27 Mar 2025

Shaping a sustainable business: ESG lessons from B Corp leaders

Events & Webinars

Myfanwy Neville

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Thinking about the next step on your business’s sustainability journey?  Ready to meet higher standards of social and environmental impact? Curious about how to stay ahead as the world changes?

Our event on 27 March demystified ESG and explored what becoming a more responsible business means today.

Thanks to our speakers: an inspiring group of business leaders with experience of driving change. And to our event partners Bates Wells: purpose-driven law firm and founders of the B Corp community in the UK.

Read on for the top five challenges identified by our expert panel – and the five solutions they recommend.

Our speakers & panellists

Myfanwy Neville

Head of Sustainability & Governance at BKL

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Louise Harman

Partner at Bates Wells

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Jonathan Calland

Head of Sustainability & External Affairs at Tilda

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Rick Benfield

Managing Director at OCSO

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Emma Kisby

CEO of Cogo

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Myfanwy spoke about governance and sustainability in an accountancy practice:

  • How BKL has related to the B Corp framework, from newly certified to recertifying
  • Shifting perspectives at leadership level
  • Rolling out our Good Work Code for client engagement

Our panel discussed:

  • Starting a sustainability journey
  • What’s gone well and what hasn’t
  • Measuring success
  • Clashes between purpose and profit
  • The effect of the wider political environment
  • How to encourage others to keep exploring sustainability

Our top five challenges

1. Deciding what to prioritise at the start of your sustainability journey

2. Negotiating conflicts and integrating ESG while balancing purpose and profit

3. Measuring how effective your sustainability initiatives are

4. Divisiveness and politics obstructing collective action

5. Encouraging others not to be deterred by reporting obligations

Our top five solutions

1. Think about what impacts your business, and what impact you want your business to have

2. Make ESG relevant to each team, role and their purpose. Appeal to both head and heart: highlight commercial benefits (practical) and the cost of inaction (emotional)

3. Ensure you’re collecting accurate data. Report on your impact to avoid greenhushing and to draw interest from your employees and clients

4. Accept compromises as part of your business’s sustainability i.e. its continuation. Use short-term decisions to engage clients while building long-term impacts into your risk management

5. The free B Impact Assessment tool offers structured guidance, shows how much is achievable and sparks conversations – as do other B Corps

Feedback from our guests

‘Really interesting and insightful session – thank you for hosting!’
Nicola Aquila, Rays of Sunshine

‘Fantastic speakers shared practical insights on embedding ESG. A great opportunity to connect with others passionate about driving meaningful impact. Big thanks to the organisers and everyone who made the evening so insightful (and enjoyable!)’
Dr Olga Buskin, OpenWeather

‘Fantastic and fascinating event. Thanks for hosting!’
Victor Zasadzki, Vorboss

‘One of the best panel discussions I’ve been to lately. Thank you BKL and Bates Wells for being such great hosts’
Yasmin Zlotogorski, Estu Global

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How we can help

Sustainability is fundamental to business success. As a B Corp with growing expertise in sustainable business practices, we combine deep financial knowledge with practical experience.

Learn more about how we can help your business succeed or get in touch for a chat.

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