Why we became a B Corp: Chamber Member, Stroud Brewery, tells its story

This B Corp Month, and to celebrate over a year since we achieved B Corp status, we spoke to fellow B Corp and Business West Chamber Member, Stroud Brewery, about why it decided to become a B Corp and its advice to other companies.

B Corp is an international certification which recognises businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose.

Stroud Brewery was established in 2006 and has focused on sustainability since its inception. Managing Director and founder Greg Pilley has a background in ecology and set up the company with the aim of making great tasting beers for the community while considering the impact on the environment.

Greg said:

“We were trying to be more relevant as a sustainable business further afield than Stroud and wanted a measure of the good things we were doing. B Corp arrived just at that moment.

“I believe all companies should be considering their impact on people and planet. B Corps are leading change. With the global challenges we clearly face there is no excuse to allow business to operate to the detriment of our social and environmental capital. 

“It is inspiring to see the change the B Corp community is making. Collectively we can contribute to living in balance with the planet's capacity to host a human population and maintain quality of life.”

Businesses accounted for 18% of all UK greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 and therefore have huge responsibility to reduce their carbon footprint. However, Greg says that carbon reduction is not the whole picture.

Greg continued:

“The business operates with ethical finance using Triodos bank and uses Ecotricity to generate power. Ecotricty is a company specialising in selling green energy to consumers that it primarily generates from its 87.2 megawatt wind power portfolio.

“The brewery also uses organic malting barley grown in the Cotswolds and uses rainwater harvesting for flushing waste.

“We also have heat recovery in our brewery. One of our main interventions is managing the temperature in our beers. We put the heat that we recover from that into processes such as washing casks.”

Our interview with Greg came as the UN released a climate report which lays out how rapid cuts to the use of fossil fuels can avert the worst effects of climate change.

When asked about his advice for other companies considering B Corp status, he said:

“The platform's free, so you can jump on that and go through the questions. That instantly gives you a measure of how you're performing. I wouldn't be too overwhelmed about it. It is a multi-choice questionnaire and helps you to illustrate good practice.”

The B Corp certification can also be used by businesses to improve their impact, equipping them with the knowledge they need to make changes. Business West’s climate focused Quarterly Economic Survey last year found that 71% of firms consider climate change to be a ‘core business issue’ but lack the resources to make changes due to cost pressures and lack of information.

Greg said:

“The process of becoming a B Corp is very revealing and exposes all aspects of the business, providing a clear pathway of how to improve.

“Being a member of Business West Chamber as a B Corp also allows us to share good practice and learn from others, multiplying the benefits that we can improve on in the region.”

How your business can get started on its sustainability journey

As a B Corp, we want to help firms get started on their journey to Net Zero. 

Since starting our Aiming for Net Zero workshops and Lunch and Learn webinars in 2020, we’ve supported over 200 businesses to get started on their net zero journey. Our next hour long virtual Lunch and Learn takes place on the 25th April, and will be covering the topic of Green Finance, where you’ll hear from speakers from Triodos Bank, SWIG Finance and Business West. Sign up for free today.