"We’re in a climate crisis. We’re also in the middle of a global pandemic and we know there is massive social injustice continuing across a vast range of demographics. We need to see major global change."

Ahead of our event on becoming a B Corp (RSVP your spot here), we sat down with host Amy Bourbeau to understand a little more about her background, why businesses should take sustainability seriously and what we can expect from the session...

Could you tell us a little about yourself and how you got involved in the world of B Corp certification?

I first heard about B Corp in 2015, when there were only 6 B Corps in the UK. I was working in the world of social and environmental responsibility and across a variety of certifications and standards, but fell in love with the breadth and rigour of the B Corp certification and the strong community it creates. I soon focused my career on being a B Corp consultant, and helped B Lab UK to create and deliver the B Leaders training programme, which we are still delivering to this day. On my journey so far I’ve been lucky enough to support numerous businesses on their B Corp journey, helping companies like Innocent, Sipsmith, Lily’s Kitchen and Avon to navigate the B Corp certification process. I’m passionate about growing the B Corp movement and helping as many companies as possible use the certification process to improve their impact. 

Last year I founded Seismic with Andy Schmidt and Paul Lewis. We’re a sustainability consultancy with expertise in both B Corp and Net Zero. Our aim is to help change society for the better and fix our planet, we’re helping businesses to prosper by becoming an increasingly impactful force for good. 

Why should a company care about becoming B Corp certified?

We’re in a climate crisis. We’re also in the middle of a global pandemic and we know there is massive social injustice continuing across a vast range of demographics. We need to see major global change.

We believe that business has a pivotal role and responsibility in leading the way to make this change happen, but we also understand that it's tough to know where to start. The B Corp certification provides an ideal framework to do this. It gives responsible businesses a means to evaluate their impact on employees, the community and the environment. The B Impact Assessment (The BIA) gives a company a clear benchmark of where their company lies on the B Corp spectrum and what they need to work on to achieve B Corp certification.

What can people expect to learn during the session on Wednesday?

We want to demystify the B Corp process for people, explain what it involves, how to go about approaching it, and what to expect. We’re talking to Butternut Box and The Collective who have each gone through the B Corp journey so you can hear different perspectives on the process. I hope people will come away feeling empowered to embark on a sustainability journey and better informed about B Corp so they can decide if it is right for them.

Book your spot for the event here.