Conference News June 2022 | Page 32

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32 B Corps

purchasing decisions tie into the principle around not buying brands , but buying into brand ideals .”
B Corp can also be used as a reason for thoroughly working on projects and can impact the lead times on delivery , according to Heron . She said : “ It ’ s showing our clients why things are a bit more money , why things may take a bit longer , because we ’ re pursuing those values in everything that we do .”
However , it is not all about the commercial aspect for businesses such as OrangeDoor ; sustainability champions within the organisation are pushing for this certification for greater social responsibility across the industry .
Heron added : “ B Corp for me isn ’ t something that is going to win us business . It isn ’ t something that ’ s going to put better value on the business etc . We ’ re doing it because

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we must do this as a collective within our industry to make a difference .”
Supply and sustain The accreditation process does not just influence what work a company is doing internally , of which they have a lot of control and can track its practices . It also assesesses supply chains that businesses use and how that impacts the effect events and business operations have on the environment .
Lowry added : “ When we started our B Corp journey , we broke the business into two key areas . The first was HeadBox supplier spend
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“ The values that consumers now have when making purchasing decisions tie into the principle around not buying brands , but buying into brand ideals .” and the second was the supplier spend our clients put through us . Of this total spend , 5 % relates to HeadBox and 95 % relates to our clients . As a result of this , our focus has been driving sustainability for our client spend .”
For Exclusive Collection , changing the supply chain focused more on impacting local communities rather than revenue streams . Pecorelli said : “ For our work on the supply chain we are going hyper local , growing our own in kitchen gardens , vineyards and orchards .
“ We also are challenging the purchasing we make to remove waste , plastics and find solutions using more sustainable materials . For example , we use Sprout wooden pencils with seeds in and we have QR codes that allow guests to download papers and magazines to devices . We also partnered with Olio , a food charity , for when we do generate waste .”
Once again , sustainability is not just about the impact on the planet , but the people as well . This encompasses the structure of partner companies , their social governance strategies and what they do for their people .
Lynn Mackeonis , head of HR and talent , OrangeDoor , said : “ We have a preferred supplier list now . It ’ s still being worked on as we speak , but it started about a year ago . We look for companies that are diversely owned small businesses locally available to wherever the event is near our offices .” CN

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