Progress not perfection – communicating B Corp
Picture the scene. You’re a purpose driven brand challenging the status quo. You do great things and have a story you’re proud of and want to share. You invest time, energy and resource to achieve B Corp certification. You celebrate and get the message out there far and wide. But then what?
At The Good Crowd, we specialise in working with food and drink brands, many of whom are on their B Corp journey. What we’re hearing is that after the first B Corp press release has gone out, the online channels are updated and the logo features on new packaging, things start to become less clear.
Often doubt creeps in around communicating progress on social and environmental performance. Brands are rightly keen to avoid accusations of ‘greenwashing’, but this can hold them back from fully integrating B Corp into their communications.
Our advice is that brands can, and should, move forward with confidence and honesty. Consumers may expect more from B Corp brands, and actively choose them for their sustainable credentials, but they are looking to them to deliver progress, not perfection.
Here are my top tips for making B Corp work across your internal and external communications strategy:
Use the B Corp framework to understand your strengths as a business and where you could do better. Plan to communicate regularly about the positive impact of your business practices, while being transparent about where you need to make changes. Crucially, be open and honest about how and when you will deliver improvements.
Take a breath and start with your people. It can take more than 12 months to become B Corp certified, so fast growth brands may have seen real change in the business since the start of the process. Take the time to involve every person in your team in your ongoing B Corp journey. Find out what it means to your people and do everything you can to get them on board. We truly believe the impact can be bigger when businesses live and breathe their commitments and have everyone onside to deliver their roadmap action plan.
Develop a clear articulation of what B Corp means to your brand and how it works as part of your vision, mission and values. Stress test this with everyone who works on your brand and use it to discover what resonates with your consumers. Doing this work will give clarity on what your brand will and won’t have an opinion on.
Connect with the B Corp community and take the opportunity to share learnings, meet new brands and make valuable contacts. The great thing about B Corp is that most brands involved will share your mission, values, and view of the world. They may also be facing similar challenges. We encourage all our clients to find out about events and connect with local B Leaders.
Here at The Good Crowd, we partner with ambitious food and drink brands not only because it is an industry we know and love, but because of the impact it can have. The food and drink industry has a huge role to play in helping the world to avoid the worst effects of climate change as food systems contribute around one quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions. We believe if we all do a little better the industry can be a force for good.
If you’d like advice and support on bringing your B Corp story to life, we’re here to help. From developing your messaging and brand positioning, to running training sessions with teams across your business or introducing you to B Corp networks, we’ve got you covered.
Get in touch to find out more about how we can support your mission.