What is a B Corp?
B Corporation (or B Corp) is a certification for ethical businesses who work not just for profit, but to benefit people and the planet. The certification is fast becoming a trusted symbol for ethical businesses. Wherever you see the B Corp logo, you know that business has been thoroughly assessed, and proven to uphold the highest social and environmental standards.
We don't want to mark our own homework on ethics. Rigorous assessment by the experts at B Corp, looking at every inch of Riverford's social and environmental impact, offers you a transparent view of our business - and shows us where we can do better.
Riverford's scores
Our current score is 134.8 out of 200, an increase of 10 points from last year. Most businesses score between 40 and 100, with 80 points required to become certified; a score of over 100 is considered outstanding! This means we are the highest scoring veg box company and the highest scoring large food business (over 250 employees) in the UK.
So, what helped us achieve a higher score this time?
A company's overall job quality as offered to its workers is a core pillar of the B Corps Impact Assessment's approach to measuring social and environmental performance. We have made some key changes which made a big impact on our score:
- We are now 100% employee owned, meaning every co-owner has a financial stake and say in the business and how it's run.
- We have committed to the real living wage. It is voluntarily paid by over 14,000 UK businesses who believe their staff deserve a wage which meets everyday needs - like the weekly shop, or a surprise trip to the dentist.
- We have also invested in our learning and development offering, nurturing our co-owners' growth. From the muddy fields to the bustling packing sheds, we're dedicated to helping our team flourish in their skills, knowledge, and expertise.
Our other biggest increase was within the environmental section. Our score was bolstered by the solid principles of organic farming, but our biodiversity projects were key to improving our score. Here are some of the projects we have been working on:
- Our sustainability team have kicked off a programme of Soil Association Exchange (SAX) whole-farm assessments, working directly with farmers to assess and improve the environmental outcomes on their farms - from reducing emissions, to improving environments for wildlife, soil health, and water quality.
- Our agroforestry programme has flourished, planting over 5,000 trees in winter 2022-23, and we now have Biodiversity Action Plans for Riverford's two biggest farms (Wash Farm in Devon, and Sacrewell Farm in Cambridgeshire).
- We have planted over 800 meters of hedging in the last year, and dug a new pond contributing to improved wildlife habitats on the farm.
Why become a B Corp?
For businesses and customers, there are four huge benefits to B Corp certification:
No vague claims and greenwash
It would be easy to simply say we're 'ethical' or 'sustainable' (already broad, subjective terms) and be selective about what we show to back it up.
B Corps are rigorously assessed every three years. Social and environmental impacts are defined, assessed in-depth, and numerically scored - giving 'ethical business' a real, objective meaning.
Transparency
Because B Corps are scored publicly, you have a really transparent view of our business - so you know exactly what your money is supporting. You can even compare our score with other food businesses.
Holding us to our word
A special part of becoming a B Corp is changing the legal structure of your business. Every certified B Corp changes their articles of association to give equal importance to people and the planet as to shareholders and profits. This commitment in law means that B Corps must consider community and the environment in everything they do.
Because of Riverford's employee ownership and the values embedded within, we didn't need to make any changes - people and planet are already protected by our legal structure.
A supportive community
There are over 2500 (and counting) B Corps worldwide, in over 50 countries, all striving to use business as a force for good. Working groups are run on issues such as employee ownership, packaging and climate change - pooling resources and research, and creating positive change for the whole community.
