Cog is a B Corporation

What is a B Corporation?

B Corps started in the US as a movement using business as a force for good. 

In the States, ‘benefit corporations’ are a particular type of company structure. But as the movement has spread all over the globe, the B has been reinterpreted…

We’ve heard a few people say that it stems from Ghandi’s quote: “Be the change you wish to see in the world”. But others are more pragmatic and say it stands for ‘Better’. 

To become a B Corporation you have to show that your company meets exacting standards. You need to provide verifiable evidence about the way you value your team, the efficacy of the work you do, the way you treat your suppliers and the overall benefit you provide to society. 

Oh and you have to legally change the status of your company and alter your articles of association to state the company exists to benefit society (alongside making a profit).

It’s a rigorous process working back and forth with the team at B Lab (who run the accreditation). Thanks to them for their help and persistence.

Why did we put ourselves through it?

If you know us, you’ll know that we don’t worry about awards or rubber-stamp accreditations. We’re much more interested in happy clients than in blowing our own trumpet.

But this felt different. The process helped us examine our processes and realign our approaches to many aspects of our business. The journey has been a great reward in itself – we are a stronger company now than when we started the accreditation process.

We consulted widely and spoke to many existing B Corps. They all told us it would be tough; they told us not to expect to succeed first time. But we did and that’s a brilliant feeling.

Why does it matter?

Plenty of people are happy going to work each day just for the money – and of course lots of people have no choice.

At Cog we get to choose the work we do. We know that’s unusual and comes from a position of privilege so we don’t take it for granted.

We know we’re lucky. But we also know it’s a choice we’ve made… a choice that may seem at odds with traditional business practices.

• We choose to work with people who share our values.
• We choose to work in a sector that transforms lives.
• We choose to work in ways that put people before profit.
• We chose our suppliers based on much more than price.

Don’t get us wrong, we aren’t idealistic hippies; Cog is a commercial business.

We’ve been trading for more than three decades and we’ve made a profit each year – even through the pandemic (with no redundancies and no furlough).

Our only income comes through charging for our services and expertise (we receive no grants* or subsidies). If we charge more than we spend then that profit is how we pay our wages. And we all want to be paid fairly and have some profit left over to reinvest.

But profit isn’t everything.

• We want to get up for work each day, and sleep soundly at night, knowing that our work benefits society.
• We support clients who work with under-represented and underprivileged communities.
• We fund charities that focus on supporting people who are traditionally excluded from the arts.
• We are working towards sustainability through carbon-negative hosting and much more.
• We have a firm and immovable ethical approach and we walk away from projects or clients who don’t fit.
• And we invest in and are constantly improving our approach to Equity, Diversity, Inclusivity and Belonging.

Of course we are far from perfect. Our B Corp journey continues as we work towards improving our score and attaining future growth goals, year on year.

Our B Corp Certification means that we have taken some big strides in the right direction.

Find out more on the B Corp UK site.

* actually we are in line for a small government grant this year, as a contribution towards the new electric car charger outside our studio. More on that soon.