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In late June, I promised in my B as Benefit article (https://fabrik.fi/vaikuttavuusarviointi/) to keep you updated on how our B Corp journey is progressing. As I mentioned in the same article, there is plenty of pent-up demand for social change leaders. As for the official B Corp certification, we are still patiently waiting for our assessment report.
But we have not stood idly by. The comprehensive battery of questions in the B Impact Assessment tool (BIA), the backbone of the certification, brought to our tables a number of areas for development that we have been actively pursuing over the summer and autumn. Personally, over the last couple of months, I have been immersed in the world of B Corp and above all in the BIA assessment tool I mentioned above in the B Leader Intensive Coaching. However, the motivation for attending the first possible course in Copenhagen was not the fancy-sounding title, but our desire to help others benefit from the opportunities offered by B Corp. In the future, there will be more than one B Leader in Fabrik.
So what is it about B Corp that interests companies?
In short: business orientation. B Corp certification is about developing a company as a whole, rather than a single product or a specific part of a supply chain, for example. To use the power of business for good, in line with the B Corp philosophy, companies need to grow and prosper. That is why, in addition to social and environmental performance, the magnifying glass is equally focused on economic performance, and the scoring system used for certification provides a particular incentive to develop a business model with a positive impact.
In my own experience, companies are well aware of the need for change and the will to change is high. The challenge ahead is not knowing how. In the big picture, as with individual sustainability issues, it is important to first understand what is at stake and what is relevant to you. For that, B Corp offers a great tool in the form of the B Impact Assessment.
A concrete tool for sustainability assessment and management
The assessment tool, which adapts to the sector, the size of the company and the responses given, is based on five pillars (governance, people, customers, environment, community) that really challenge you to develop your own activities to a more sustainable level and open your eyes to issues that might otherwise be overlooked. BIA also works well in the transition to impact management and continuous improvement. It includes the opportunity to set your own targets, compare your own performance with other companies and pick up best practices for your own company.
Best of all, the tool is freely available to everyone and is completely free to use to assess, develop and manage the impact of your business – even if certification is not something you are interested in right now. Of course, the language is English and the terms are challenging to say the least, but it’s worth a look: https://bcorporation.eu/become-a-b-corp/b-impact-assessment/
Author Timo Kupiainen, Fabrik’s Impact Strategist & B Leader
