Thoughts from a B Leader on the Brew Dog fiasco.
?? Hannah Cox
Helping businesses and live events increase their positive impact on people and planet. I'm also obsessed with a hedge in India. Project Salt Run – 100 Marathons to raise ￡1M for the planet
As a qualified B Leader (trained by B Lab to help businesses through the B Corp process) I wanted to share some thoughts on the current investigation into BrewDog in regards to their B Corp Certification. If you don't know what I'm talking about - read this article.
I want to point out I do not work for B Lab and am an Independent Consultant.
?????? The B Corp process in my experience has been extremely in depth and evidence based. There is a reason businesses employ B Leaders to support them - it's because many businesses need guidance and support to help them through the process as it is a huge achievement get the points needed to certify.
?? As a worldwide accreditation for all for profit companies the assessment questions do adjust based on Industry, Sector and Company Size. They have an independent advisory board who regularly update the standards and system to advance the requirements needed to certify.
?? There is a process undergoing to investigate BrewDog following a number of complaints and issues raised against them last year. BrewDog’s B Corp site review will be taking place in the first part of this year by the Global Standards Team. This has been slightly delayed from original timelines due to the emergence of the Omicron variant and travel concerns - the Global Standards Team determined that it is important that this review happens in person, rather than remotely.
?? The results of this site review will be presented to B Lab’s independent Standards Advisory Council to determine if any further action against the company’s B Corp Certification is required. Possible outcomes include no further action, additional transparency, required remediation, or revocation of the certification.
?? On the B Lab website there is a section which publicly shares the most up to date information on any businesses that are undergoing this process. You can find this here. They also include links to BrewDog’s B Impact Report profile (“Transparent Disclosure Report September 2021”) which includes a summary of the issues raised and the actions taken by BrewDog in response to the open letter and subsequent allegations.
In an era where greenwashing is the norm it's hard for Consumers to know if they are shopping with brands that share their values.
Certifications like B Corp, Fairtrade and Organic exist to make it easier for you to make choices that are fair, equitable and ethical. So understandably when a business has the B Corp certifications and does not appear to stick to these standards, we are all pissed off.
One of the ways I combat this at betternotstop is only working with a business if I believe they share our values. This sounds esoteric, but I have had calls with businesses interested in B Corp Certification who site 'business development' or 'to have a market difference' as their main reasons to certify. These are not conversations I choose to continue.
I believe all businesses should exist to make the world a better place. Working with Leaders who understand that having a positive impact is just as important as your bottom line is the reason we started The Better Business Network, to help connect, train and develop those Leaders doing great work. Along with B Lab, we support the Better Business Act to change UK Law to achieve this.
I believe this is an opportunity for B Lab to not just review BrewDog, but the process that lead to this company to certify without this being flagged and how they plan to avoid this type of thing happening in the future.
The B Corp Community is full of amazing businesses trying to transforming the global economy to benefit all people, communities, and the planet.
I imagine all B Corp Companies feel this is has not been respected and upheld by BrewDog. I am in no doubt the B Lab team that they are all privately extremely devastated at the behaviour of this business - not solely as a B Corp, but as part of the wider epidemic of business management that seems to exist.
It's no surprise the world is full of huge brands that are based purely on profit and shareholder value. Corporate tax abuse, human rights violations, environmental devastation are rife.
It's not enough to just talk about what makes you angry. Your actions, through the way you treat others, the type of work you do, your career choices and places you buy from can have either a negative or positive effect.
Use your vote wisely. Campaign for government regulations that will create a safer, fairer and equal World that we all have to live in.
For those of you outraged this behaviour, Act on it.
Every month we run a series of free online webinars to help businesses have a positive impact. Head to the Better Business Network LinkedIn page to register.
Copywriting | Editing | I help companies talk about sustainability.
3 年Thanks for sharing your insider knowledge on this, ??????Hannah. As you say, this feels like a good opportunity for B Lab to learn and grow - if there are holes in the process, the only shame is in not addressing them once they come to light. A friend of mine always says: you don't expect your washing machine to never break down. When it does, the manufacturer that fixes it well is the one that wins your trust.
Helping sustainable businesses break into the mainstream. Founder at Avery & Brown. Award-winning B Corp certified sustainable marketing agency. Better business pioneer. 15 years in sustainability.
3 年Great article, Hannah. Following yesterday's post, my profile was viewed by 39 people, about 20 of whom seem to be owners of B Corp UK's (and five or so views from B Lab employees) who presumably though I was having a dig at them - which I wasn't at all if you read my post. Reading through the dozens of comments on both my post and Mitchel's great post has made it clear that a LOT of people are pissed off about the BrewDog fiasco and you can't blame them for looking at B Corp in a new light - particularly if they are quite new to the topic and aren't fully sure what being a B Corp really means. Thanks for sharing!