This week, almost 100 B Corps from across B Local Oxfordshire+ came together at Daylesford Farm’s Heritage House to celebrate a milestone moment: 10 years of B Corp in the UK.
It was an energising reminder of what makes this community so special. Whether you certified a decade ago or joined this year, our commitment to building better business is shared.
B Local co-chairs Phil Walsh, and our very own Sophie Brooks, kept spirits high with party games of pass-the-parcel and heads-or-tails (with prizes generously donated by local B Corps), before we got stuck into a collective brainstorming session. To mark the moment, we did what B Corps do best: connected, collaborated and imagined what the next decade of impact could look like through the collective action of the movement. Numerous ideas arose, but to list a few:
- Amplifying the voice of the B Corp movement to reach more organisations and communities
- Sharing resources and knowledge more intentionally throughout the movement
- SMEs joining forces to create deeper charity partnerships
- Every B Corp creating long-term partnerships with nature-focused non-profits
- And even a creative idea for a “B-Coin” to unlock discounted services within the community
All of these ideas anchored back to something powerful that Jacqueline Gunn from B Lab UK shared with the room which was something one of the B Lab Founders Andrew Kassoy said in an interview shortly before he passed away earlier this year:
“B Corps are, above all, a community of care.”
As we look ahead, our pledge for the next decade is to inspire hundreds more businesses to adopt the philosophy and mindset of the B Corp movement and become businesses that are a force for good in the world. To hear the pledges of other B Corps in our community, please visit our Oxfordshire B Local page here.
B Labs Take 10 report, available here, highlights just how far the movement has come- and why momentum is building:
⭐ UK B Corps have saved 20+ billion litres of water since 2022 – over a week of the UK’s non-household water use
⭐14% of B Corps are employee-owned, compared to less than 1% of UK businesses
⭐54% of B Corps are led by gender-balanced management teams, compared to just 25% of all UK SMEs.
⭐20% turnover growth, almost 7x higher than all UK SMEs (3%) between 2023 and 2024.
⭐B Corps show greater business resilience: 93% remained active since 2020, compared to 84% of UK businesses overall
These stats reinforce what so many B Corps already feel – the purpose and performance go hand in hand.
Here’s to the next 10 years of collective action, ambitious impact, meaningful partnerships, and the brilliant businesses that make the community what it is.