We are thrilled to announce that Impression is now a Certified B Corporation®, joining a growing group of companies reinventing business by pursuing purpose as well as profit. We have been certified by B Lab, the not-for-profit behind the B Corp movement, as having met rigorous social and environmental standards.
What does it mean to be B Corp™ Certified?
The B Corp™ certification addresses the entirety of a business’ operations and covers five key impact areas of Governance, Workers, Community, Environment and Customers. The certification process is rigorous, with applicants required to reach a benchmark score of over 80 while providing evidence of socially and environmentally responsible practices relating to energy supplies, waste and water use, worker compensation, diversity and corporate transparency.
The UK community represents a broad cross-section of industries and sizes, comprising over 950 companies including well-known brands such as The Guardian, innocent, Patagonia and The Body Shop. We are incredibly proud to stand alongside such a reputable lineup of value-driven companies.
You can read more about the certification here.
Why did we want to certify as a B Corp™?
We first became aware of B Corp™ a couple of years ago. At the time, one of our clients was a Certified B Corporation® and having worked alongside us, they thought that it would align with our values and suggested that we look into it.
We have always been determined to do business differently and that’s why one of our core values is ‘Business for Good’. B-Corp™ looked like an excellent way for us to demonstrate our commitment to this value whilst joining a global community of like-minded businesses that meet high standards of social and environmental impact.
In our industry, there aren’t many third-party certifications to demonstrate how we are performing as a business outside of the marketing results that we achieve for our clients. This was another factor that we found particularly appealing about the certification.
With all this in mind, we began our application to become a Certified B Corporation®.
Since 2015, we’ve run team engagement surveys to determine what matters the most to our people. The changes that we’ve implemented off the back of this feedback have helped shape Impression into the business it is today. As a result of this activity, we soon realised that there wasn’t a huge amount that we’d have to change in regard to the way we worked. The application process highlighted areas in which we were particularly strong and areas that had room for improvement.
Our certification process began in our previous financial year but due to the growth of our agency, we soon outgrew the category that we’d entered. As we moved into our current financial year, we were a larger business and had to meet increased requirements. It’s been a long application process but so we’re proud to say that we are officially certified!
Certifying as a B Corp™ recognises what we’ve been working so hard to achieve. It is a symbol of the type of workforce we want to be, and we hope to inspire others to build a business that brings benefit to all.
How did we achieve our B Corp™ Certification?
The process was already well aligned with the way that we worked and it prompted us to audit all areas of our business from our people to our partners to our policies.
For two years, we’ve been a climate-friendly agency, funding tree-planting initiatives and funding carbon offsetting initiatives through Ecologi. However, there were some additional factors to consider around our environmental impact. We’ve always prioritised buying local, greener options but now, with a more formalised local purchasing policy in place, we’re doing this even more.
We acknowledge that as an agency, there isn’t a huge amount of meaningful impact that we can have on our environment. We don’t generate a lot of waste or use a lot of energy and our hybrid way of working has naturally reduced our carbon footprint. Where we believe that we can make the most impact, is through selectively choosing the types of brands we work with. We seek to partner with those whose values align with ours and B Corp™ has helped us shape our client portfolio whilst adding even more rigor to our prospect qualification process.
In addition to our environmental commitments, we’ve made various enhancements to our Employee Value Proposition. Notable improvements include our extensive leave policies, hyrbid working arrangement, menopause policy and access to private medical insurance. Our benefits package has been designed to help our people look after their health and wellbeing, make the most of their finances and enjoy their time outside of work.
You can read more about our impact efforts here and view our team perk list here.
What’s next?
B Corp Certification does not mean that we are perfect, nor that we have achieved the highest impact. It does show that we are a part of a global community of businesses working collectively for economic systems change, and in order to stay committed to this work, we must meet rising standards for social and environmental performance. For us, this process is a journey of improvement, self-awareness and discovery.
Since the beginning, we’ve been lucky to employ a workforce of passionate individuals who have voluntarily taken on responsibility for areas such as CSR, DE&I and well-being. Taking a more formal approach, we introduced an internal Impact Team, responsible for guiding the business on each core impact area, informing decision-making and prioritisation.
We will not rest on our laurels – we will regularly review and evolve the way we work to address and respond to the critical challenges our society is facing.
It’s our hope that through our investment we’ll create long-term sustained growth and value creation for all stakeholders, beyond our shareholders.
What’s in it for our clients?
We’ve discussed what being B Corp™ certified means for us, but what does it mean for you and our clients?
So, how can these processes affect you? One of our strengths as an agency is our people and, as mentioned above, we run regular team engagement surveys to see what matters the most to our people. In doing so, we can retain top talent, meaning consistency for your account, and a greater understanding of your business and its needs.
Today, sustainability is a central topic and we want our climate-friendly initiatives to be backed by an accreditation to prove our dedication to environmental responsibility. Both customers and businesses are becoming increasingly climate-conscious, so partnering with a B Corp™ certified agency is one way to champion business as a force for good whilst building consumer trust.
However, we’ve taken this one step further by pledging ourselves as a part of the Clean Creatives project, a project for marketing professionals who want a safe climate future. We pledge to decline any future contracts with fossil fuel companies, trade associations, or front groups by participating in this project.
Ultimately, being B Corp™ puts credit to our values. Values which we hope to share these with you. Our collaborative, creative and inclusive culture helps to build our reputation as a leading digital employer. Attracting the best talent ensures we are pioneering new approaches and keeping you at the forefront of digital innovation. As a B Corp™ certified agency, we can use business for good, together.
Are you looking for ways to champion business as a force for good? Get in touch or head to our careers page to find out about the ways you can work with us.
