How Swiftpak became a Certified B Corporation®

We are extremely proud to have now become a Certified B Corporation®, meaning we take into account all our stakeholders to create a more positive impact on them. We want to encourage other businesses to join us on this journey and therefore we wanted to share how we achieved our certification and how your business can do the same. Only together we can make a real change.

What is a B Corp™?

Firstly, what is a Certified B Corporation®? B Corp™ stands for ‘better corporation’ and is given to businesses that achieve at least a minimum score of 80 points out of 200 after completing the B Impact Assessment. Within the first 10 years of this movement, more than 2,400 companies have become a Certified B Corporation®, and more than 50,000 used the B Impact Assessment. This is because certifications are for-profit companies who consider their social and environmental impact as much as their financial returns, meaning throughout any decision-making process, Certified B Corporations® will consider how each business move will impact their different stakeholders such as the community and the environment. This is not just a consideration, but B Corps™ are legally obliged to take all their stakeholders into their decision-making processes.  

Why you should consider your stakeholders:

With everything going on in the world, from Covid19 to climate changes, its important that we have more ‘good’ businesses around that take these crucial factors into consideration. After all, one of the main reason’s projects fail is because the deliverables did not meet a customer’s needs and expectations. It is also important to recognise customers are starting to care about their environment and sustainable packaging more in recent years, making it vital to consider environmental changes when it comes to your business.

B Corps™ are accelerating a global culture shift with the aim to build a more inclusive and sustainable economy. It is known that Certified B Corporations® outperform ordinary businesses by 15% on natural resources conservation and are 70% more likely to reduce the volume of toxicity of waste generated than ordinary businesses.

What are the benefits?

There are many benefits to becoming a B Corp™. Some of these include:

• Having more credibility: to become a B Corp™ you must prove that your business is sustainable and environmentally conscious. This means consumers and other businesses can trust your company when they see the Certified B Corporation® logo because you have the seal of approval.
• Improved engagement with employees: being a B Corp™ also means prospective employees will see that you are honestly committed to creating real environmental benefits by actively contributing to making the world a better place. This can help attract new employees who are also passionate about sustainability and social change.
• Provides good positioning for the future: in recent years, consumers are becoming more interested in using the services from companies who are committed to improving communities. They are also often willing to pay more if they know the company they are doing business with is trying to help the environment and society.

Besides the above points, it also just feels good to do good!

Why did we become a B Corp™?

In line with our core values, we believe that by continuously improving today, we ensure a better tomorrow for all of us. We realise that as a business we have an impact on team members, the environment, the community, and our customers and therefore we have a responsibility to behave the right way. At Swiftpak, we strive to create a positive impact on all our stakeholders and hence, we wanted to show that we are serious about creating a positive impact. Getting certified means that we are now legally obliged to take all stakeholders into account in our decision-making.

We believe that as a business we need to find that balance between purpose and profit. Therefore, we decided to join the global movement of people using business as a force for good. Of the 5.9 million small to medium sized businesses in the UK, just 193 are certified as B Corps™ so we are thrilled to be part of the new movement!

The Swiftpak Impact:

Our mission is to make our customers’ operations as productive and stress-free as possible in a socially and environmentally responsible manner. With this in mind, we strive to create a positive impact on our various stakeholders, we call this the Swiftpak Impact.

The Swiftpak Impact is not just empty words, but a real promise. With this promise we have put several actions into practice. Some of these actions that we have taken to become better and do good are:

• Ecologi tree planting: Sustainability is absolutely key in this day and age and that is why we teamed up with Ecologi, so our customers can now offset their paper packaging waste with just a few clicks. Inside their online account area, customers can now track their packaging waste and replant the amount used for their paper packaging to make a real impact on atmospheric C02 levels. We are also growing our own Swiftpak forest to create employment for local families, restore wildlife habitats and reduce our own carbon footprint.

• Donations: We absolutely believe in the concept of giving back and have been supporting charities with donations and actively influence each member of our team to get involved by one day a year voluntarily supporting a charity of their choice. In the last couple of months, we also saw the impact that COVID19 had on businesses and our personal lives. We are all in this together and that is why we have donated over 300 hand sanitisers, masks and anti-bacterial sprays to customers, charities, and care homes. Only together we can help stop the spread of covid19.
• Perkbox: Our team members are at the heart of our company, so we truly want to show our appreciation to each one of them. T That is why we decided to give our team members access to Perkbox, where they can now receive additional perks.
• Customers: One of our key stakeholders. As a business we strive to create value for our customers by continuously improving our company, products, and services by listening to customer feedback – our customers are our biggest source of inspiration after all! Service is part of our core values and we always try to go the extra mile, but don’t take our word for it, have a look at our 4.8 rating on Trustpilot.

For more information, take a look at the Swiftpak Impact. Of course, this certification is not just a one-stop shop. It is continuous improvements, so keep your eyes peeled for more actions. Do you have any suggestion on what could make us a better corporation? Do not hesitate and let us know!

How to become a Certified B Corporation®?

Now of course change can only be truly achieved by coming together. So, we fully want to encourage you to become certified as well. To do this you will need to complete the B Impact Assessment. There are around 200 assessment questions to answer in a variety of sectors. These include:

• Governance: learning what your company can do to enhance policies and practices.
• Workers: learning what your company can do to contribute to your employees financial, physical, professional, and social well-being.
• Community: Learning what your company can do to contribute to the economic and social well-being of the communities in which it operates.
• Environment: what your company can do to improve its overall environmental stewardship.
• Customers: all about what your company can do to improve the value that you create for your direct customers and the consumers of your products and services.
• Disclosure questionnaire: Finally, identifying any potentially sensitive industries, practices, outcomes, or fines/sanctions of your company not called out in the rest of the assessment.

With around 200 questions in total, your responses to the assessment determine your total numeric score. Following this, make sure you meet the legal requirements and work on the changes you need to make, and then sign the B Corp™ Declaration of Independence and Term Sheet to make your status official.

If you are looking to become part of this global movement, please do not hesitate to contact us and we’d be happy to share some more insights and answer any questions you have.

Let’s create a better world together!