Building a more resilient future for our planet as a B Corp

After a year of living under pandemic conditions, returning to work in an office at my previous company felt alien - especially as a new parent. I was ready for a new challenge, and Cervest’s B Corp status was one of the reasons I applied for my current role. It’s much more than a badge on our website, it is part of everything we do, and it impacts every decision we make. Something I quickly learned as I took over the B Corp reins at Cervest.

“A Certified B Corporation, commonly known as a B Corp, is a new type of company. B Corps are companies that voluntarily meet the highest standards for social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability”. B Corps use profits and growth to create a positive impact on their people, communities, and the planet.

At Cervest, being a B Corp fits with our goals. We believe that climate must be at the core of every decision, and we have the vision to democratize access to climate intelligence, driving a shared responsibility to protect the world’s critical assets. The status signals a shift towards the greater accountability and transparency the climate tech sector needs to drive climate action at scale.

Achieving B Corp status is no easy task. When you apply to become a B Corp, every part of your business is examined with a fine-toothed comb. The Impact Assessment is used to measure a business’s performance in five key categories – governance, workers, customers, community, and the environment – using credible, independent, and verifiable standards of social and environmental performance.

Cervest attained a score of 102.1 - significantly higher than the minimum score (80) required to become a B Corp and double the median score (50.9) for ordinary businesses who complete the assessment!

Once you have passed this stage and received your certification, you must be reverified every three years, and produce an impact report each year. This report demonstrates our long-term commitment to sustaining these rigorous standards and pioneering the B Corp values and goals.

In the last 12 months we have been incredibly busy, working on projects that align with our B Corp values, including but not limited to:

• For our IT provision we use Hofy, they offer a more sustainable, resource-efficient circular economy model

• Equality at work is non-negotiable. We recruit inclusively and are certified disability confident

• We recently made improvements to our maternity and paternity leave policies, committing us to pay our employees above what is required by law

• We provide all-in-one mental health support for employees using Spill

• We use Fair HQ and Lattice to encourage a continuous feedback culture

• Each employee has access to a £1,000 learning budget

• Helping to close the digital divide in the UK by donating our unwanted laptops to a housing charity

• Offsetting travel using TravelPerk

• Creating a ‘green suppliers list’

Our B Corp status is just one of the reasons I’m so incredibly proud to say that I work at Cervest! Read Cervest’s first Impact Report to discover what we have done, and continue to do for the planet, our people, and community.