What is a B Corp?
The B Corp movement is a global network of companies that have been certified by B Lab. It’s a global, non-profit network, that aims to reposition the global economy to benefit all; this means people, communities and the planet. Companies becoming B Corps undergo rigorous assessment to ensure they are meeting high standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. A central aim of the B Corp movement is to use business as a "force for good"; it aims to create a more inclusive, equitable and regenerative economy. As part of the process of certification, all B Corp’s must legally commit to consider stakeholders in their decisions, setting an example for systemic change. The B Corp movement aims to shift the focus from just shareholders, to all stakeholders like workers, communities, and the planet.
Why did Tonic want to become a B Corp?
We’d known about the values and ethos of the B Corp Movement for a long time, and they really aligned with our approach as a business. One of the fundamental principles of the B Corp Movement is that of constantly striving to be better and do better for your stakeholders; for us that means our team, our clients, the hospitality industry, the wider community as a whole, and the planet we inhabit. At Tonic we’ve always prided ourselves on trying to do better, but going through the B Corp certification process gave us a framework to build on this, and helped us make meaningful changes that positively impact our team, our clients and the planet. It challenges us all to be more purposeful in everything we do, and to make better choices every day. In 2020 we launched our Pay It Forward campaign, making monthly donations to food insecurity charities in the UK. We also donate agency time to support charitable initiatives; we offer flexible and blended working, a generous family policy for new parents, and shorter days on Fridays for the team to recoup from the evening events we often work. Becoming a certified B Corp for us is an outward symbol of the values we uphold.
What differences has becoming B Corp certified made to Tonic, and what does it mean to you?
It took years from the kernel of the idea of becoming certified a B Corp, to finally receiving our certification. It's a fastidious certification process, during which we’ve become better as a business. It’s helped us to identify more areas we can improve, not only to be a better business today, but to challenge ourselves to keep thinking about how we can continually refine and improve in the long term.
Becoming a B Corp is a constant process of evolution and development as a business - it's not finished when you become certified - it's a public pledge to keep pushing yourself to a better, more responsible business for all.
Every member of the team at Tonic was part of the process of helping us to get certification - and everyone cares deeply about the process we’ve gone through - we're all incredibly proud to be part of a movement that’s working towards reshaping business norms and using business as a force for good.
