Off The Shelf #20: Bring Your B Game

Another label, but could this one be the real deal? Read time: 2-3 mins.

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I don’t know about you, but recently I’ve noticed a number of companies blowing their own horns on social media about being awarded B-Corp certification. They've all seemed pretty proud about it. But what on earth is it, and is it any good?

✍️ B Corp certification - the 30-second pitch

‘Measuring a company’s entire social and environmental impact’. That’s how B Lab, who issues B Corp certification, puts it. In a (sustainable) nutshell, B Corp is a designation awarded to businesses that meet high standards on a number of social and environmental metrics.

To get certified, a business has to pass an impact assessment, legally commit to a governance structure built around accountability, and it must report its sustainability metrics through its profile on the B Lab website.

👥 B Lab - who are they to decide who’s sustainable?

B Lab is a nonprofit network which offers programs and tools to help companies plan for ‘a resilient future’. As well as presiding over the B Corps certification, it conducts policy work pushing for legal change around corporate accountability and social impact. The team leading the network has a mix of backgrounds and experience, and their credentials look pretty impressive.

🧐 Is it legit?

As with all labels and certifications, there’s always going to be nuance and we have to be mindful of greenwashing. Companies are adept at putting the best spin on things - and nowhere is this more true than the topic of sustainability.

This is a pretty good summary of the process and requirements if you want to dive deeper into the certification. But basically, there’s a lengthy and multi-faceted application process, and it’s not just a one-time award: certification has to be re-awarded every 3 years, so there’s limited room for complacency. Relatively few companies succeed in getting certified - less than 3.5% of those who have tried.

So, noting the risk of greenwashing and the limitations of labels, the fact that there’s clearly a considerable amount of rigor in the process has to be a good thing.

📜 Who’s certified?

One of the coolest things about the B Corp website is this search tool. It has some useful filters and it couldn’t be easier to find out who’s been awarded the label.

By my count, there are currently 826 B Corps related to food and drink, out of a total of 5,349. Filter that down to companies tagged as ‘best for the world’, and it’s 142 out of 1,138. 19 of those companies are in the UK. Some of the better-known UK brands with B Corps are Tony’s Chocolonely, who I featured a couple of weeks back, Oddbox and Alpro (check out my alt-milk issue).

Have fun filtering. Let me know if you find any gems.

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I NEED YOUR FEEDBACK!

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MORSELS

🚢 The Ukraine-Russia grain deal has brought some relief to global food prices

🏛 There’s a new boss at the UK Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

📊 The government is looking for expert opinions on animal welfare standards

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Data as of 18 September 2022. Just to keep my senior politician readership out of hot water on Sunday morning TV. Price of milk represented by the average price of comparable 2-pint bottles at 5 major retailers in the United Kingdom (Tesco, Aldi, Sainsbury’s Waitrose and Marks & Spencer). Index is equally weighted and based on online prices. Methodology is purely proprietary and utterly unscientific. For actual price data that might be remotely useful for economic analysis, try the Office for National Statistics.

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