To ESG and beyond | B-corp status - future of business or greenwashing?

Take a cursory glance over the website of any ethically-conscious company, and you might well come across a proudly-displayed ‘Certified B Corporation’ logo. It may not seem like much, but for firms that have opted to make environmental and social governance a core priority, that logo means an awful lot.

Essentially, B Corps are businesses that reach the highest standards of social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. Ben & Jerry’s, TOMs, The Body Shop, Gousto and Aesop are just some of the household names that you may recognise who proudly sport the certification.

Being a B Corp is a badge of honour, and it’s undoubtedly seen as a positive in a society that places a huge onus on environmental sustainability. It’s also worth considering that both the workforce and the public increasingly expect the organisations they work for and frequent to uphold a stringent standard of ethics.

A massive 88% of consumers will be more loyal to a company that supports social or environmental issues, according to Cone Communications data, whilst NASDAQ data recently found that investments in to ESG strategies grew 42% from 2018 to 2020.