One of the best parts of my role as a virtual PA is the variety. When I started nearly 8 years ago I thought I would be managing emails and diaries, setting up meetings, booking travel and filing. Don’t get me wrong that still forms a fair chunk of my day to day (and bringing order out of chaos is very satisfying!), but I do love expanding my skills set and taking on interesting projects. One of these is supporting a client who are seeking B Corp status.
If you don’t know (and I didn’t until about a year ago), Certified B Corporations, or B Corps, are companies verified by B Lab to meet high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability on a wide range of issues from employee benefits and charitable giving to supply chain practices and community investment.
Currently there are over 6,800 B Corps in 89 countries with over 560,000 workers. To achieve and maintain certification, all B Corps must:
✅ Complete the B Impact Assessment and achieve a verified total score of 80+ points
✅ Meet the B Corp legal requirement – in this country by amending Articles of Association to embed a commitment to consider the impact of decisions on all stakeholders.
✅ Sign the B Corp Agreement and the Declaration of Interdependence.
✅Publicly list their impact score on the B Lab Directory and recertify every 3 years.
So it’s not a design to be taken lightly nor is easy to achieve. Many companies fail on the first attempt. My role has been to:
✅ gather information, assess and overhaul my client’s practices and systems before submitting our application
✅prepare documentation to change the Articles of Association
✅discuss various aspects of the company’s systems and procedures, so that I can prepare supporting policies and processes
✅answer the B Corp analyst’s questions
✅produce draft answers to questions raised by B Corp during verification for discussion and approval by the directors
The verification process entails providing detailed answers with proof and a formal online review interview with our B Corp analyst, following which (hopefully) my client will be granted B Corp status.
It has been fascinating and challenging and all credit to my client for pursuing this. You really do have to “talk the talk and walk the walk”, it’s is not just a box ticking exercise. Looking forward it will make undoubtedly make my client more attractive to customers, clients and employees, but more tellingly it resonates with their principles and values. Increasingly the environmentally minded want to work with and for a business that not only believes in sustainability, diversity and inclusion but works positively towards it. If you want to know more about the process, or if I can support you in this please do get in touch.
If you don’t know (and I didn’t until about a year ago), Certified B Corporations, or B Corps, are companies verified by B Lab to meet high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability on a wide range of issues from employee benefits and charitable giving to supply chain practices and community investment.
Currently there are over 6,800 B Corps in 89 countries with over 560,000 workers. To achieve and maintain certification, all B Corps must:
✅ Complete the B Impact Assessment and achieve a verified total score of 80+ points
✅ Meet the B Corp legal requirement – in this country by amending Articles of Association to embed a commitment to consider the impact of decisions on all stakeholders.
✅ Sign the B Corp Agreement and the Declaration of Interdependence.
✅Publicly list their impact score on the B Lab Directory and recertify every 3 years.
So it’s not a design to be taken lightly nor is easy to achieve. Many companies fail on the first attempt. My role has been to:
✅ gather information, assess and overhaul my client’s practices and systems before submitting our application
✅prepare documentation to change the Articles of Association
✅discuss various aspects of the company’s systems and procedures, so that I can prepare supporting policies and processes
✅answer the B Corp analyst’s questions
✅produce draft answers to questions raised by B Corp during verification for discussion and approval by the directors
The verification process entails providing detailed answers with proof and a formal online review interview with our B Corp analyst, following which (hopefully) my client will be granted B Corp status.
It has been fascinating and challenging and all credit to my client for pursuing this. You really do have to “talk the talk and walk the walk”, it’s is not just a box ticking exercise. Looking forward it will make undoubtedly make my client more attractive to customers, clients and employees, but more tellingly it resonates with their principles and values. Increasingly the environmentally minded want to work with and for a business that not only believes in sustainability, diversity and inclusion but works positively towards it. If you want to know more about the process, or if I can support you in this please do get in touch.