OPRL is celebrating after being officially certified as a B Corporation. This is recognition that the organisation is balancing profit with people and planet.
OPRL has been certified by B Lab, the not-for-profit behind the B Corp movement, as having met rigorous social and environmental standards which represents its commitment to goals outside financial.
The global B Corp certification standard addresses the entirety of a business’ operations and covers five key impact areas of Governance, Workers, Community, Environment and Customers. The certification process is rigorous, with applicants required to achieve the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency and legal accountability.
OPRL is now part of a community of 7,000 businesses globally who have certified as B Corps. The B Corp community in the UK, representing a broad cross section of industries and sizes, comprises over 1,400 companies and includes well-known brands such as The Guardian, innocent, Patagonia, The Body Shop and Abel & Cole.
“We are delighted to have achieved B Corp status. It is testament to how we operate as an organisation and the commitment of all of our people to be responsible, ethical and transparent in our work ,and we welcome the commitment to continuous improvement which membership requires ” said Margaret Bates, Executive Director, OPRL.
The B Corp standards are intentionally set high, to recognise leading companies. And we are very proud to be a part of a growing community of companies that are taking social and environmental issues seriously by committing to transparent and robust disclosure of performance in this important area. We want businesses to be part of the solution, rather than part of the problem, and the B Corp movement is an inspiring approach to building a more inclusive and sustainable economy.
Chris Turner, Executive Director of B Lab UK, says “We are delighted to welcome OPRL to the B Corp community. This is a movement of companies who are committed to changing how business operates and believe business really can be a force for good. We know that OPRL are going to be a fantastic addition to the community and will continue driving the conversation forward”.
It has taken OPRL two years to achieve B Corp certification. The organisation had to meet stringent requirements, including completing a detailed assessment of its impacts on all stakeholders. This then had to be independently verified by B Lab, the non-profit behind the B Corp certification. Unlike traditional companies that prioritise financial profitability, B Corps look at the triple bottom line, to ensure businesses address social and environmental challenges too.
“As a B Corp, we are committed to changing our legal organising documents to ensure we consider all of our stakeholders. This proves that we’re not just paying lip service to sustainability. We want to be commercially successful, but we want to do it in a way that is good for people and good for the planet,” added Bates.
To celebrate achieving this certification, OPRL is offering other B Corp certified companies a 10% discount on OPRL membership. To take advantage of the offer, which cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer or discount, companies can contact the OPRL team at join@oprl.org.uk.
To find out more about the B Corporation movement, visit www.bcorporation.uk.