have sparked a full-blown existential crisis, but it certainly made us reconsider our purpose.
Ultimately, we want to use words as a force for good. So we’ve now written our commitment to people and planet into our business articles of association. Search Ink Copywriters on Companies House and they’re there for all to see.
2. Formalising stuff
We’ve always wanted to do the right thing for our team. And, as a relatively small business, a lot of things went unsaid or were taken as read. Becoming B Corp meant we needed to grow up as a business, documenting and formalising our stands on things like breastfeeding, menopause, health and safety, and our supplier code of conduct.
3. Asking for feedback
How are we doing? What could we do better? And what do you really think, honestly? We’re big on feedback at Ink, but in almost 20 years, we’ve rarely asked our team, suppliers and clients for their wider views on Ink. We conducted a survey, materiality assessment and client audit to help us see the bigger picture – and understand what we can improve.
4. Doing charity and pro bono work
This is another area where we’d been doing the right thing, but in a fragmented and fairly sporadic way. To bring some order to our approach, we selected two charities to support for 2024, Children's Hospice South West and The Climate Coalition, and we’ve given our team a set number of volunteering hours each year.
We’ve also committed to ‘volunteering days’ where we can roll up our sleeves and make a practical difference. Even if, this year, it meant making a mess of some National Trust gardens...
5. Making small, practical changes
Closer to home, we’ve been working to make our studio more sustainable. Little things like replacing lightbulbs, changing our energy supplier, properly sorting our recycling and setting up a water meter all make a difference. It may sound obvious (and pretty tedious) but it’s one of the easiest things to do – and it’s amazing how these tiny changes can slip through.
Of course, there were many other changes we made that all contributed to our final score (a solid 92). And there’s plenty that we can, and will, do in the coming months and years.
If you’d like to know more, or share your own B Corp experience, please get in touch.