It’s official. We’re a Certified B Corporation
In 2005 I read the founder of Patagonia’s book ‘Let my people go surfing’. Little did I know that this book would leave a permanent mark on me. As a keen surfer I picked up the book initially thinking it would be a guide to squeeze more surfing into my life by convincing my bosses at the time to give me extra hours off work. However, it was way more than that. It was the start of a personal learning journey of how business, people and planet can co-exist in harmony.
Fast forward to today. We are very proud to officially (July 2021) call ourselves a B Corp. Joining a global community of businesses, from Patagonia to Chloe to The Guardian, that balance purpose and profit by maintaining high environmental and social standards.
B Corp is a very demanding and rigorous certification, requiring companies to answer 300 questions about their social and environmental impacts. Their answers are scored on a points system, and companies must earn at least 80 to be B Corp certified; only 4,000 brands out of 100,000 have made the cut. In the UK there are now over 400 B Corps who are driving the movement.
The Upside is a boutique strategy and innovation consultancy and becoming a B Corp means that we are in a privileged position where we advise some of the largest and most progressive companies in the world on how they can grow by combining creativity, culture, and commerciality. Critically we believe that growth should not come with negative impacts – it must be positive to people and planet. We call our approach ‘co-creating better business growth’ and aim to use our influence to inform how business can play an additive role in the world.
The B Corp certification verifies our efforts, but it doesn’t mean there isn’t more work to do. It’s the start of a new chapter and part of a longer learning journey for ourselves but also our clients. B Corp provides us with a powerful framework to accelerate this journey and continuously challenge ourselves to use business as a positive force.
Niku
Founder & CEO, The Upside
About B Lab®
B Lab UK is transforming the economy to benefit all people, communities, and the planet. A leader in economic systems change, our global network creates standards, policies, and tools for business, and we certify companies—known as B Corps—who are leading the way. To date, our global community includes 4,000 B Corps in 77 countries and 153 industries, and over 100,000 companies manage their impact with the B Impact Assessment and the SDG Action Manager.