March is B Corp month and we are on a mission to raise awareness about B Corp and how the certification brings many benefits for businesses, whilst doing good for people and planet.
Our ‘B Curious’ event brought together local businesses to hear from B Corps representing different sectors speaking about why they chose to become B Corp and what it means in practice. Shaun Pegler, Partner and B Corp lead, opened by asking the attendees whether they were already a B Corp, currently on the journey themselves, or attending simply to learn more about it. As expected, there was a mix in the room.
Shaun followed by sharing our experience having certified in November last year. He spoke about the timeline and gave examples of what we had done to achieve our 90 points. His speech didn’t shy away from the challenges, but he explained that it’s 100% worth the time, effort, and cost to achieve B Corp certification.
Kay Geoghegan of Tyler Grange, a leading UK environmental consultancy with local office in Cirencester, shared their success story. She explained how the business has grown from four founding partners in Stroud to 130 Tribe members across eight UK offices. Among Kay’s highlights were the introduction of a 4-day week and numerous award wins. Of particular interest to those in the room was how achieving B Corp certification in 2022 has supported faster growth and increased turnover. Kay serves as Co-Chair for the B Local group representing the B Corps of Gloucestershire.
Gareth Dinnage MD of Seacourt spoke passionately about the 80-year-old printing company in neighbouring Oxfordshire, sharing his story about how he started their sustainability journey 30 years ago. Seacourt pioneered waterless printing technology in 1997, became carbon neutral in 2001, 100% renewable in 2003 and there are many other achievements before they became B Corp in 2020. They are the highest scoring B Corp printer on the planet with 150 points which is an incredible achievement.
Finally, Fran Page of Good Better, B Corp consultant, shared insights into the new B Corp standards, an even more rigorous process, that all B Corps need to follow to recertify. According to recent stats B Corps have seen a 20% increase in turnover vs national average of 3% (UK SME’s 2024-2025), 11% employee headcount increase vs national average of 2% (UK SME’s, 2024-2025), and 18% more growth funding from external investors than other UK businesses over last ten years.
A thought-provoking session about businesses having a purpose and some great questions from the room. All speakers commented on never having met a B Corp who regretted becoming one.
This event will be repeated in the future, so please register your interest by emailing marketing@randall-payne.co.uk.