What we didn’t expect when going for B Corp status is how exposing it felt – even with nothing to hide. The process puts you through the wringer, lifting the lid on every aspect of your operations.
It got us thinking about transparency. It’s admirable but is it necessary?
It’s something that would strike fear in the heart of many of our larger, multi-national clients - complex, costly, and risky - why bother?
It’s easy to be dismissive. Just another way in which anxious Millennials are looking to feel better about themselves, who they work for and what they buy…
And they might have a point. After all, it’s not really what people want.
Consumers want a purpose, employees value ethics, investors want integrity, and lenders demand accountability – all of which comes from a certain level of candour backed up by honest practices.
Transparency might be a differentiator in the short term, but business don’t have to lay it all out there to be real and connect on a deeper level with stakeholders.
We think authenticity is the ultimate currency. Especially when it comes to sustainability – it could be your secret weapon, a possible threat, or just your ticket to the game. However, how a business chooses to respond, in terms of timing and intensity, is a decision they must make.
