Meet the top performing B Corps creating impact through their business

It’s time to celebrate the 2019 Best For The World honourees — an annual list of more than 1,200 global business leaders announced today by B Lab. These Certified B Corporations, spanning dozens of industries and countries, lead by example by valuing people, purpose and public transparency along with profit while demonstrating how these multiple stakeholders are crucial to future economic success.

Best For The World honourees are recognised for achieving a verified score in the top 10 percent of all Certified B Corporations on the B Impact Assessment, which B Lab uses to certify B Corps and measure the impact of global investment portfolios. As they aim for constant improvement through their B Impact Assessment goals, B Corps develop new, innovative ways of doing business that can serve as examples for other organisations to model and adapt for their own methods.

This year, 58 B Corps in the UK have been awarded Best For The World. Throughout the month, Reinventing Business will share stories written by Best For The World honourees in the UK.

This long-term vision grows increasingly relevant and important in the face of global challenges, including the climate crisis and growing inequality, and in an economy where consumers increasingly look to align with companies that reflect their values and business executives realise their current path is unsustainable. The Best For The World honourees we celebrate now are leading the work toward an economy that works for everyone, for the long term.

List Categories

The honourees featured on the Best For The World lists for Overall, Community, Environment, Workers, Governance, and Customers lists scored in the top 10th percentile of all Certified B Corporations in the respective impact area on the B Impact Assessment. The honourees that have earned Best For The World Overall scored in the top 10th percentile of their overall score on the B Impact Assessment across all impact areas.

The honourees on the Best For The World Overall list: 

The full B Impact Assessment evaluates a company’s environmental performance, employee relationships, diversity, involvement in the local community, the impact a company’s product or service has on those it serves, and more. View the Best For The World Overall honourees.

The honourees on the Best For The World Community list: 

The Community section of the B Impact Assessment evaluates a company’s supplier relations, diversity, and involvement in the local community. It also measures the company’s practices and policies around community service and charitable giving, including whether a company’s product or service is designed to solve a social issue, such as access to basic services, health, education, economic opportunity and the arts. View the Best For The World Community honourees.

The honourees on the Best For The World Customers list: 

The Customer section of the B Impact Assessment measures the impact a company has on its customers by focusing on whether a company sells products or services that promote public benefit and if those products/services are targeted toward serving underserved populations. The section also measures whether a company’s product or service is designed to solve a social or environmental issue (improving health, preserving environment, creating economic opportunity for individuals or communities, promoting the arts/sciences, or increasing the flow of capital to purpose-driven enterprises). View the Best For The World Customers honourees.

The honourees on the Best For The World Environment list: 

The Environment section of the B Impact Assessment evaluates a company’s environmental performance through its facilities, materials, emissions, and resource and energy use. Companies answer questions about their transportation/distribution channels and the environmental impact of their supply chain. The assessment also measures whether a company’s products or services are designed to solve an environmental issue, including products that aid in the provision of renewable energy, conserve resources, reduce waste, promote land/wildlife conservation, prevent toxic/hazardous substance or pollution, or educate, measure or consult to solve environmental problems. View the Best For The World Environment honourees.

The honourees on the Best For The World Workers list: 

The Workers section of the B Impact Assessment assesses the company’s relationship with its workforce. It measures how the company treats its workers through compensation, benefits, training and ownership opportunities provided to workers. The category also focuses on the overall work environment within the company by assessing management/worker communication, job flexibility, corporate culture, and worker health and safety practices. View the Best For The World Workers honourees.

The honourees on the Best For The World Governance list: 

The Governance section of the B Impact Assessment evaluates a company’s overall mission, ethics, accountability and transparency. It measures whether the company has adopted a social or environmental mission, and how it engages its employees, board members and the community to achieve that mission. This section assesses employee access to financial information, customers’ opportunities to provide feedback, and the diversity of the company’s governing bodies. View the Best For The World Governance honourees and read our latest story by Best For The World Governance honouree, Kung Fu Accounting.

The honourees on the Best for the World Changemakers list: 

The honourees on this list are calculated based on verified positive change across all impact areas over time. This inherently restricts eligibility to Certified B Corps who have completed at least two verified B Impact Assessments. View the Best For The World Changemakers honourees.

The algorithm used to calculate the Changemakers list assesses positive change made on individual questions. Efforts are made to exclude what is termed “standards-based change,” such as changes in score resulting from a company moving to a different track or version of the assessment. This leaves behind only genuine improvements a company has made.

A first step for businesses interested in measuring their social and environmental impact is by using the free B Impact Assessment tool. Any company wishing to certify as a B Corp has its performance assessed by B Lab across all dimensions of its business. These companies are on a journey of continuous improvement to ensure business leverages its power to be a positive force in the world.