On November 26, 2021, Up2You officially became a B Corp company, achieving a score of 95 in the B Impact Assessment.
Becoming a B Corp requires commitment, perseverance and seriousness; it is a complex path, but it also brings numerous benefits to the business. Let's see which ones!
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What is B Corp certification.
This is a certification issued by the nonprofit organization B Lab, which evaluates a company's entire social and environmental performance, from business model to business ethics to its impact with the environment and customers.
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What are the advantages of becoming a B Corp?
- Increase the company's visibility and social and environmental impact through internationally recognized certification.
- Gain a competitive advantage by becoming among the first to adhere to the standards that only large companies globally achieve.
- Align your company with key European and international emissions mitigation targets.
- You attract talent to the company and have a positive impact on workers, environment, community, customers and stakeholders.
- You become part of a network and community that share the same business approach and with which to discuss sustainability issues.
Various studies and research conducted by KPMG, BlackRock, and Il Sole24Ore attest that companies that meet high sustainability standards, such as those required by B Lab, not only perform better, but are also more resilient to market changes and periods of crisis, due to their ability to innovate their business model and offer new products and services faster.
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How to become a B Corp: the 3 steps
To obtain the B Corporation certification, issued by B Lab, the certifying body, one must measure one's impact across the board.
We at Up2You, for example, had to answer more than 187 questions divided into 6 impact areas: governance, workers, community, environment, customers and transparency, as well as several follow-up calls to review the required documents.
Every corporation must:
- demonstrate high social and environmental performance by obtaining a B Impact Assessment (BIA) score of 80 or higher and passing the risk review done by the B Corp. team. Only 3 percent of companies exceeded the minimum threshold of the Assessment (source: intesa.it);
- make a legal commitment by adjusting its corporate governance structure to make itself accountable to all stakeholders (not just shareholders) and obtain Benefit Corporation status;
- show transparency by allowing information about one's performance, measured against B Lab standards, to be publicly available on one's B Corp profile on the certifying body's website.
Thatsounds complicated doesn't it? Well, it is. Up2You, however, helps you make it simple.
Click the link below and find out how we can help you.
How to get B Corp certification
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Becoming a Benefit Society
Up2You immediately wanted to become a Benefit Corporation, reconciling profit goals with the creation of a positive impact on society and the environment.
In January 2016, Italy, first in Europe and second in the world after the U.S. (which introduced the legal form of Benefit Corporation in 2010), introduced the Benefit Corporation to stimulate the adoption in corporate forms of a new virtuous and innovative business model.
Every year Up2You prepares the Report of the Impact Social, a document required of all Benefit Corporations that describes the activities carried out by Up2You to benefit and introduce changes in the community in terms of knowledge, values and lifestyle habits.
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B Corp vs Benefit Corporation
Weoften use these 2 words as synonyms, but they are not.
The BenefitCorporation(in English "Benefit Corporation") is a legal form legally recognized in Italy, while the B Corp is a certification issued by B Lab following passing the B Impact Assessment(BIA). In both cases, companies can voluntarily choose to join either or both positions.
A company can only become a B Corp if it can achieve a final score greater than or equal to 80 in the BIA. This allows it to become certified and join the B Corp community, paying an annual fee ranging from 500 euros to 50,000 euros, depending on the company's turnover.
In Italy, all companies can freely fill out the B Lab assessment to measure their impact and compare it to B Corp standards, but if they decide to take the certification they are obliged to transform into a Benefit Corporation within 2 years of certification.
After obtaining the B Corp Logo, each company will have to undergo the assessment and approval process by B Lab every 2 years.
In contrast, if they decide to remain a Benefit Society, the Social Impact Report, prepared
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Why did Up2You decide to become B Corp?
We decided to embark on this journey because we share the principles that now bind 4,927 companies worldwide.
There is no such thing as Planet B; we need economic systems change to support the collective vision of an inclusive, equitable and regenerative economy.
This complements our Mission: "We want to bridge the gap between the grand goal of saving the planet and everyday life."
