mallowstreet becomes a B Corporation

Last year, we made the decision to become a B Corporation. This is probably the easiest and quickest decision the executive team and Board made in 2021. Five minutes. Done. The process to gain our accreditation took over 12 months and, having just signed our B Corp Certification Agreement, we’ve been reflecting on our journey.

Why was it so easy for us to proceed?

Becoming a B Corporation codified our thinking as a business. The B Corporation framework sets out exactly what we wanted to sign up to: “we need an inclusive, equitable and regenerative economic system for all people and the planet. Let’s use business as a force for good.”

At mallowstreet, our overriding purpose is to help provide a better retirement for everyone. It is a benchmark we use internally every day to make decisions. Some tell us this is a lofty goal for a team of 23, but we’ve always believed that through convening key players in the industry, we can drive positive change and empower our community members to make better decisions.

How will this change our business

Not much will actually be different on a day-to-day basis, which speaks to the reason as to why it was so easy for us to make this decision. Our clients and community members are at the heart of how we work; we stood together through COVID, and they have helped us emerge as a thriving business. But none of this would have been possible without our incredible team. It is their hard work, grit and resilience that has allowed mallowstreet to become what it is today.

The B Corporation application forced us to think about the decisions we’ve made in the past and how we will continue to take them in the future. We’ve been a carbon neutral business since 2019, have always done our utmost to look after the best interests of our team, and tried to work only with stakeholders and suppliers who align with our values. mallowstreet supported the inception of the 100 Black Interns Programme, which expanded to be the 10,000 Black Interns Foundation, then becoming the 10,000 Interns Foundation, and then recently helped launch the 10,000 Able Interns Programme. Simply put, the B Corporation process formalises a lot of what we’ve already been doing and takes it to another level.

Our recommendation to the industry

Our call to action from this is clear. It isn’t “wow, look at what we’ve done” but quite the opposite. Having spent more than 12 months working through hundreds of questions and challenging all of our business practices, we can say the process has been incredibly helpful for mallowstreet. We hope our journey inspires other companies to do the same.

There are about 5,000 firms globally, and around 900 firms in the UK that have completed the B Corporation Certification. Now, we encourage everyone in our industry to consider becoming a B Corporation. We believe this can only collectively strengthen us.