Organic beer producer Stroud Brewery has announced its certification as a registered B Corporation, joining a global community of 2,600 companies, with just 175 in the UK.
B Corporation (B Corps) businesses are those that have been certified by B Lab as having met rigorous social and environmental standards, which represent its commitment to goals outside of shareholder profit.
Greg Pilley (pictured above) founded Stroud Brewery in 2006 with a vision to develop a thriving, dynamic and resilient enterprise, recognised for its ethos of sustainability, and producing a nationally respected range of cask ales and organic bottled beers.
He said: “Gone are the days when a business’s only aim should be to make money for its shareholders — industry is changing. Good businesses now understand their responsibility to support workers, communities and the environment, which is just as important as the products and services that they offer their customers.
“It has always been our intention to be a good business. But anyone can say they do good things — we wanted to prove it. We were looking for a way to measure and report on our social and environmental performance, and when we heard about B Corps we knew we wanted to be part of it.
“One of our hop-picking community made an introduction to Camilla Barnes, who was training as an adviser for B Corps and agreed to support our process.”
The B Corp certification covers five key impact areas of governance, workers, community, environment and customers. The certification process is rigorous, with companies having to score high and provide evidence of socially and environmentally responsible practices, relating to energy supplies, waste and water use, worker compensation, diversity, and corporate transparency.
To complete the certification, the company will legally embed its commitment to purpose beyond profit in its company articles.
Overall positive impact
The B Corp community is reflective of the UK economy, with businesses from a cross section of industries and sizes. These include well known brands like Innocent, Patagonia, Pukka Herbs, Ella’s Kitchen, Divine, and JoJo Maman Bebe.
Greg said: “B Corp certification doesn’t just evaluate a product or service, it assesses the overall positive impact of the company that stands behind it. That sort of evaluation is thorough — there is a lot of detail. The process was challenging and has made us all really think about how enterprise can have a positive impact.
“We scored an impressive 87.5, which we are really proud of. Being certified as a B Corp is just the beginning for us. We believe being part of this community will keep us actively trying to improve our standards, and we will be setting new goals each year.”
A spokesperson from B Lab UK said: “Being able to welcome Stroud Brewery to the B Corp community is hugely exciting. Their commitment to doing business differently will be an inspiration to others and really help spread the idea that we can redefine success in business to be as much about people and planet as it is about profit.”
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