At St. Eval, we're often talking about how proud we feel to be a B Corp, and how this signifies our hard work and future commitment to driving change. This month, we want to take you behind the scenes of life as a Certified B Corporation- welcoming you into the B Corp world, creating accessible resources and spotlighting what it means to be a B Corp today. 

Foundational to being a B Corp is the cultivation of inclusivity, the sharing of knowledge and spotlighting community. Focused on creating a brighter and more balanced world, we're breaking down the barriers of knowledge - spreading the word about what being a B Corp means, how we became a B Corp, and why this might affect you. 

What is a B Corp?

According to B Lab, B Corps, formally known as Certified B Corporations, are verified companies which meet high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability. A global network which connects regional, national and global B Corporations, also known as the B Global Network, B Lab powers the B Corp Movement. Created in 2006, B Lab has worked tirelessly to harness the power of business as a force for good. Driven by this force for change, they aim to guide global businesses through their Theory of Change, a mission rooted in transforming the economic system into a more inclusive, equitable, and regenerative global economy. 

As a B Corp, we are a cog in the B Corp community who adopts the B Lab standards which assess, hold accountable and help improve the impact of businesses on our people and the planet. In developing this network, B Corps signpost a time for change and devotion to act on this vision of an inclusive, equitable and regenerative world. As it stands, St. Eval embodies a small but mighty portion of over 755,000 workers, 1 of over 8,200 companies, across more than 162 industries and 96 countries across the globe. 

How do you become a Certified B Corporation? 

Driving accountability beyond the shareholders, B Lab ensures they engage businesses and undertake an extremely thorough and rigorous certification process. Assessing their social and environmental impact, each business is thrust into a sphere of accountability, starting with The B Impact Assessment. Once completed, the assessment will be reviewed in two stages- Evaluation and Verification, led by B Lab UK and B Lab Global. 

Once a Certified B Corporation, each business vows to reflect on its impact in the annual B Corp Impact Report. Promoting company transparency, each impact report publicly showcases a business's progress, challenges and future short and long-term goals for the following year's impact report. 

How does the scoring process work, and what score did St. Eval achieve?

In line with B Lab's overarching mission, the B Corp scoring process is divided out into 5 key elements: Governance, People, Community, Environment and Customers. These subsections combine to create an overall B Impact score, with a total of 80 or more required to certify as a B Corp, contextually compared to a median score of 50.9 from the average ordinary business.

Governance

Home to ethical and responsible decision-making, the assessed Governance within each impact report ensures B Corp takes significant steps to action and aligns their operations with their values, public stance and mission.

As a manufacturer, it's both challenging and vital that we make sure our suppliers share our same goals and degree of accountability. By implementing our supplier's code of conduct and screening questions for new suppliers, we ensure that all of our suppliers directly align or are actively working towards the same strict environmental protocols. Striving for sustainable growth and developing relationships with like-minded suppliers, we acknowledge the critical role our supply chain can play on our overall environmental impact as a company and subsequently refuse to let complacency limit the love we share for our planet. 

With a Governance score of 16.3/20, we feel proud of the team's hard work and look forward to further developing this innovative thinking to improve our Governance in the future. 

People

 

The People B Impact Report points are allocated due to a business's cultivated culture, additional benefits and treatment of its employees. 

At St. Eval, people are at the very heart of all we do. Across our incredible teams pioneering product design, customer services and candle crafting, we do everything in our power to foster a culture of inclusivity, collaboration and continuous learning. By harnessing the collective talents, perspectives, and passions of our team, we can tackle and societal and environmental challenges with a unified purpose, passion and resilience. 

For us, creating positive change starts from the team outwards, with success being intrinsically tied to the wellbeing, growth, and empowerment of every individual within our organisation. Scoring 23.6, the treatment of our people scores the highest across the board and reflects our dedication to creating a space where people feel encouraged to contribute beyond their job role, nurtured by our variety of team benefits, and excited by the realm of educational and further training opportunities we feel privileged to support at St. Eval.  

Community

 

Within the B Impact Report, the community focuses on the change and positive action a business can do beyond themselves. By fostering a strong sense of community regardless of location, a valiant B Corp acts above and beyond to provide a multitude of support to their communities, engaging and aiding people and organisations in need of extra support. 

Our community connections have been a strong tie for St. Eval since its origin, due to our undeniable vision to prioritise people and the planet over profit. Over the years we've been privileged to support some incredible charities, like Trussell Trust and their mission to aid homeless individuals and stop UK poverty, to Hospital Rooms, who bring world-class art and creative programming to Mental Health Hospitals.

From dedicating hours for St. Eval staff to volunteer at People & Gardens, to pledging £150,000 to Cornwall Wildlife Trust to help enhance and rewild Cornwall, we're barely just beginning. With a current score of 19.7, we look forward to increasing our community ties and finalising some of these exceptional charity projects in the coming years. 

Environment

 

Treading softly on the the earth, we and our fellow B Corps maintain a close affinity with nature, ensuring we act purely, consistently and accountably with the environment's best interest at heart. 

Keeping sustainability as our guiding principle, we continue to build a greener and brighter future in which people and the planet thrive harmoniously. Securing our score of 21.7 for our 97% onsite recycling rate, rainwater harvesting, additional solar panel installation and more, following a path of sustainability is a passion project and a source of great pride for all at St. Eval. 

Living at one with nature in North Cornwall, we are spoiled with our on-site nature, nurtured through our wildlife lake, installed swift and bat boxes and bee hotel. 

Customers

 

Listening to their customers, a Certified B Corporation actively seeks and appreciates their customer's feedback in the journey to delivering great service and a product for both the creator and customer to feel proud of. 

A platform based upon and going beyond artisan home goods, our score of 3.7/5 illustrates our desire to learn and be more for our incredibly kind, heartfelt and loyal customers. Possessing the power to influence and shape our impact on society and the environment through your purchasing decisions, we feel immensely proud of the customers we are blessed to have, and we understand the importance that you as our customers play in our long-term B Corp journey. 

By continuing to uplift you through our hardworking customer services team, educational candle safety resources and communication surrounding our sustainability mission, you motivate us to undertake greatness and reach new heights.

As a B Corp, it takes a village to maintain the pioneering quality of candles amidst our ongoing pledge. We feel immense gratitude for the support and contributions from our team, suppliers, charity partners, customers and community. The passion, interest and assistance of the people around us, and our fellow inspiring B Corps, play a remarkable role in platforming us and our achievements thus far. 

Looking #ThisWayForward, we are thrilled to be inundated by a sensational community of like-minded people, and we look forward to sharing exciting updates throughout B Corp month and beyond. 

Want to see more of our B Corp sneak peeks? Stay up to date and follow us on Instagram @stevalcandles for more.