TALK O PERATIO NS
NOT JUST
TALKING
BUT BEING - OUR JOURNEY TO BCORPS ‘Sustainable event management or event greening, as it is also known, shouldn’t be daunting. It’s just thinking about things in a new way.’ In a recent meeting with another local business owner, discussing our values of running a business with purpose. She shared with me a statement by Doug Stephens – Retail Prophet, ‘someone has to sit in the crow’s nest!’ It resonated with me because I know that being a company with a true purpose, putting people and community alongside profit, can be tough ‘sell’ to boards and shareholders. That sometimes people don’t get it – yet. It takes someone to see the future, perhaps be more than a little bold and daring and to understand that for us to create a lasting legacy for our children and grandchildren, we need to act now. As a small local business, we have always delivered our events being mindful of the environment: minimising waste and encouraging recycling/repurposing. Only using partners within a 50-mile radius of our base we support our local community. The BCorps accreditation was a way of validating what we already do and have done for the past 10 years, and in some respects the pandemic allowed us the time to focus on getting that started. And the value and difference of becoming a BCorps for us? Why would any business consider that route given that initial assessment consists of 180+ questions
across five impact areas? Because we wanted to do more than just talk about what we believe in; to be proud in achieving something that validates our ethos and who we are; and to work with clients who share the same values and goals as us. Research company NielsonIQ found that many consumers would much rather buy from companies that ‘demonstrate commitment to environmentally friendly practice and social values’. Becoming a BCorps shows the world that we are serious and committed to those values. Caroline Noel is the Finance and Governance Partner of Warwick Events. Under Caroline’s direction the company has recently passed its B Corporation assessment and currently waiting official certification. This will make Warwick Events the first Event Agency in the UK to become a B Corp; joining the ranks of companies like Innocent Drinks, BrewDog, Patagonia, Ben & Jerry’s, The Body Shop, Kallo, Activia and many others - all committed to using their businesses as a force for good.
SO, MY TOP TIPS FOR GETTING STARTED: - Involve everyone in the company. - Don’t try and do it all in one go – have a plan and work to it. - Most questions are straightforward – organising the underpinning processes and evidence in one place really helps. - Keep doing all the things you do. Think about how they could count towards your assessment – and then do it better. - Make use of the support that is available to you through the BLab consultants. Do you want more information on this journey? Get in touch with Caroline at: caroline@warwickevents.co.uk or call 07813 765864
