Our B Corp journey: the first two months 

Last updated on December 5th, 2024 at 03:05 pm

In the world of strategic comms and PR, it’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day of client work and the ever-turning media landscape and forget about the bigger picture.   

But at AMBITIOUS, since we were founded over a decade ago, we’ve always believed that we should have a positive impact on our community. So, deciding to go for B Corp certification was a no-brainer.  

B Corp accreditation certifies that a business is meeting high standards of performance, accountability and transparency on ESG issues: from employee benefits and charitable giving to supply chain practices and carbon emissions. It’s a way for companies to show they’re balancing profit and purpose. 

We’re by no means the first, but we’re proud nonetheless and wanted to share some learnings from the journey so far.    

Why we’re becoming a B Corp 

We didn’t take the decision to become a B Corp lightly. We spent months weighing the pros and cons and speaking to B Corp friends from our Bristol community to gather insights and advice.   

For us, three things tipped the scales: 

• Alignment with our values and culture: one of our values is ‘We Own It’, and we pride ourselves on accountability for our actions. B Corp certification gives us a framework to formalise this accountability and challenge us to continuously improve.  

• Business benefits: more and more clients and employees are looking for companies to put social and environmental responsibility first. B Corp certification is a marker of that commitment, showing all stakeholders how seriously we take being a values-driven business.   
• Opportunity to join the B Corp movement: Bristol is a thriving hub for responsible and green businesses and has the highest number of B Corps in the UK, outside of London. Becoming a B Corp means we become part of this regional, and global, community.  

Our B Corp plan

With a small but mighty ESG & Sustainability team, we knew we needed a plan to fit B Corp alongside our client work. Here’s how we approached it: 

• We carried out initial research to understand the certification process and requirements, including speaking to other B Corps to understand how they tackled the assessment and doing a lot of desk research.  
• We set up a B Corp team, spearheaded by our ESG Lead Katy, Sustainability Comms Executive, Elli, and our Founder & Director Lis. We planned to bring in people from relevant teams to each module as and when we tackled that module, to prevent ‘too many cooks’ and use team time efficiently. 
• We set goals and timelines for each stage of the process, but with some flexibility, and allocated staff time and resources.  
• We allocated resources and communicated regularly with the wider team that this will be an ongoing focus for us, creating opportunities for input and feedback.  

The first two months: the B Impact Assessment 

The B Corp certification process is built around the B Impact Assessment (BIA), a thorough evaluation of a company’s impact on its workers, community, environment and customers. 

In the first two months, we’ve tackled:  

• Governance: our mission and ethics in our operations. 
• Workers: our benefits, professional development and work environment. 

The easier wins: employee handbook and policies 

It’s no secret that B Corp accreditation involves creating and evidencing numerous policies. For many SMEs like us, this can be burdensome as often these are being implemented for the first time.  

Fortunately, our extensive employee handbook ‘The AMBITIOUS Way’ is the hub for many of our key policies which set out the ethical commitments behind our operations as well as commitments to, and expectations of, employees.  

These policies include Sustainability, Time off Work, Agency Operations, Fairness in the Workplace, Protecting Our Values and Obligations. When it came to filling in the questions about whether we had specific items such as an adoption policy, or whistleblowing policy, for example, it was very easy to search the relevant policy and say yes! (or say, no, and make a note for when we next revise the policies.)  

The trickier parts: B Impact Assessment definitions  

Sometimes there is specific language and definitions involved in the B Impact Assessment. For example, a question like ‘State Your Current Number of Full Time Workers for Last Year’ should be simple, right?  

But how do we define a full-time worker when we have team members who work condensed hours, or who work full-time but are contractual? How do we define ‘last year’? Financial year? Annual year? The year preceding filling in the assessment?  

Luckily, the assessment portal has a very useful ‘Learn More’ section for each question and dives into the definitions and parameters needed for each section. We’ve found this very useful, as well as the ‘Get Help’ portal that can find relevant blogs and resources to support the BIA. 

An expected challenge: staying organised 

We did anticipate this, but we’ve quickly learned that staying organised is our biggest challenge. The solution is to keep consistent throughout the month.  

Starting with preparing before meetings, extensive notetaking during meetings, and following up with actions, as well as regular check-ins with the team to ensure they’re carrying out their assigned tasks. Katy is our project manager on this.

We’re using Monday.com, a work management tool, to allocate resources, tag team members in relevant tasks and keep them accountable for fetching and writing up relevant proof points, but this could also look like a live shared spreadsheet. Don’t be afraid to put some deadlines in there to hold everyone accountable and keep things moving.

If you’re an agency or business considering B Corp certification 

If you’re considering B Corp certification here are our top tips: 

• Start early and plan well. The process is big and takes time. 
• Engage employees at all levels. Their input and buy-in are key. 
• Leverage your existing strengths and practices. You’re probably doing more good than you think. 
• Keep organised and keep a record of areas for improvement as you go.  

Where next?  

As we continue our B Corp journey, we’re more committed than ever to using our business for good and are working hard to achieve our goals. We’re looking forward to the changes we’re making and the impact we’re creating. 

We’ll be posting updates on our website and social media channels and if you’re considering your own B Corp journey we’d love to chat and share our experiences. 

Here’s to a more sustainable, equal and impactful PR and comms industry, one agency at a time.