Client Spotlight: B Corp Q & A with Caleño

Since launching drinks brand Caleño in 2019, founder Ellie Webb has been on a mission to bring joy to not drinking. Caleño produces distilled non-alcoholic spirits and cocktails inspired by the sun-drenched spirit of Colombia.

Right from the start, Ellie made a commitment to operate the business as a force for good. It was essential to create a brand that not only brought joy to customers, but also to its people, suppliers and the environment.

Caleño was B Corp certified in May 2023, after working with The Good Crowd for 12 months. We asked Caleño to talk us through their B Corp journey and share advice for other purpose-driven brands.

What attracted Caleño to B Corp?

We wanted to minimise our impact on the environment as the business grew and to do the right thing by our people, no matter where they are in our supply chain. Undergoing the B Corp assessment just felt right for us. We want to be a part of a community of brands leading the way in ensuring business growth and decision-making looks after people and planet, as well as profit.

We know that B Corp sets the bar incredibly high. It scrutinises a company’s entire operations, a rigorous process that can take many months. But it's become one of the most respected global standards in corporate sustainability.

We want to be the best we possibly can be in all areas, but it can be difficult to know where to start. The B Corp assessment has provided a fantastic framework for building a sustainable brand. And it means we can continuously strive for better, increasing our score as we scale.

 How did you approach the rigorous certification process?

Our first step was to choose our B Corp project team and complete B Corp's free impact assessment, which gave us our base score.

We then enlisted the help of Catherine from The Good Crowd, who went through the assessment in detail with us. She helped us to identify the areas where we felt our company could have the biggest impact, and which aligned with our strengths.

Catherine then helped us to create a clear, focused action plan outlining the evidence we needed to achieve B Corp certification and to increase our score.

Having a clear project plan kept our B Corp ambitions progressing. Regular check-ins with Catherine gave us valuable feedback and advice as we worked through the business improvements we wanted to implement.

What were the biggest challenges?

The assessment can seem quite overwhelming at first. But approaching it strategically and being very clear on the areas to focus on, and actions required, meant the time spent working on it was far more efficient.

Working towards B Corp can involve making significant changes to how you conduct business, which can be challenging. It really helped us to have a consultant with experience in implementing sustainable business practices. We also kept the wider team continuously informed on our progress, so they were fully engaged with the business changes.

How has becoming a B Corp impacted your team and how you do business?

B Corp has helped us create a culture that embraces more sustainable practices, that are better for the environment and contribute to the community in a positive way. On our B Corp journey, we've educated the team on environmental stewardship and putting sustainability at the forefront of business operations. We've built policies that ensure we're constantly evaluating our operations, and reducing our carbon emissions, to build a sustainable brand. Many of the policies have also helped us to prioritise the overall wellbeing of our employees, making Caleño a joyful place to work.

What advice would you give to other companies considering B Corp?

1.     Enlist the help of a consultant. Their expertise means they can help create a detailed action plan that saves time in the long term. It also helps to have someone who’s knowledgeable about the B Corp assessment criteria to check over any evidence you plan to submit. That way you can be sure it will meet B Corp’s requirements prior to submission.

2.     Set clear timings and create a dedicated project team, to keep B Corp front of mind and drive progress.

3.     Involve the wider team in the B Corp journey. B Corp involves significant changes to the way you conduct business. It's much easier to introduce change into the company culture when everyone's on the journey with you and fully engaged in the purpose of becoming a B Corp.

4.     Reach out to your network and look at what other brands are doing well around sustainability. It's a category that keeps evolving, and there's so much to learn from other businesses that are further along their journey.

If you’d like to find out more about becoming a B Corp, and how The Good Crowd can help, we’d love to hear from you