B Corp Month: Our Journey and Insights
Becoming a B Corp: Our Commitment to Purpose and Impact
The B Corp movement is about harnessing the power of business for positive change. Companies that achieve B Corp certification commit to upholding the highest standards of social and environmental responsibility, transparency, and accountability. As architects, we understand the influence our work has on communities, the built environment, and the planet. Becoming a B Corp was a natural step in reinforcing our commitment to sustainability, ethical business practices, and meaningful impact.
Becoming a Certified B Corporation is no small task. It’s a rigorous and comprehensive process that took us nearly two years from the start of our application to official certification. The B Impact Assessment evaluates businesses across five key areas: Governance, Workers, Community, Environment, and Customers. This in-depth assessment tailors its questions to reflect the specific challenges and opportunities relevant to a company’s sector, size, and location, ensuring an accurate representation of industry practices.
Throughout this journey, we collected, submitted, and verified data through multiple stages. But for us, pursuing B Corp certification wasn’t about changing who we are—it was about reinforcing values. Certification aligns seamlessly with our vision: to create opportunities for our team, engage with our community, and positively influence the built environment.
Joining the B Corp Community
One of the most rewarding aspects of becoming a B Corp is joining a global community of like-minded businesses dedicated to using business as a force for good. Within our industry, the number of certified B Corps is growing, offering a strong network for collaboration, shared learning, and driving meaningful change together.
While the B Corp certification has become increasingly recognised—often spotted on products in shops—its significance within the built environment remains less understood. However, with a growing emphasis on environmental and social governance, particularly in practice operations and project delivery, the relevance of B Corp values in our sector is clear.
A key step toward making measurable progress on social and environmental standards is tracking, recording, and benchmarking quantifiable metrics. The B Corp assessment provides a structured way to achieve this, helping businesses drive continuous improvement.
Celebrating B Corp Month
B Corp Month, celebrated throughout March, is a time for the community come together to celebrate everything it means to be a B Corp. Since certifying in May last year, we celebrated our first B Corp Month by:
• Hosting a team Lunch & Learn, starting with a B Corp quiz and working in teams to answer a series of questions looking at the impact we can make and importance of B Corp in our industry.
• Networking with fellow B Corps to share knowledge, challenges, and successes.
• Volunteering at a food bank warehouse in Leeds, we spent the day helping to sort donations of food in the warehouse, ready to be distributed to locations across South & East Leeds.
For anyone reading this and interested in finding out more about the B Corp movement we’d be happy to have a chat, just drop us an email design@ssa-architects.co.uk
Happy B Corp Month!
