B Lab UK

Big news for the clothing repair movement! SOJO, an online repair and tailoring startup and certified #BCorp, has partnered with Marks and Spencer to launch a new service for clothing repairs and alterations. Customers can now book through a dedicated online hub, and expect to receive their repaired items back within seven to ten days. Josephine Philips, founder and CEO of SOJO, emphasised that this partnership is "an incredibly big step" toward making clothing repairs more accessible. 👏 This collaboration builds on SOJO’s recent successes, including securing a permanent space in Selfridges earlier this year, where customers can easily access their repair services. Research from M&S found that only 10% of the UK population feels confident enough to carry out clothing repairs themselves, so it’s inspiring to see B Corps take the lead and collaborate with household brands to break down said barriers and encourage more sustainable habits among consumers. Learn more about the new repair service: https://lnkd.in/echtnnCC

Get to know the hospitality B Corps collaborating to transform the industry. 👏 Not so long ago, Pizza Pilgrims, Caravan Restaurants | B Corp™, Big Mamma Group, Blacklock and Hawksmoor and B Lab UK teamed up to deliver a first-of-its-kind workshop for aspiring B Corps in the hospitality industry. Each business shared more about its B Corp journey and how certification is benefiting them. 🍕 Pizza Pilgrims shared how they have put purpose at the heart of the business by using their B Corp certification as a viable tool to lean into their values. Practically this has taken the shape of making continuous progress on their people and culture. One example includes launching ‘happiness days’ which grants all employees the entitlement to a paid day off every year to do something that makes them feel happy. ➡️ With 25 restaurants across six countries, Big Mamma Group's B Corp certification has allowed the group to improve their strategic approach to positive impact. One strand of their positive impact work has included increasing the local sourcing of goods. This impact-led mindset has allowed the group to improve the business year on year. ➡️ Caravan Restaurants | B Corp™ shared how their values-driven approach fuels them to make a high impact through community partnerships on a local and international level. Their B Corp certification demonstrates their inspiring commitment to positive impact work through initiatives like ‘The Female Producer Programme,’ which tackles equality in the coffee supply chain. ➡️ Blacklock has seen the benefits of B Corp certification materialise through embracing good governance. This has helped remove blurred lines by formalising existing policies and has enabled effective self-reflection, making them more proactive as a business. Other shared achievements included creating an internal group of ‘B Keepers’ which sees operational staff hold leadership accountable when it comes to aligning with their purpose. ➡️ At Hawksmoor the B Corp certification framework has enhanced the businesses growth by providing a framework to continuously improve. Completing their ‘B Impact Assessment’ has shown where the company has made progress through different projects such as their game-changing environmental purchasing policy. In summary, Thom Elliot, Pizza Pilgrims co-founder emphasised "Each B Corp has represented that this economic model is viable." As the B Corp Declaration of Interdependence states, ‘we are all dependant on upon another’ so it’s great to see businesses that would typically compete against one another, collaborating to create a better future for all — that’s the B Corp way! 👏

“What B Corp says to me is ‘this matters to us enough to commit the time and resource to go through B Corp’. So, I think this is a great thing. It says businesses genuinely mean it when they say they’re trying to get better…We’re taking good steps, but we’re not taking them fast enough, and I hope we will get ahead of B Corp. I hope there will be something higher, as there always should be. We should always be striving to be better.” Business investor and TV dragon Deborah Meaden emphasises the role of #BCorps and the need for further action during her talk at Blue Earth Summit. 🌍 That's why we're committed to transforming the UK economy so that all businesses are a force for good. B Corps are demonstrating that this way of doing business is possible. And, the Better Business Act coalition is campaigning to make this vision a reality. 👏 #BESummit24 #BCorporation #ImpactInvesting

“It’s often felt that the power is sitting in the hands of the investor. But business leaders need to realise that the power is really sitting with them – they own the brand.” In an insightful interview with Raconteur | B Corp™ , Anuradha Chugh, former MD of Ben & Jerry's and former CEO of Pukka Herbs shares her perspective on navigating the gap between investors and purpose-led companies. With experience leading large, purpose-driven businesses, Anu stresses the need for a shared understanding of ethics, purpose, and profit. Business leaders should learn financial language, while investors must appreciate the value of purpose. Success lies in finding "aligned capital" to drive both impact and returns. A big shoutout to Raconteur | B Corp™ for partnering with us on Louder Than Words. Thank you to managing editor, Francesca Cassidy for hosting an insightful panel on the future of the B Corp movement and to the Raconteur team for raising awareness of the business acting as a force for good amongst readers. Read more on the investor-investee relationship: https://lnkd.in/eKgVaziH #BCorpFestivalUK #PurposeDriven #SustainableInvestment #ImpactInvesting

Join us at these upcoming events 📣 ➡️ Black Business Show | London, 19th October We’ll have a stand at the event where business founders can learn about the benefits of B Corp certification for their business. Plus, we're supporting the Launchpad competition, where four Black-owned businesses will pitch live for a chance to win free B Corp certification consultancy and a year of B Corp Certification! If you’re attending this year's show, visit our stand and watch the pitches. #UKBBS UK Black Business Week | UK Black Business Show ➡️ Design For Planet Festival | Manchester, 6th November Hosted by the Design Council, this event brings together people to focus on sustainable design and planet-positive practices. Whether you’re an expert or simply passionate about a sustainable future, this festival is for you. Catch Kyle Soo, B Lab UK’s Partnerships and Product Manager, at the event. #DesignForPlanet Design Council. 🌍 ➡️ Blue Earth Summit | London, 16-18th October We’ll be in the market hall, ready to chat with B Corps and anyone curious about B Corp certification. Learn about how your business can make a greater impact on people and the planet, and don’t miss James Ghaffari, our Director of growth and product, discussing the future of B Corp standards in a panel on Thursday. Use code ‘BCORP30’ for a last-minute ticket! #BESUMMIT24 🔗 Links to all events in the comments. #SustainabilityEvents

Another B Local has launched, demonstrating the impressive growth of our UK community.  🎉 With 27 B Corps now based in Cheshire, last Thursday, Cheshire-based businesses gathered for the launch of its B Local.  B Locals are place-based communities of people using business as a force for good, driving awareness of the B Corp movement and creating local impact. Guests heard impact stories from other B Corps, connected with like-minded businesses and enjoyed B Corp certified drinks and snacks. To ensure our movement is representative of the UK business population, in 2022 we set out to increase awareness of B Corp certification and provide support for companies in areas of the country with fewer B Corps. So last Thursday’s Cheshire B Local launch was a significant milestone for the UK B Corp community. We're excited to see the continued impact of the local community using business for good! 🎉

An exciting opportunity to join the B Lab UK team has landed. We’re looking for an experienced learning and development manager to join us on our mission to inspire and enable people to use business as a force for good. If you have a knack for embedding a positive, proactive approach to empowering colleagues on their learning journey, then this may be a great opportunity for you to join us at an exciting time of rapid growth. Key elements of the role: ➡️People development—work closely with the wider people and culture team to create a holistic approach to developing inclusive, compassionate and transformational leaders and line managers. ➡️ Emerging talent programmes—oversee the development of emerging talent programmes that enable career development for colleagues. ➡️ Performance enhancement and management—work closely with colleagues to ensure that B Lab UK’s performance enhancement ethos is embedded at all levels within the organisation. ➡️Evaluation—monitor learning programmes and evaluate the impact of the training initiatives. Apply today via: https://lnkd.in/eZBeSzb8

Exciting changes lie ahead for B Corp Certification, with new, minimum standards set to be published in early 2025. In an interview with Forbes, B Lab UK's executive director, Chris Turner shared that the new standards will raise the bar for businesses seeking certification, with a focus on human rights, environmental impact and fair work. “B Corps are where change really happens. It is less of a tick-box certification, and more about a different way of thinking,” Rosie Brown, co-chief executive of #BCorp COOK Trading Ltd highlighted. With 9,000 certified B Corps globally and over 2,000 in the UK alone, the movement is growing faster than ever. The new standards reinforce that B Lab’s mission is not just to certify B Corps—it’s to collectively reshape the economic system into one that is inclusive, equitable and regenerative. 🌎 Find out more about how these changes will shape the future of B Corp certifications. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/gkm_6ft9

“Through our work we raise awareness, inspire, inform and connect. We move to move you so that together we can make a difference.” Justice in Motion opened Louder Than Words, setting the tone for a highly impactful two days of turning ideas into action. We caught up with them backstage to understand more about the work they do — creating powerful, thought-provoking and visually stunning performances to raise awareness about social injustice. ✊ Hear from the creators themselves on how they developed such a moving concept to address some of our planet's biggest challenges. 👇 Find out more about Justice In Motion and their incredible work: https://lnkd.in/ezqzS4d  #BCorpFestivalUK

Businesses putting nature on the board is a hot topic at the moment — we’ve seen B Corps House of Hackney, Faith In Nature and Patagonia do this in recent years. But what does appointing nature to the board actually mean? Typically, this involves nominating a non-executive director to consider the impact of business decisions on the environment. This representative ultimately has the power to advocate on nature’s behalf, ensuring it has a seat at the table. Businesses adopting this approach have found that beyond legal and cultural shifts, the most significant practical change is that nature now has an active voice in decision-making processes. When asked what support and resources are available for businesses to be able to realistically offer nature a seat in the boardroom, Tom Ebbutt, director of impact at B Lab UK encourages businesses to start with the B Impact Assessment (B Lab’s free online tool to measure and manage impact) and draw on the insights of others already innovating in the corporate governance space. 🌱 Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/eDxrPZQm