Our Journey to B Corp

Growing businesses through full-service marketing is our bread and butter, but it’s not all that we’re focused on at Reech. We’re passionate about making a positive impact, devoted to shaping a better future. Cliché? Maybe. Hopelessly romantic? Perhaps. But this isn’t just a box-ticking exercise for us. It’s a core agency-wide commitment driven by our unwavering focus on our people, purpose, and planet.

In line with our dedication to balancing profit with purpose, we’re working toward B Corp certification. This is a significant step in our journey, and we’ve set ambitious targets for the weeks, months, and years ahead.

Join us as we pull back the organic linen-lined curtain to reveal why B Corp matters to us, where we’re at in the process, and what’s next for the agency.

What is B Corp?

Understandably, you and your team are proud of your business and might want to shout about every B Corp is a certification awarded to businesses that meet stringent standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency.

There are over 2,300 B Corp-certified businesses in the UK – and that number is rapidly rising!

These include well-known brands, such as Innocent, Nespresso, WeTransfer, Elemis, and The White Company. But there’s only a small handful of businesses in Shropshire who’ve earned this recognition – further driving our mission to elevate the region’s ESG status and create more sustainable opportunities locally.

Why is it important to us?

This has always been important to us. But the ability to take it a step further and earn global recognition helps us to build a robust framework that our entire team lives and breathes. It keeps us accountable and ensures that this is absolutely ingrained into everything we do.

B Corp is built around five key pillars: Workers, Environment, Customers, Community, and Governance. Areas that we’re deeply passionate about.

Focusing on each helps us with:

• Recruitment & Retention | we attract and retain individuals who match our values and objectives, promoting a culture of positive growth and development.

• Client Alignment | a B Corp accreditation would clearly reflect our mission, making it easier for clients and prospects to understand if we’re the right fit for their goals.

• Growth | it provides a solid framework for us to continue to grow – in an ethical way!

Circular Economy | any profits we make can be reinvested into our team, community, and initiatives that make a positive impact on our environment.

What’s been the journey so far?

We know we won’t be perfect from the get-go – and that’s okay! It’s a long-term commitment to making sustainable changes that will make Reech a better place for our team, clients, planet, and local area.

To be considered for B Corp, we have:

• Made a legal change to our business structure, confirming that we operate in the interest of all stakeholders (not just shareholders).

• Reviewed all existing processes, set targets for improvement, and communicated these with our entire team.

• Implemented these changes and new policies across the agency.

• Submitted our B Corp assessment.  

We’re now waiting for the B Corp team to review our application and decide if we meet their criteria. Fingers crossed! In the meantime, we’re continuing to assess our practices, identify areas for improvement, and work on further enhancing our company credentials.

What’s been the journey so far?

This is not a new phenomenon for us – since the agency was established in 2009, we’ve been striving to make a positive impact. But over the past six months especially, we’ve accelerated this and introduced a whole range of targets and initiatives, including:

Governance

• Refreshed our mission statement
• Updated employees on our financial targets and performance.

Workers

• Appointed a dedicated Head of People
• Became Living Wage-accredited and Family Wage-compliant
• Updated our team perks, responding to employee feedback and needs
• Enhanced career development and training opportunities.

Environment

• Ongoing monitoring of agency energy usage and setting targets to reduce
• Measuring food waste
• Encouraged more recycling by introducing specialist bins
• Offering cycle-to-work scheme.

Customers

• Setting KPIs and objectives for all projects
• Providing guarantees on all milestones, such as website launches
• Ongoing evaluation of client satisfaction and retention rate
• Encouraging third-party reviews, such as The Drum
• Seeking external accreditations, e.g., Cyber Essentials.

Community

• Investing our support via Reech and Reward initiative, charity discounts, donations and partnerships
• Reviewing our diversity, equality and inclusion in line with recruitment and retention
• Assessing our partners and suppliers to ensure total alignment with our values.

What’s been the journey so far?

Our initial targets are set, and we’ve committed to reviewing them annually. In the meantime, our dedicated B Corp committee meets every quarter to track our progress, brainstorm new ideas and initiatives, and communicate our objectives to the wider team.

If we’re granted B Corp certification this time – great news! But we’ll need to resubmit every three years to demonstrate that we’re continuously meeting and exceeding the expectations of our evolving world.

And if we don’t make the grade this time, no problem – we’ll go back to the drawing board, address the areas that need additional improvement, and secure that big B badge ethically and responsibly.

This isn’t a quick fix. We’re in it for the long haul.

Want to learn more about our commitment to our people, planet and profits? Get in touch to talk to us about how you can amplify your sustainability messaging – without it becoming just another buzzword!