This month a notification popped up in our inboxes confirming the news we’d been eagerly anticipating from the B Corp team; Notpla has been officially certified as a B Corporation! Following the comprehensive B Impact Assessment process - measuring our outputs across five key impact areas - we have proven our credentials as leaders in the movement for economic systems change. With great pride, we can now say that we’ve joined the 6,000+ strong B Corp community.

‍Because there’s no B in plastic.

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Now recognised as pioneers in the sustainable packaging and materials sector, B Corp certification is a real milestone in our mission to help tackle the world’s addiction to single-use plastics. The evidence shows that we - as consumers - favour brands prioritising the planet. And it’s now in the wider industries' hands to make change happen.

Thankfully, plenty of brilliant businesses now recognise that this plastic problem is entangled with business growth and that working together with progressive, solutions-led companies can respond to the huge consumer demand. As a member of the B Corp community, we’re able to better demonstrate this connection to business growth and make it more accessible than ever before.

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.     Notpla monthly litter picking around Hackney Wick’s canal, to tackle plastic pollution within our neighbourhood.

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What is a B Corp?

B Corp is a progressive movement that combines business success with social and environmental impact. B Corp companies represent a new generation of businesses that are driven not only by profits but also by purpose. To achieve this, they must undergo a scrupulous verification process, measuring their social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability.

More than a stamp of approval, the certification ensures that B Corps have a legal obligation to consider their impact on communities, teams, the environment and partners. With an unwavering commitment to sustainability and ethical practices, B Corps are leading the way towards a more inclusive, responsible, and sustainable future.

‍“Working through the B Corp certification has been an incredibly insightful process and a great way of bringing many different stakeholders in the company into one team; all focussed around one mission. It’s helped to shine a light on where we’re performing well, what we must improve, and has inspired us to continually step up our operations and impact to create the world we want to live and work in.” Kendra Quinn - Impact Manager, Notpla

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Where did we do well?

The B-Corp certification splits into five areas: Governance, Workers, Community, Environment, and Customer. Our score of 86.8 was well above the average for both our sector and businesses of a similar size.

As you might expect, we performed well in the Environment section, scoring across two Impact Business models here!  We also did really well on Governance, scoring 16 of the 20 points available. - this area examines the structure of our business at Notpla as well as the opportunities and support provided to our employees. We’re really proud of this one.

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Where are our areas for improvement?

The highest score possible is 200, so there are improvements to make. But this acts as a great benchmark and guide for continually improving.

A key area we’ve identified to focus on is the metrics we track around our Impact and Supply chain. We’ll hold ourselves to account by sharing these in our annual impact report.

B Corp is not about being the best but about striving to improve! We know that by embracing our place in the B Corp community, we can learn from other businesses and our wider network of supporters, colleagues and partners.

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Beyond the B: ‍Wider impact and sustainability reporting

With significant growth in the scale that we operate, our commercial partnerships and the international markets we’re expanding into, we recognise that this affects our impact. Becoming a B Corp-certified enterprise is huge for us, but it’s not enough. So each year we produce a detailed impact report which helps to keep us accountable for making a difference to people and our planet. It allows us to measure our progress, all viewed through the lens of the sustainable packaging industry.

You can view our latest impact report here.

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