What it means to me to be B Corp certified by Siôn Stansfield
In January 2023, POINT3 Wellbeing became a Certified B Corporation, something we have been working towards for twelve months, so something I’m naturally very proud of.
For those who aren’t familiar with the B Corporation process of certification, you should check out their website for more information. They share lots of resources and reasons to become B Corp certified.
Simply speaking, to become a B Corp, your company has to meet high standards in terms of social impact and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. Ultimately, they are a movement inspiring business to be a force for good in the world.
So, why did we decide to pursue the B Corp certification?
Firstly, one of the foundational aims of B Corp is to have a positive impact on society at large. And this naturally reflects our vision and mission as a business.
At the highest level, we are passionate about creating a world where discrimination is extinct – and everyone has an equal opportunity to fulfil their human potential. Day-to-day our mission is to help people in the workplace to stress less and smile more. When people feel better at work and in life, the ripple effects will be felt far and wide.
So while we only have a small circle of influence within the workplaces that we work, we hope that the people we come into contact with will send the ripples into their circles of influence, and so on and so on.
But, we know we can also do more. And so, by being a B Corp, we are committing to increase our impact beyond the workplace, to the underserved in our communities. We knew that by going through the process of certification we would discover ways to do business differently and better. At points this was and will continue to be uncomfortable. As a small business run by three founders, it’s easy to get caught up in your own blinkered world. Focused on sales, marketing, turnover and simply staying afloat. You can forget your bigger purpose.
Over the course of certifying as a B Corp we found ourselves continually reviewing and reflecting on our business mission, vision, purpose and values. It forced us to go back to our fundamentals and it was a powerful reminder for all of us as to why we started this business in the first place.
Importantly, it challenged us to consider our impact both in and out of the workplace and how we are measuring this. And what does good look like? But more importantly it has got us thinking about how we can positively support and serve those in society that aren’t fortunate enough to be in the position we are in. How do we give something back? What is the legacy we want to leave behind?
This has been both an eye-opening but also incredibly motivating process for us. This has helped us to think bigger than ourselves so that we can be a force for good that far outweighs the impact we previously believed we might have.
A few of the things that we as a business have changed through certifying as a B Corp:
- Community – providing training and specialist advice to support the underserved in our communities, annual charity fundraising and volunteering in the community.
- People – investing in our own training and development, health and wellbeing so that we are walking the talk and leading by example for our partners.
- Policies – updating and creating policies around DE&I, Anti-bullying, choosing of suppliers, 360 degree feedback, annual leave and health and wellbeing support services.
- Environmental – committing to minimising our impact on the environment by how we travel, recycle, reduce our carbon footprint and have a positive impact on the planet.
We know that we’re only scratching the surface but this has provided us with a way that we can measure our impact and allows us to continuously strive for improvement across all areas of our business. This means that POINT3 Wellbeing will continue to evolve and improve its impact over time, as it learns from its experiences and from the experiences of others.
What’s next in our B Corp journey?
Watch this space. Over the next few months we will be officially setting up a project that makes giving back a more formalised process and enables us to provide greater support to those who might not otherwise get it – something we aim to announce later this year.
By certifying as a B-Corp we’ve challenged ourselves to do business in a way that creates a better world for future generations. Whilst we are only a small organisation we hope that by doing this the positive ripple effects will encourage others to take similar steps to reflect on the impact that they are having.
If your organisation is considering becoming a B Corp then don’t hesitate to reach out to me at sion@point3wellbeing.com. I would be happy to share my experiences of the process so you can decide if it’s the right step for you.
Siôn also recently shared his thoughts on being a B Corp with fellow B Corp business Skylark Media. You can read this here.