Our work in the last year to make a positive impact on both local and global communities has included working with like-minded suppliers and supporting fellow B Corps.
Positively impacting the wider community through supplier relationships
Every act creates ripples. When it comes to selecting suppliers, we now have a system that empowers our partners to align our purchasing with our values. We want to work with like-minded, responsible companies, who share our belief that business should be a force for good. During our due diligence process to choose a supplier, we ask key questions to prompt new ways of thinking and – ultimately – decisive action.
We aren’t just concerned about robust security of data – although that is critical to us. We also ask potential suppliers to complete a form that assesses their approach to creating a positive impact. We ask if their mission statement references social or environmental responsibility, if they’re B Corp certified, and whether they’d like to be. We seek to understand how they measure their environmental impact in terms of carbon emissions or material usage.
What considerations do they give to the living wage?
How many women are on their board?
How do they give back to the community?
We hope, that by posing these and other questions, we influence suppliers, combat unethical practices, and engage them in setting their own targets to become carbon neutral.
Partnerships for positive change
Our data from suppliers we have been working with since 2020 shows:
- 74% of suppliers either frequently, consistently, or primarily consider the social and environmental impact of their business – in some cases prioritising it even when it may not drive profitability.
- 68% include social and environmental impact in their mission statement – including environmental conservation, poverty alleviation, reducing waste and targeting specific groups in need.
- 84.5% say they would consider taking the B Corp assessment.
It’s been refreshing to see several of the companies we work with in the venture capital space become B Corps – including MMC Ventures in 2020, Octopus Group in 2021 and Triple Point in 2022. We celebrate this positive news for the sector.
Our next steps
Moving forward, we also aim to gather further data from long-standing suppliers too via our supplier questionnaire. We’ll also continue to actively support other financial planning companies in their journey to becoming a B Corp.
Our B Corp score increased by 59.3% in the community category. To find out more, download our Impact Report 2023 – A big step forward.
