Good-Loop has baked B Corp's values into our policies and business practices since we were founded in 2016.

We first became certified in 2019, with a score of 84.3 and we have now officially re-certified with an increased score of 96.9! Applying to become a B Corp is a lengthy process which takes a lot of elbow grease. So, to recertify with an increased score is a huge win!

What does it mean to be a B Corp?

A B Corporation is a company that is legally committed to high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability. There are over 5,000 B Corps around the world, across 157 industries in 84 countries, with over 447,800 workers.

"Our most challenging problems cannot be solved by governments and nonprofits alone. By harnessing the power of business, B Corps commit to positively impact all stakeholders - workers, communities, customers, and our planet." - B Corp

For Good-Loop, being a B Corp is critical to our success as it underpins our company values and ethics. From staff wellbeing to our carbon footprint, we understand the importance of being transparent and accountable.

"Being a B Corp is part of what makes Good-Loop tick -- part of really being on the same team. A small group of well-motivated people working together can scale mountains. It's one of the ways in which Good-Loop and other B Corps can turn doing the right thing into a commercial strength." - Daniel Winterstein, CTO and Founder of Good-Loop.

How did we increase our score?

When we initially certified in 2019, we were super proud of our score, but we knew we had it in us to be even better. The threshold for becoming a B Corp is 80 points. The average score across all businesses is 50.9. Good-Loop re-certified with a score of 96.9.

The entire assessment is incredibly detailed, but here are just a few things we have done over the past few years that enabled us to get an even higher score than before:

• We calculated our exact carbon footprint and offset this to an exact level. We worked alongside the BIMA sustainability council to delve into Good-Loop's scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions to accurately calculate and report on our carbon footprint. We then offset this yearly with investments to certified carbon capture and removal projects via Ecologi.

• We have been working internally to create a more inclusive and happy work environment by implementing initiatives such as: a DE&I working group to discuss ways in which we can be more inclusive both internally and externally, a more lenient holiday allowance, increased wellness initiatives, more opportunities for training and development etc.

• We have been digging into our trusted publishers and have implemented a diverse media policy, which ensures we place at least 10% of media on diverse and minority owned sites.

• Fair pay is a key part of a fair society. Of course we measure male/female pay to avoid any sexist pay gap - that's a basic requirement. But we go further. By looking at pay across the company, and by measuring and being honest about pay gaps, we help balance pay - striking a good balance between the market rates for different roles versus the innate value and needs of every member of the team.

But we're not going to stop there

"The B Corp movement is one of the most important of our lifetime, built on the simple fact that business impacts and serves more than just shareholders - it has an equal responsibility to the community and to the planet" - Rose Marcario, Former CEO of Patagonia

B Corp assessments are a wonderful way to showcase our wins, but also help to shine a light on the areas where we are not as strong. This then provides us with a clear path that we can focus on before the next recertification. Our B-Corp improvement plan has been created, and we're on a mission to be even better the next time around so watch this space!