{"id":2417,"date":"2022-07-28T16:15:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-28T16:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tenlifestylegroup.com\/?p=2417"},"modified":"2022-08-02T16:52:25","modified_gmt":"2022-08-02T16:52:25","slug":"to-b-corp-or-not-to-b-corp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tenlifestylegroup.com\/2022\/07\/28\/to-b-corp-or-not-to-b-corp\/","title":{"rendered":"Woke Capitalism? To B Corp or not to B Corp"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Like most entrepreneurs, I like independence, to the point of being contrary sometimes, and I don\u2019t like to follow the herd. So, when I first heard about a movement that judges how ethical your business is, I had an almost allergic reaction, until my thinking changed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Initially, it felt to me that the fast-growing B Corp global accreditation<\/a>, born in the USA in 2006, that “marks” a business against its impact on the world, was some kind of New Age monster \u2013 a toxic combination of West Coast wokeness and box-ticking administration. And it felt like it would distract us from our core business.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also felt unnecessary. From the start of Ten, we had been ahead of the curve \u2013 focused on values and trust, on creating an office environment where people could be themselves at work, and are treated fairly.\u00a0We had taken tough, even unprofitable, decisions to try to do the right things for our membership;\u00a0I have even signed up to the Founders Pledge, committing to give a sizeable chunk of my “upside” from my shareholding in Ten to good causes.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We thought, \u201cWe know we are on the side of the angels, why do we need an outside organisation to certify us?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And yet, this month we asked our shareholders \u2013 including serious “big name” fund managers at Lombard Odier<\/a>, Baillie Gifford<\/a>, Soros<\/a> and Canaccord<\/a> \u2013 to vote to enable us to become a B Corp. That includes amending our company articles so that we agree to make decisions considering what is right, not only for shareholders, but also for our colleagues, our clients, the environment and broader society.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three things changed my mind.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Lefay
Lefay Resort & Spa Dolomiti, Italy, a sustainable wellness resort part of the Ten Global Hotel Collection<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Firstly, I gradually learned, mostly from other entrepreneurs, that B Corp is not a box-ticking exercise. The evaluation framework the movement provides stimulates ideas and shares fresh, best practice. As we went through the survey, it made us notice that in some areas we had been resting on our laurels, and the process has resulted in new, better plans that are improving our business.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secondly, there is not a pre-defined way to achieve B Corp status \u2013 every company applies it differently. For us,\u00a0organising holidays for our members remains part of what we do.\u00a0However, we have invested in becoming more skilled at organising staycations, so that more people choose to stay in the UK; and we have made it easier for our green-minded members to more easily select the most sustainable restaurants and hotels.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thirdly, the B Corp movement is a magnet for attracting new business and staff. That\u2019s partly because it is rapidly becoming more widely understood. Andreas Adamides, CEO of Helm<\/a>, the community for London\u2019s fast-growing business founders, says \u201cI expect we\u2019ll see close to half our members become B Corps within two years and more than 20% have already started their B Corp accreditation.” More than 4,000 companies have become B Corps in the past four years. The Kite-mark opens up new conversations. Instead of being empty virtue signalling, it is genuinely value-creating.\u00a0One of our blue-chip partners is Coutts<\/a>, which became a B Corp in 2021. The private bank is delighted that we are joining it, and that leads to new opportunities to serve our shared customers.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not everyone agrees with us.\u00a0A long-standing and respected private investor voted against our change and sent me an article from entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy who passionately makes the case against “woke capitalism”.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But overall, I do now believe that becoming a B Corp will not distract us, it won\u2019t force us to conform to a “right-on” brigade or turn us into shallow “re-tweeters” of the latest hip movement.\u00a0It is simply an extremely useful tool to help us create a more successful business that we can be proud of. And this month, 95% of our voting shareholders, including some of the hardest capitalists in the City, agreed.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Alex Cheatle<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alex Cheatle is CEO and Co-Founder of Ten Lifestyle Group<\/a>. To read the version of this article published in CityAM, please click here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An increasing number of businesses are turning towards B Corp status – and Ten has voted to join their ranks. Alex Cheatle explains why.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":2418,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-the-press","category-thought-leadership"],"yoast_head":"\nWoke Capitalism? To B Corp or not to B Corp - Ten Lifestyle Group<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"An increasing number of businesses are turning towards B Corp status - and Ten has voted to join their ranks. 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