Celebrating our first B Corp birthday!

It’s officially our first B Corp anniversary! In early 2023, we announced that we’d officially been certified as B Corporation. After 3 years of hard work and improvements, gaining the certification formalised our commitment to sustainability and social responsibility. We’re so proud of where we are today and we’re delighted to be striving to create a greater positive impact within society.

We chat to our Managing Director, Cathy Evans, who discusses how the certification has changed the business for the better, shares tips on how businesses aspiring to achieve B Corp status can start their journey and give insight to what’s next for our business!

Q: How do you feel the certification has changed the business for the better?

A: Gaining B Corp certification has significantly strengthened a sense of common purpose within Tactical Solutions. Given that the majority of our team operates remotely, establishing a shared goal and a sense of belonging can be challenging. However, this certification has enabled a collaborative work environment where every team member genuinely has a voice. The principle of “Every voice matters” is a core value, with 15% of our business actively participating in our key workstream groups: ‘Inclusion and Well-being’ and ‘Sustainability and Communities’. This involvement ensures that everyone plays a role in shaping our decisions and guides the way we conduct our business.

Moreover, 95% of our team members have committed to our charity partner, On Hand, empowering everyone to make a positive impact at a local level and adopt more sustainable lifestyles. This initiative not only distinguishes Tactical Solutions from competitors but also attracts like-minded individuals to our team. In terms of recruitment, it sets us apart, drawing in individuals who share our values and contribute to our unique organisational culture.

Q: Since gaining the certification, how do you feel that it has been received by colleagues?

A: Overwhelmingly, the key emotion has been one of pride. We worked hard to let people know where we were as we progressed through formal certification, but it takes so much time from start to finish. It’s been a year of embedding and educating the team on what it means to us. So much good work was going on before but we now capture, share and promote initiatives that mean everyone can get involved. B Corp needs to be a way of every day living and this will take time, but we all are incredibly proud to say we work for a B Corp Certified business. Team members increasingly recognise their role in this achievement, facilitated by our adoption of On Hand. This platform enables us to quantify through emission savings –  personal choices and activities, making sustainability more tangible for each individual. It underscores the impact each person can make in both the world at large and their local communities.

Q: What advice do you give to businesses who also want to become certified?

A: You need to be serious about change and being open to doing things different. It’s a long, challenging and time consuming process to reach certification, but it enables you to really examine in detail how you work, your policies and practices and really question yourself on your purpose and strategy. It’s brilliant as you don’t need all the answers, but you need to be committed to the journey and it creates real governance around how you can get there. It introduces you to a community of other businesses who are all working with similar goals in mind that you can work with and learn from, as its so open and welcoming. It gives you the kick start to better engagement internally and allows you to think differently about elements of the business that maybe traditionally have fallen in the commercially ‘too hard’ box to change with a fresh approach and understanding of the value of doing it differently.

Q: As part of your B Corp journey, which specific initiative have you introduced that you are most proud of and why?

A: For me its been around the creation of our B Keepers and the involvement of so many individuals across our team at all levels. We started with 4 working groups that have become 2 now that are open to every colleague to join. They’re set up to be the voice of the team and deliver new initiatives, policies and ways of working following feedback from our annual employee survey. Nothing is off the table and we’ve delivered some really positive change through these groups around inclusion, career development, green initiatives and our charity work.

Q: If you had to describe your company’s culture in one word, what would it be?

A: Hard for one word – dynamic as its ever changing and evolving and high performing as we are always about results!

Q: What’s next in the business?

A: Next is for us to have our first face to face B Keepers day where we’ll be setting out our plans of what we want to achieve in 2024. We’ll publish the outputs of this day to all colleagues, but we’re keen to move forward around our diversity and inclusion agenda, our sustainability goals and also our colleague raised topics from the latest employee survey. These included such areas as help around dealing with the cost of living crisis, women’s health challenges in the workplace and how we move to a more sustainable fleet.

Reflecting on our B Corp journey, there is a clear emphasis on the importance of our commitment to change, openness to innovation, and the willingness to challenge existing norms. The process, though challenging and time-consuming, facilitates a deep examination of policies, practices, and organisational purpose. The B Corp community provides a valuable support system, offering guidance and fosters a collaborative environment among businesses with similar goals.

We remain dedicated to evolving, achieving results, and making a meaningful impact within the realms of social and environmental responsibility. As we blow out the candle on our first B Corp anniversary, we look forward to many more years of positive change and growth!