Propellernet Recertifies as a B Corp!

We’re excited to announce that Propellernet has recertified as a B Corp with a score of 99.4!

We’re on a mission of continuous positive impact. When Propellernet first certified as a B Corp in 2021, we saw it as the start of a journey. We had achieved the magic score of 80 points required in the Impact Assessment scoring 87.1. We decided to set ourselves a target of 100 points for recertification in 3 years’ time and felt energised by the challenge of joining the “100 Club”. When I joined the business, the team were confident and proud of so many impactful changes they’d made since the last certification, and as a B Corp and Sustainability expert I completely agreed. The projects are wide ranging, such as solar panels on the roof, an extensive recycling system, a wonderful staff wellbeing programme, support of local charities and community groups and 1 million trees planted!

I knew that through these changes, along with a client-base that increasingly aligned with the agency’s values, gaining an Impact Business Model (IBM) for recognition of the businesses support of purpose driven organisations, and through some targeted projects throughout the year, we had a good shot at scoring 100 points.

Having gained points across all five impact areas of our business, we have recertified with 99.4 points – a 14% uplift in our score over 3 years.

Our initial feeling was disappointment at not hitting our 100 points target (of course, we’re only human), however, having reflected on what we have achieved since becoming a B Corp, we are so incredibly proud!

This score puts Propellernet in the top 20% of certified B Corps in our sector in the UK.

That shortfall of 0.6 points keeps us hungry to continue our improvement journey and gives is reassurance around how difficult and robust the impact assessment framework is, in the context of a fair amount of criticism questioning the credibility of the certification as more and more businesses have joined the community.

Gained 99.4 increase of 12.3 since 2021

The team has learnt so much across environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices over the past 3 years. Through working on 1 or 2 projects at a time and focusing on continual improvement, we can now reflect on what a huge impact this adds up to over time.

The certification lasts another 3 years, and during this time the B Corp standards are going through a significant overhaul, moving away from a points system and towards one which has non-negotiable requirements across all ESG pillars and additional recognition for best industry practices. We’ll be keeping a close eye on these updates and will continue to use the B Corp framework and assessment to assist us on our journey to strengthening our purpose. As we know, there’s always something to incrementally and positively chip away at.

It seems serendipitous that we celebrate our recertification in B Corp month – especially now that the official B Local Sussex community has been formally set up, which I co-chair with other local business leaders. This group gives us a platform to spread the message of Business for Good in our local community and business network.

If you have any questions about Propellernet’s sustainability practices or the B Corp movement, I love chatting about this stuff, get in touch!