One year as a B Corp: How far have we come for the planet?

Business West is celebrating one year of becoming a B Corp, an international certification that recognises businesses that meet the highest standards of social and environmental performance. 

Our mission to sustainability began over 10 years ago, when we set up a Green Team – a working group of employees interested in environment and sustainability. Amongst other initiatives that came from this group, it was pivotal in achieving our ISO 14001 certification. This maps out of a framework that a company or organization can follow to set up an effective environmental management system. Over the last few years, we’ve accelerated our sustainability focus by committing to achieving Net Zero by 2030 going carbon neutral, championing low carbon industries and supporting businesses of any type to go green. 

In 2018, we switched to a 100% zero-carbon electricity provider and reduced our carbon footprint by 25%. This really kick-started our journey to becoming a B Corp.

Since gaining B Corp certification in 2021, we’ve continued to place planet and purpose at the heart of everything we do, while supporting businesses to grow in a sustainable way. 

So, how far have we come in the last year?

1.We’ve halved our carbon emissions

In 2020, businesses accounted for 18% of all UK greenhouse gas emissions, so we knew how important it was to take measures to reduce our carbon footprint. 

We put in place a carbon reduction plan and in the last year, have reduced our carbon by 50% from our baseline year of 2019.

This has been achieved in a number of ways including through replacing outdated light fittings with low watt LEDs, replacing old boilers, and installing zonal controls and more modern pumps on our heating systems. This has enabled us to better manage our heating demand and reduce our consumption.

Started measuring the impact of hybrid working

We’ve also embraced hybrid working and have begun to think about how we measure our emissions in home working and commuting. We’ve taken advantage of the B Corp community and reached out to other B Corps to see how they’re measuring their impact. From those conversations, we’ve begun tracking how colleagues get to and from work and we’re now looking at how the different modes of transport can be measured from a carbon reduction point of view. 

2.Supported colleagues and stakeholders to make sustainable choices

We have continued to support colleagues to make environmentally friendly choices in their work and personal lives. We’ve placed recycling bins around our offices at Leigh Court and put signs around the building to encourage employees to switch lights off when a room isn’t being used.

We’ve also encouraged employees to get involved with our work to increase the biodiversity of our grounds. After introducing beehives to Leigh Court, we’ve planted bee friendly plants and created wildflower meadows to help them thrive. We sell the honey to colleagues to support the project. 

We’re also helping to support businesses in our supply chain. We’re looking at ways to measure the emissions they produce so we can more accurately measure our Scope 3 emissions. We’re also helping them to improve on their own carbon reduction plans.

3.Helped businesses in the region to become more sustainable

Our Quarterly Economic Survey in Quarter 2 of this year found that 71% of businesses consider climate change to be a core business issue but lack the resources to make changes due to cost pressures and lack of information. 

Jessica Vallentine, Head of Integration at Business West, said: 

“One of the challenges that businesses have is knowing where to start. One of the ways businesses can get support on their journey, is through community. 

“That happens at our workshops which are small enough so businesses can talk to each other easily. 

Since starting the Net Zero workshops in 2020, we’ve supported over 200 businesses to get started on their net zero journey. Find out more about these events here. 

On 6th December 2022, we’ll also be holding an Aiming for Net Zero workshop which will cover topics such as how much carbon your business emits and how to reduce it. It'll also cover how to incorporate Net Zero into business operations and planning.  You can book onto the event here.

Keep up with the conversation

We’ll be publishing a series of case studies and blogs with B Corp businesses we’ve supported or are partnering with over the coming month focusing on their commitment to the environment. If you’re a B Corp company in the South West and interested in being featured, please contact us here.