We're so excited to announce that 383 has achieved B Corp certification - one of only 1,200 businesses in the UK!
As a business, we recognise that we have a role to play in addressing global challenges such as sustainability and social inequality.
Internally, we believe we are good people, we do good work, and make a positive impact on the world. Our desire to make a difference, and the value we place in our people and the products we make, have always been at the forefront of everything we do. And we want to showcase and be held accountable to this.
That's why, over the last four years, amidst lockdowns, a global pandemic, an a shift to remote and flexible working, we've been steadily working towards achieving B Corp certification, to help us continue to make a more positive impact.
Being B Corp certified is a massive deal for us. Not only does it help us showcase our incredible team, it also highlights how we are socially, environmentally, and legally accountable for everything we do, and that we take our responsibilities very seriously.
What is a B Corp business?
B Corps are businesses that meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. They operate with a purpose beyond profit, and make decisions guided by high standards on everything from employee benefits, to charitable giving and supply chain practices.
The certification process is completed by B Lab, a not-for-profit network whose aim is to make sure businesses benefit people, communities, and the planet. They assess businesses in five key areas:
- Governance
- Workers
- Environment
- Community
- Customers
Certification is not easy to achieve, and once B Corp certification is gained, we are legally bound and held accountable to ensure the decisions we make support those key areas.
No mean feat
We started the process to achieve B Corp certification back in 2019. Over four years, we’ve been working to achieve conscious, incremental improvements for the benefit of everyone we come into contact with at 383 Project; staff, customers, and the community around us.
And becoming certified is a big piece of work. The scoring is out of 200 points, and a score of 80 or over achieves certification. Every point made in the application requires evidence to support it.
We passed with 80.7 points. And whilst we are all really proud of becoming certified, we know that score means we still need to improve, and we can be doing more.
What’s next?
As we've worked on becoming B Corp certified, we've identified lots of areas for improvement that serve the wider community and environment.
At a glance, these are the things we're working to improve over the next few years - and you can hold us to these.
Diversity, equity & inclusion
We know that we can only create inclusive products with a diverse workforce - one that reflects a breadth of people, perspectives and experiences. To support this, we've established a DE&I group to help us make sure everyone in our team has the best working experience they can at 383. We'll be checking in with our team regularly to understand what we can be doing better.
As part of this, we're reviewing our hiring practices, and things like the platforms we use to advertise jobs and source talent, to make sure we can reach as wide an audience as possible.
Accessibility
We've created a product inclusion working group to assess our processes and identify ways to enhance inclusivity and accessibility during research, discovery, design thinking, and product development. Through this, we've developed a set of standards and guidelines to make sure the products and services we build for our clients have inclusivity baked in from the very start.
As a remote-first company, we're also looking at how we can provide opportunities for people who might find office-based work more difficult, or may have accessibility needs.
Routes into product
We're looking at how we can help more people break into the digital product industry, creating more entry level roles and providing work experience and internships to help people build their skills and knowledge.
That might mean working with local schools, colleges and universities to nurture new talent. It could also mean working with people who want to switch careers or return to work after a break.
Supply chain
Where ever we can, we try and work local, independent suppliers and businesses. This isn't always easy, as we rely on a lot of global tech and software companies to help us deliver our work, but we will make an effort to think about the companies that we work with and ensure they meet high standards.
Time to celebrate
We'll be assessed again in three years time to make sure we are keeping up the standards we set when we achieved certification, and improving in the areas we said we would improve in.
Until then, we're taking some time to pat ourselves on the back and enjoy our new B Corp certification, before we jump right back into the hard work of becoming the best business we can be.
