Image by Oxford Women in Business
With the world turning its attention more and more to sustainability, it was brilliant to see so many people come to listen to the panel hosted by Oxford Women in Business (est. 2008) on Wednesday 2nd November 2022. The panel, consisting of Lauren Murrell, co-founder of Sarah London; Richard Johnson, Head of Impact at DAME; Pip Durell, founder of With Nothing Underneath; and Doug Johnson, founder of Mesh Energy, addressed the concept of a B Corp, how this is implemented in their businesses, and how they continue to uphold this.
The B Corp movement originates in the US and looks at how a company impacts the environment and community around it. It is important to note that B Corps are not just focussed on sustainability: they also examine fair wages, diversity, equality and educating others in this area. This ever-changing concept is viewed differently from each business. Doug Johnson talked about the importance of pursuing the status of B Corp even if you don’t have a physical product to sell, and instead, are offering a service. Only 15% of roles within the global engineering industry are occupied by women, however Doug Johnson has worked to target this imbalance at Mesh Energy and 50% of his company now consists of female staff.
Durell, who had worked in fashion for a long time before founding WNU in 2017, addressed the importance of buying in moderation rather than opting for fast fashion. Fashion is tricky when it comes to sustainability. Many products are advertised as “green” but this can be deceptive and some are not as sustainable as they claim to be, hence why only 17 UK fashion companies are B Corp certified. Trust between the consumer and the company should be of the highest priority and established immediately. Cotton production for example is by no means perfect, but it has improved in recent years and will continue to do so as time goes on. Companies need to act on this learning curve.
Whilst some businesses are still struggling with competitors and find themselves in the competition of “who can be the most sustainable”, Murrell explained how a B Corp beauty coalition was formed in order to collaborate within the beauty industry rather than stepping on each others’ toes. In a dog-eat-dog world, seeing that such coalitions can happen, where people encourage each other with a mutual, ethical aim, rather than tearing each other down, is truly encouraging.
The panellists stressed that a B Corp status should be something that many other companies aim to obtain, as many aspects of it are easily achievable with some quick changes, lowering carbon emissions, for example. Whilst, with start-ups, the chaos can get the better of you, it is important to recognise that it is better to grow sustainably, as opposed to immediate growth in profit to insure longevity. Some companies are slower to adapt to the idea of B Corp. At the moment you need to score 80 out of 200 points, which test factors such as governance, environment and workers, in order to qualify as a B Corp, but companies have to recertify every couple of years. This means that in the future there will potentially be higher requirements in order to meet the ‘minimum’.
Eventually, the panel was asked to address a rather big elephant in the room: the higher costs for consumers investing in sustainability. Answers varied depending on each panellists’ industry, but the overall consensus was that higher costs are a consequence of quality than quantity. Purchasing a few items that contain plastic or that are not pure cotton is not the primary issue – it is more a question of reducing the negative impact we have on the environment. Richard Johnson explained that for many years, consumers were shamed into buying eco-friendly products and were blamed for an issue that was primarily caused by mega corporations at the top. The individual consumer shouldn’t be blamed, but rather taught and shown how they can make a difference in their own way. Ultimately, it is up to companies to provide products that are more sustainable. An individual can only do so much – it must be a collective effort.
Richard Johnson described B Corp in the following way: “It is to business what Fairtrade is to coffee”. In other words, B Corp is a marker of ethics and sustainability. It is a way of ensuring that companies are doing everything they possibly can to make the world a better place. For example, Doug Johnson claimed to have calculated and offsetted his carbon footprint, even before discovering what a B Corp was. We found that Durell was honest about the fact that, when she started her company, sustainability was not readily on her mind. She described B Corp as a “nightmare” for fashion companies, and yet has not shied away from this in recent years. Her company was made sustainable by 2018, only one year after launching, as she grew to believe that she had a moral responsibility to enforce this standard. For Durell, this involves knowing every detail of her distribution line – from the mills to the consumers. She emphasised that if being sustainable means taking a cut to the business, then those cuts are necessary. Generally, there was an optimistic outlook, accompanied by the hope that other companies might soon come to the same realisation. For the panel, it only takes a few forward-thinking businesses to expand the realms of B Corp.
Having discussed their aims and experiences of running B Corp businesses, the floor then opened up to an audience Q&A. The first question was directed to Murrell and Durell, enquiring as to whether treatment has been different for them as women compared to their male counterparts, particularly when trying to secure investments. Both business women admitted that they haven’t had to raise money from investors, but that it’s still a big issue in business. Durell mentioned that upon visiting her mills with her husband, the workers automatically assumed her husband was the founder and so addressed him first – an issue which needs to be tackled not just in B Corps, but corporations generally. She also brought attention to the difference in questions presented to women who are trying to secure funding. Frequently, male founders are asked ‘what will you do with the money?’, whilst female founders are asked ‘what if you lose it?’. There is an automatic assumption that the woman is less reliable when it comes to financial responsibility and thus is deemed a greater liability. This is not a surprise, but is a sad reality.
A follow-up question was addressed to the panel as a whole: ‘would you accept funding from an investor whose values don’t match your own?’ It was, admittedly, a challenging question – something that Doug Johnson himself acknowledged. It almost feels like the typical Robin Hood dilemma: should you take money from the corrupt rich if it will lead to a better society overall? Richard Johnson’s response was that this depends on how much you want to grow as a company. He cited the case of Oatly, who hoped to replace cow’s milk with oat milk for environmental benefits, yet who took investment from a company which has been accused of contributing to deforestation. But, as Richard Johnson pointed out, Oatly needed the resources to grow their company and reach their goals as quickly as possible. Durell added that it’s not about being perfect, but about being better than what’s already on the market. Doug Johnson was noticeably perplexed by the question, stating that “money makes the world go round”. He implied that the questions these corporations must ask themselves are whether this funding can be used for good, and in addition to this, what are the profits used for. Ultimately, Doug Johnson concluded that there are people who are willing to give honest, decent money to help further the aims of these B Corps.
The final question concerned the future of B Corps. Once businesses have been certified as a B Corp, where do they go from there? Murrell described being a B Corp as a journey. The fact that you must recertify every three years helps to reinforce the original values and purpose of B Corps – there is always room for improvement. This was echoed by Richard Johnson, who believes that in the near future there will be a greater focus on the individual points of the scale to certify. The areas where companies lack points can be addressed, and businesses will hopefully focus more on where they rank amongst other B Corps, encouraging a healthier competition. The standard set will be much higher as the world becomes increasingly aware of the need for sustainability in business. Durell responded with optimism, expressing a hope for an emergence of more B Corps, as this will mean that founders are running their companies more sustainably..
Caitlin MacClay, President of OxWIB, concluded the panel with a lasting question – one which doesn’t necessarily have a straightforward answer. “Will consumerism ever be sustainable?” We’d like to think so, but as the panel showed, this isn’t always easy. Nevertheless, with organisations such as B Lab (which awards the B Corp certification) raising awareness of this, there are definitely steps being taken in the right direction. Overall, the event was informative and interesting. It was a real chance to see some of the small steps businesses can take to limit their negative impact on the world. We can only hope that other business people will start to lead their companies with these values in mind.