After BKL achieved B Corp certification in 2022, Myfanwy Neville, our Head of ESG (environmental, social and governance), was interviewed by Accountancy Age for a series of articles this year:
BKL becomes first major accountancy B Corp
‘For Emmeline Skelton, head of sustainability at the Association for Chartered Certified Accountants, these accomplishments by BKL demonstrate a commitment to the growing consensus on ESG.
“It’s good news that a 50+50 accountancy firm in the UK has become a certified B Corp. It shows a serious intent to become accountable for their environment and social impact.
“The whole point is moving from a traditional business to being accountable to stakeholders and integrating social and environmental factors into decision-making.”
Skelton also acknowledged the “tough” vetting process for B Corp status, noting that it demonstrates a “serious and accountable” outlook.’
Q&A: BKL on B Corp and purpose in accountancy
“In 2020, at the end of the first lockdown, myself and three of the firm’s partners, being the executive board, got together and asked ourselves, “if there were no limitations, what would we want to be in five years’ time?”, and put all of our crazy ideas on a piece of paper.
One of the things that came out was around being a ‘good’ business with a capital ‘G’, and questioning what that really meant and how we could develop what we’d already begun to build. And that’s where the B Corp idea came from.
The plan was to use B Corp as a framework, because it would give us a structure to say what’s good and what’s not – a framework where we could measure ourselves against criteria as we learned more about sustainability as a core concept.
We realised that by using B Lab’s impact assessment, we could be scored. So we did that, and set our strategy to achieve B Corp status by 2026. We were amazed when B Lab came back and said we’d achieved it by 2022.”
B Corp status ‘invaluable’ to attracting new employees
‘BKL’s B Corp status has made the firm more attractive to industry talent, signalling the significance of sustainable practices, according to Myfanwy Neville, partner at BKL.
“It has definitely opened a door in terms of candidates who care about this kind of stuff, and from that perspective, it’s invaluable.”’
For more information about how our experts can help you and your business with ESG strategy, carbon reporting, B Corp certification and charity formation, please get in touch with your usual BKL contact or use our enquiry form.