B CORP: USING BUSINESS AS A FORCE FOR GOOD
What are B Corp businesses? Certified B Corporations (or B corps) are companies who are committed to prioritising people and the planet in the way they do business. Food Made Good HK is proud to be one of the first few businesses in Hong Kong to be certified as a
B Corporation.
Rigorous assessment by the experts at B Lab, look at every inch of Food Made Good HK’s social and environmental impact. This offers you a transparent view of our business – and shows us where we can do better. Still a little confused? Let’s break it down into real terms below.
1. USING BUSINESS AS A FORCE FOR GOOD
Certifying as a B Corp means that Food Made Good HK as a company is legally and morally committed to prioritising our responsibility to the environment and society. So whether it’s decisions about the services we provide, the people we employ or the partners we work with, we legally have to prioritise the welfare of people and planet, not just profits. We want to use business as a vehicle to drive positive change in the world, and the B Corp community is fully committed to this mission.
2. Good companies, not just good products.
Just because a company makes good products, doesn’t necessarily make them a good company. Whilst that specific product may be sourced in a responsible way that has a positive impact, it doesn’t mean the company that makes it is doing all their business that way. Certifying as a B Corp is an incredibly rigorous process, covering every area of a business; from products and sustainability policies, to culture and the way they communicate with customers. So when you see the B Corp logo, you know that company is acting in a way that is socially and environmentally responsible, all the way through the business.
3. NO GREENWASHING.
There are a lot of sustainability certifications out there, and it can often be confusing for consumers to discern which ones actually carry weight. As well as legally binding commitments to the environment and society, B Corp certified companies are continually re-assessed and are required to pass the re-certification process every 3 years. This ensures that B Corps are always held to account – continually monitoring their impact and trying to improve the way they do business, for the benefit of people and planet.
HOW DOES B CORP CERTIFICATION WORK?
At present, there are 17 Certified B Corps in Hong Kong. To become a B Corp, we had to go through the ‘B Impact Assessment’: a huge questionnaire that looks at all aspects of our business. It’s broken down into five main areas:
1. Governance
2. Environment
3. Workers
4. Community
5. Customers
Once you’ve filled in the questionnaire, the ethical experts at B Lab request evidence for a selection of your answers. They then analyse everything you’ve provided and give your business a score out of 200. This assessment is repeated every three years. See below for our current score.
FOOD MADE GOOD HK SCORES
90.4 out of 200
Food Made Good HK scored 90.4 out of 200 in our first B Corps Impact Assessment. Most businesses score between 40 and 100, with 80 points required to become certified. So, what areas did we score well in?
HIGHEST SCORE IN COMMUNITY SECTION
Our highest score was in the Community section of the assessment. The Community Impact Area evaluates Food Made Good HK’s positive impact on the external communities in which we operates, covering topics like diversity, economic impact, civic engagement, and supply chain impact.
We are proud that ‘Economic Impact’ scored highly since we spend more than 60% of our company expenses on local independent suppliers.
It’s good to know where we’re doing well – but it’s also really useful to know where we could improve. The assessment highlighted a few areas where we’d like to do better, including: The Environment and Governance. We are excited to improve and be better as a company for the people and the planet! Join us on this journey.
For our full press release, please see here.
THE B CORP DECLARATION OF INTERDEPENDENCE
As a B Corp, we had to sign The B Corp Declaration of Interdependence which shows our commitment. We must be the change we seek in the world. That all business ought to be conducted as if people and place mattered. That, through our products, practices, and profits, we should aspire to do no harm and benefit all.
