On the fourth day of the BFFF Business Conference 2021 we were joined by BFFF member Cook with Richard Pike and Andy Stephens providing an interesting presentation on what it means to hold B Corp status.

Richard painted the background to what B Corp is. The idea started in the USA with the simple premise that running a business should be based on a ‘force for good’ and with a purpose but that profit is not a ‘dirty’ word.

With over 4,000 companies Worldwide in 74 countries the concept is being adopted globally.

The start point is to have the ethos of B Corp included within the Articles of Association for each company. This not only shows commitment but provides a legal framework.

With an audit every 3 years it is an evolving process against which you can measure yourself as a business. Andy explained that the B Corp audit process is seen internally as a ‘critical and honest friend’.

The start point is the B Impact Assessment. This is where any company can measure their performance against a range of criteria – some 100,000 businesses already do this.

Andy went on to say that the average score companies get on this is 57, however, to achieve B Corp status you need to achieve a minimum of 80.

Within the audit undertaken by B Lab, the not for profit behind the B Corp movement, every three years a company is ranked for governance, worker engagement and treatment, community engagement, environment policy and performance, and customer interaction, with each section being assessed and scored. Richard explained this helps Cook focus on the areas that could be improved.

This is obviously something taken to heart by Cook who have seen their audit scores continually increase.

The presentation from this year’s Frozen Food Business Conference will be made available to all attendees.  If you were not able to purchase a ticket, please contact Siobhan O’Callaghan.