Two years ago, becoming a B Corp was an important milestone for Fiasco.
It built on more than a decade of work to create a business and culture that supports our people, our community and the people we work with.
The application process challenged us to look more closely at how we operate. How we support our team. How we work with clients. How we contribute to our community. And how we think about our impact on the planet.
More than anything, B Corp gave us a framework. It helped us formalise policies, improve our systems and put greater accountability around things we already cared deeply about.
When we announced our certification, we said it was just the beginning.
We meant it.
But as we approached renewal this year, we asked ourselves the same question we often encourage our clients to ask:
Is this still the best way to achieve the outcome we’re looking for?
For us, the answer was no.
Why we’re not renewing
Being a B Corp has brought plenty of benefits. But as Fiasco has evolved, we’ve found ourselves investing more time and energy into maintaining the framework, rather than finding our own ways to make a difference.
The certification process has evolved too. Recertification now requires a significant commitment from across the business, both in time and money. Against a backdrop of growth and changing commercial pressures, we had to question whether that investment was creating the impact we wanted it to.
After careful consideration, we decided not to renew our B Corp certification.
This isn’t a step away from the values that led us there. It’s a decision about where our time, energy and resources can have the greatest effect.
The badge goes. The principles stay.
The things we adopted through becoming a B Corp are now embedded in the business. They shape how we make decisions, how we work together, how we support our team and the standards we hold ourselves to.
The certification was never meant to be the engine. It was the catalyst.
We’ll continue to build a business that puts people first.
We’ll continue to make thoughtful decisions about our environmental impact.
We’ll continue to support our community.
And we’ll continue to question ourselves, improve where we can and hold ourselves accountable along the way.
What changes is where we put our resources.
Rather than investing them in recertification, we want to put them directly into initiatives that feel meaningful to us and the people around us.
That means continuing our work with the design community and young people, from guest lectures and mentorship to our upcoming partnership with Not Impossible, a platform creating work experience opportunities for 16–25-year-olds.
It means volunteering our time for initiatives that connect with our team, our values and our wider community.
And it means continuing to work with organisations that care about the social and environmental impact they have on the world.
We’ll be open about where those efforts go, what we’re doing and where we still have room to improve.
Moving forward
Two years ago, B Corp helped us become a better business. It gave us structure, challenged our thinking and helped turn good intentions into better practices. We’re grateful for that.
But frameworks are there to help you move forward, not become the destination. So we’re taking what we’ve learned and moving forward in a way that feels right for the business we are today.
No badge. Same principles. More freedom to put them into practice.
Follow us on LinkedIn for more updates on how we work.
Written By
Charlotte Cowling
