Why Being a B Corp Matters [And What it Means to the Brands We Work With]
In 2022, WPR turned 30. It was a big deal to us – lots of companies don’t make it that far, and many independent PR agencies sell to bigger players long before their third decade. Yet here we were, still fiercely independent, still growing, still with big ambitions.
For various reasons (not least because we were finding our way out of a global pandemic when we were planning our anniversary year in 2021), it didn’t feel like the moment for huge celebrations; it became more of a period of reflection for us. We didn’t want to go cap in hand to suppliers and colleagues in a fundraising drive, and we didn’t want to just throw a party and move onto the next thing as soon as the bar bill was paid and the hangovers slept off. Neither felt very ‘us’.
Instead, turning 30 gave us time to pause, to consider the business we had been for the past 30 years and the business we wanted to be for the next three decades. And we wanted to be different. Everything going on in the world around us at the time made us stop and think. It seemed to us that the businesses of the future would be the businesses for the future. As an agency, we were good, but we were not a force for good. Not really. Not completely.
And so, we unveiled a commitment to deliver 30 positive impacts at 30, centred around making a difference to our planet, people, community and society. As we suspected, this was addictive stuff. The more we did, the more we realised we had to do and before long, we were on our journey to becoming a certified B CorporationTM. Our dream of joining the movement to transform the global economy to benefit all people, communities and the planet came true in recent weeks when we passed the robust (and lengthy) accreditation process.
We’ve learnt a lot during this process, not least that embracing the B Corp philosophy is about looking at every aspect of how we operate. And it’s an approach that brings real benefits for everyone we interact with as a business – from our team to our clients and suppliers.
So, what does WPR being a B Corp mean if you’re a client of ours? Here are five things we think matter.
1. A Team Empowered to be Brilliant
We have always believed that rewarding brilliant people with brilliant opportunities is the way to unleash their full potential. We also recognise that people do their best work when they’re happy and healthy. B Corp evaluates how a company looks after the financial security, wellness, career development and satisfaction of its team. And it’s through this level of commitment to making WPR the best possible environment for talented people to flourish that we’re able to recruit and retain an incredible team, which in turn delivers the exceptional insight, strategic thinking and creative output that you need from your agency.
2. Transparent, Honest, Ethical Communication
Building genuinely productive partnerships with our clients is always our goal. We want to be an extension of our clients’ teams and that means starting as we mean to go on: from a position of trust and clear, honest communication. B Corp organisations are assessed on their transparency and governance, so we don’t just pay lip service to this, it is integral to how we operate.
3. Innovation, curiosity and COntinuous Improvement
At the heart of B Corp is a focus on continuous improvement. This fits well with our agency ethos that has always been to approach our work with curiosity and questioning minds. We won’t do things just because that’s how they’ve always been done; we look at how and why we’re making the decisions that inform the strategies we devise, the campaigns we propose and the content we create.
4. Building a Team Representative of our wider society
Ensuring our agency is a place where everyone is included is not a goal solely because it is the right thing to do for the people involved and the future of our agency: it’s also vital to the work we do.
We operate in an industry that has historically been overwhelmingly white and middle class, and in which men outnumber women in leadership roles. Not only can we just not accept this status quo in 2024, we also run the risk of stifling creativity and failing to connect with audiences if we create content from too narrow a set of reference points. By building a more diverse and representative team – which doesn’t happen overnight but we’re making significant progress – we’re embedding different perspectives, ideas and experiences into the work we do for our clients.
From sharing best practice for creating accessible content to ensuring that all groups are represented authentically and have a voice in the campaigns we devise, we’re always looking at the bigger picture.
5. Protecting the Planet
When we set out our 30 positive impacts at 30, taking action to ensure we give back more to the planet than we take was at the heart of our mission and remains central to our values.
In 2024, there can’t be many people who still need persuading that businesses have a responsibility to think about their impact on the world in which they operate. But we’re also all conscious that sometimes valid concerns around greenwashing have added another dimension when people look at claims around ethical and sustainability credentials.
While the rigour of the B Lab assessment process does much to quell fears around this – and is one of the reasons that it has high levels of awareness and trust in the UK – the value of becoming a B Corp lies not just in its credibility, but also in the framework it gives organisations to make real structural and behavioural changes to drive positive impact.
Naturally, environment is one of B Corp’s five impact areas, with the B Impact Assessment evaluating the extent to which a company is working towards a more sustainable and regenerative planet. We had to demonstrate how we were not only reducing our carbon footprint, but also putting our impact on the air, climate, water, land and biodiversity first in our business practices.
For any of our clients working on their own drive to net zero, hitting scope 3 emissions targets will be key – and this will mean assessing the emissions impact of the entire supply chain. By selecting a B Corp business, you can be confident that you are working with a company verified to meet high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability.
The author: Jane Ainsworth is managing director of WPR. She has more than 25 years’ experience in developing and delivering communications strategies and impactful consumer PR for brands including Dunelm, Tesco, Warner Leisure Hotels, Greene King, Alton Towers, Beaverbrooks and Oxfam.