B Corp Month and Earth Hour
On the 26th March at 8:30pm GMT, millions of individuals and thousands of businesses will turn their lights off to take part in Earth Hour.
This vast social media campaign creates a moment of unity across the digital space, bringing people together in a small but significant gesture. With the lights off, we take one hour to reflect on what nature means to us, and what we can do to protect it.
The concept is designed to remind us that individual actions can make a difference. As the WWF says on their Earth Hour web page:
“Together, we are a powerful global movement that governments and businesses can’t ignore.”
But what about businesses who are willing and ready to listen?
B Corp Month (in the year we became a B Corp)
March is B Corp month — a time to appreciate what it means to be a B Corp. The B Corporation is a global movement of businesses rethinking what it means to be successful, focusing on regenerative, inclusive, and equitable practices that benefit everybody, not just the people at the top.
This B Corp Month feels particularly celebratory for us at Tusko — as we finally completed our journey to B Corp certification at the start of this year.
B Corp businesses not only listen to the demands of the climate crisis — they’re often leading the way. It’s a huge psychological shift taking place in the business sphere, happening across continents. There’s now over 4,600 B Corps in 78 countries around the world, covering 155 industries.
We built our agency on the idea that private enterprises have a vital role to play when it comes to climate change, social injustice, and every unbalanced axis that tilts our world away from what’s good for all.
We’ve always wanted to be a part of the wave making a positive difference in the world. Because with the pressures of climate change just getting more intense by the year, we can’t just carry on with business as usual.
Not when the IPCC is warning about the catastrophic effects we will see in our lifetime. Or when freak weather events are starting to make the lives of people around the world more hazardous and uncertain.
In 2019, the former Bank of England governor Mark Carney said that “companies that don’t adapt will go bankrupt without question… There will be industries, sectors and firms that do very well during this process because they will be part of the solution.”
With the comprehensive, measurable framework outlined by B Corp practices and value systems — businesses like ours have a defined, guided pathway to becoming a part of the solutions the world needs.
The road to B Corp
In our increasingly socially conscious economic sphere, being B Corp verified is a huge credibility boost for any business. As you may have heard from other companies on their B Corp journey, it’s no small undertaking!
But then again, it shouldn’t be simple.
Our entire economic world is built on a model that has directly resulted in the catastrophic environmental effects we’re beginning to witness all around us, and will have to adapt to over the coming years. So for businesses to become a part of the change we need to see, they need to be solidly accountable for doing things in a better way.
Luckily, it is completely possible to balance profit, and purpose. And as Mark Carney warns, can businesses afford not to adapt, and create those urgently needed solutions?
The journey to B Corp certification has given us an incredible framework to grow with, and we’ve had to ask occasionally awkward questions of our suppliers and our customers.
Our practices as an agency now include…
asking if our associates have a code of ethics in their business.
enquiring if they have relationships with ‘Sin industries’: Tobacco, Alcohol, Gambiling, Weapons, Pornography, Unfair Trade Practices, Fossil Fuels, Diamonds and precious gems, fast fashion, Pharmaceuticals, and businesses with their workforce in 3rd world countries.
asking if they would be happy to fill in our ‘Sustainability Survey’, to assess performance in this area.
But while we’ve had to make some hard decisions as a result of shifting our business to align with our ethics, we’ve also attracted some exceptional clients along the way too.
We’ve been working closely with a Bristol-based law firm NRG to create their new digital identity, and support an exciting rebrand project. They’re also on the journey to B Corp certification, and as we understand it one of the main reasons NRG wanted to work with us was because we are B Corp certified.
It’s highly rewarding to be able to work together with businesses from other sectors towards a common, essential goal.
Inspired by brands who came before us
We’ve been motivated to begin our B Corp journey by businesses who are already transforming our economy by transforming themselves.
We look to brands like Patagonia, a north star for sustainability in big business for many. They make the coolest outdoor gear, and they’re also a beacon for major corporation ethics, and contributions to sustainability.
Tony’s Chocolate have been making waves too — you might have seen their colourful campaigns against slavery in chocolate production.
We’re constantly inspired by the Future Leap Hub - associates of ours in Bristol running a coworking space that’s “one of the few sustainable and environmental co-working spaces in the South-West”.
And we’re also big fans of Chilly’s, a reusable water bottle with a mission to “accelerate the adoption and everyday use of reusable products”. We bought everyone in the Tusko team a Chilly’s bottle to keep us all hydrated with less single use plastic.
It’s clear that governments, NGOs, and charities can’t do it all when it comes to cleaning up our world. And just like households all over the world turning their lights off for Earth Hour transforms a simple gesture into a global movement, the B Corp community unites businesses around the world, aiming for a triple bottom line impact on a huge scale.
Private companies need to step up. The profits we’re making could be driving the sustainable reinvention of our economies, and the way we live. And with effective, global initiatives like B Corp, we now have a template we can follow to do that.
If you’d like more guidance on how to shop sustainably as an individual, we highly recommend The Ethical Consumer for advice that helps you spend money with companies with strong principles.
If you’re on the cusp of reimagining your company’s sustainability alongside your strategy — we’re here to support you. We guide brands along a value-driven branding journey, enhancing their contribution and offerings with powerful storytelling and marketing.
To learn more about Tusko and the way we work, click on the link below: