That’s where B Corp and the idea of Few and Far going for assessment became a reality for me. I was sold. I had to have it - like when a new aftershave drops from Aesop.

Shortly after this, we began the process of phasing out all of our commercial clients, turning new commercial clients away and focusing 100% on good causes.

A Force for Good

The book, and learning more about B Corp made me realise that the size of the company never mattered, it was about putting down a marker and saying “we do things differently here” and that we can be a force for good.

We can be a leader for a more inclusive, equitable, and regenerative economy because we’ve proven that our own business has high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability.

You can’t just buy a B Corp Certification by the way, you have to work, and I mean really work to become certified.

It entails providing evidence and creating policies for everything your company does: from suppliers you work with, to what you do in the community, to what benefits you provide to staff, to what type of eco-friendly pens you and the team use.

The process - which has taken us two years to complete - has been fundamental in codifying my own and Tom’s beliefs about what Few and Far stands for: The reasons we started the business, how we wanted our staff to be treated, what type of work we want to put out in the world and the impact we want to make.

It is easy to say that you want to run your business the ‘right way’, and that you pay your staff a Living Wage and that you do care about the environment and the community you are a part of - but B Corp holds you to account and says “show me the proof of that”.

Lead an examined life

It’s been a tough but highly rewarding journey for me personally in getting us to this stage of certification. It’s made me a better business owner, but it's also made me a better person.

I know that may come across as dramatic - but it has, because it’s effectively made me reflect on everything I want for the company I founded and how that aligns with the legacy I’d like to leave behind.

B Corp has and will continue to be a really powerful sense check for me too; as a manager, as a founder, as a human being about what Few and Far is giving back to the world, why helping charities will forever be important to us and ensuring those commitments are something we stick to like glue (non-toxic and solvent free glue of course).

I’m so proud to be amongst such inspirational people and change makers in the world who now make up more than 8,000 certified B Corporations across 96 countries, with a belief that ‘every business ought to be conducted as if people and place mattered’.

This is day one for us as a Certified B Corp, but I’m already excited about what day 1,000 will look like for me, my team and the charities we support.

I’m also hoping that by being certified it will allow new charity partners to approach us with confidence that their due-diligence has already been met by knowing we are a B Corp and that we’re true to our mission of helping charities make our world a better place.

If you’d like to know more about our B Corp Certification, you can view our public profile on B Corp including a full breakdown of our assessment and score of 118 here, or click the button below to see more about how we are using our business as a Force for Good.

The Journey to B Corp: A Founder’s Story