Environment Bank achieves B Corp Certification
Environment Bank has officially achieved its B Corp Certification! This accreditation not only recognises a high standard of accountability and transparency across our business operations, but also our commitment to remaining a responsible business and a great employer.
Certified B Corporations, or B Corps, are companies that have demonstrated high standards of social and environmental governance. We’re incredibly proud of this milestone and the standards that we continue to set for the Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) sector.
How do businesses become B Corps?
To become a B Corp, businesses must complete B Lab’s B Impact Assessment – a rigorous evaluation compromising of more than two hundred questions reviewing a company’s performance across five key areas: Governance, Workers, Community, Environment, and Customers.
During this process, a B Lab analyst reviewed our application and requested supporting evidence to verify our performance and ensure that we met the standards required for certification. While this is a long process, our outstanding pre-existing policies and employee benefits enabled the verification stage to run smoothly.
Businesses must achieve a minimum of eighty points to become a Certified B Corporation. The median score for businesses completing the assessment is 50.9 and crossing the 80-point threshold doesn’t usually happen at the first pass. We’re so proud to have achieved a verified B Impact score of 102.8 points – not only significantly exceeding the median score but smashing the certification threshold as well!
Achieving a verified B Impact Score of 102.8 reflects our ongoing commitment to high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, accountability, and stakeholder governance. It recognises the years of hard work undertaken across our business to create positive impact for our people, communities, and the environment, and our dedication to maintaining responsible business practices.
What makes me most proud about achieving B Corp Certification is that the score genuinely reflects who we are as a business and how we operate day to day. This wasn’t based on promises or aspirations – it was based on detailed scrutiny of what we actually do, how we make decisions, how we support our people, and the impact we create through our work.
We entered the final assessment with a score of 104.1 and achieved a certified B Impact Score of 102.8 following review. With eighty points required for certification and a median score of 50.9, achieving a score above one hundred places us amongst the stronger-performing Certified B Corporations.For me that demonstrates that the substance is behind what we do and what we say we stand for. While there will always be opportunities to improve, this certification recognises the strong foundations we have built and shows that commercial success, environmental responsibility, and positive social impact can go hand in hand.
Catherine Spitzer
Chief Executive Officer
Environment Bank
What have we changed?
A B Corp Certification is not just a short-term award but a long-term responsibility. The impact assessment and risk review are only the first step in a long process – Certified B Corporations must continually hold themselves accountable by making legal commitments to high social and environmental standards.
At Environment Bank, we are committed to maintaining our strong social and environmental performance, displaying transparency around our business operations, and continuing to make our business a great place to work. Our company is built on these principles, and our B Corp accreditation recognises our success in maintaining high ethical standards and creating an excellent place to work.
Through the B Corp verification process, we also had the opportunity to strengthen and enhance our existing governance and policies. This includes evidencing our environmental impacts and nature-related dependencies through our Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures report. This ensures that our supplier and procurement approaches better align with our business values.
Why is becoming a B Corp so significant?
It’s no secret that the vast majority of global corporations have huge nature-related risks and dependencies – with infrastructure value chains making up 90% of human pressure on biodiversity.
The B Corporation Movement holds businesses accountable for their operations and promotes community and interdependence across global economies. It is actively forging a future where businesses support nature – rather than relying on it.
We’re proud to receive B Corp Certification and be a part of this incredible movement. Achieving a verified B Impact Score of 102.8 demonstrates the strength of our practices and our commitment to the health and wellbeing of our team and the planet.
Environment Bank is always looking to grow and develop as a company – and receiving B Corp Certification is a significant step in our journey. It is a powerful recognition of our company’s transparency and responsible practices, as well as our commitment to real, continued change.
