Dont Forget the Cleaner: Our Plan for B-Corp Certification
July 11, 2022
As a practice we are seeking to lead the way in both sustainable architecture, and ethical business practice. So, we are beginning on a journey to explore ‘B-Corporation Certification’. Popular companies such as the British clothing company, Finisterre have used this measure to establish themselves as one of 700 UK, and 5000 worldwide companies, who are trying to ‘use business as a force for good’. The so called ‘B-Corp’ movement states that: “We need an inclusive, equitable and regenerative economic system for all people and the planet.” We couldn’t agree more, and so over the next year we will be establishing whether we can use this process to measure all aspects of our practice in a bid to demonstrate our commitment to ethical practice at all levels. We were inspired by fellow architects practice Stride Treglown who achieved registered B-Corp Certification, and want to see how a much smaller practice like ours can use the platform to be the change that we want to see.
This was drawn into focus recently when we discussed what it meant to be a Living Wage Employer at Bristol’s Festival of Sustainable Business held here at the Paintworks. Of course I assumed that we must be, since all of our team are well qualified professionals…..until we were asked ‘what about your cleaner?’ Thus ensued some checking and confirmation that all of our cleaning company’s team are paid a living wage, which we were relieved to hear, and also prompted us to join them and become a signed up ‘Living Wage Employer’! This is a baby step in the direction of the B-Corp Certification process where we will need to document and demonstrate how our business is being used as a force for good across all facets of our activities.
Watch this space, as we undertake this exciting journey, which we will share in an accessible and collaborative way as we go; aligned with our core vision as a practice seeking to transform the way people live with vision and values and be the most ethical practice possible.
