What is a B Corp and why are they amazing places to work?

What is a B Corporation?

Thank you for asking, great first question. B Corporation is an accreditation run by the independent B Lab UK - under the umbrella of the B Corporation - that shows that a business meets the highest standards of ethical, sustainable, and transparent practices. To quote B Lab, certified B Corporations “are legally required to consider the impact of their decisions on their workers, customers, suppliers, community and the environment.”

To become a B Corp a company must achieve a score of at least 80 (out of 200) against 5 areas of impact: Governance, Community, Workers, Environment and Customers. B Corps are changing the way businesses operate so that they deliver so much more than just profit.

So what?

Another good question, quite blunt, but thank you. Everyone in the B Corp movement is united around one idea: business can be a force for good.

We already know how powerful business is. It’s reshaped the world in a shorter time than anything else - comets notwithstanding. It’s carved continent-spanning trade routes, developed unimaginable technologies, punched holes into the atmosphere, enabled human flight, raised glass towers out of the earth, and fed some mouths with gluttonous enthusiasm while leaving others entirely empty.

We live in the world business and commerce created. This is where B Corps come in, working to change the mindset, culture and legal framework businesses operate in to remove their exploitative and polluting behaviours. 

Where are businesses going wrong?

Two words, shareholder primacy. When you incorporate a company, you agree to being legally bound to make financial profit your number one priority, and for the interests of shareholders to reign supreme over everything else. This logic states that shareholder profit is more important than paying your staff a living wage, more important than avoiding catastrophic pollution, more important than exploitative supply chains. 

Becoming a B Corp-certified business means having a triple bottom line. Shareholder profit is balanced against the responsibility of making a positive impact on society and the environment. It places profit in its proper context, as merely one important thing alongside all the other important things that matter to us as people in the world.

Just briefly, we should point out that according to statistics from the Office of National Statistics, B Corps grew 28 times faster than the national economic growth rate in 2018. This shows that there is not a choice between making profit or acting morally. In the long term, businesses that act humanely outperform those that don’t.

Tell us about Escape the City being a B Corp.

I certainly will. Escape the City are so proud to have been one of the 62 founding members of B Corp UK since 2015. We also recertified in November 2021, continuing our commitment for a third time (B Corps must recertify every three years).

We have a special relationship with B Corp, not just as a founding member who operates enthusiastically with our social and environmental responsibilities, but as a company that champions other B Corps as amazing places to work. The reason Escape exists is to encourage our caring and talented job seekers to find work that matters to them and the planet. We are doing this because we want to create a future where everyone is connected to a meaningful purpose in life. 

Why are B Corps amazing places to work?

Another good question, you’ve really understood the arc of this article. The recent phenomenon of the Great Resignation has been a dramatic demonstration that more and more people are looking for meaningful work. Creating jobs that are connected to purpose is at the heart of the B Corp movement. They place a huge emphasis on looking after their employees and at B Corps the wealth is shared, and not only measured in £s (Europeans see €s). 

In the rigorous certification process companies are measured on matters such as whether they pay their employees a living wage, how much holiday they provide and a huge range of other ways they can support the wellbeing of their employees to ensure they produce high-quality jobs. Here are a few examples of benefits offered by B Corps we host here on Escape:

• Annual team retreats: A chance to get to know each other away from the office - Moving Worlds
• Monthly coaching: 2 coaching sessions each month to use on any topic whether personal or work-related - Do Nation
• Free gym - Rubies in the Rubble
• Climate Perks: 2 days extra leave to enable more sustainable travel - Hubbub
• Mobile phone allowance: Monthly contribution towards call and data costs - Good Business
• Office Green Team: Team up with like-minded colleagues to tackle the smaller environmental issues around our local area - Teapigs

If you love the sound of working for a B Corp, when browsing our jobs please tick the filter to show B Corp jobs or view our collection of jobs and companies dedicated solely to B Corps!

Want to read more about B Corps, check out our Purchasing Guide from B Corp certified organisations, or read our 29 tips on how to get a job at a B Corp.