People, Planet & Place - Our BCorp journey

Associate Architect and Passivhaus Designer Emma McDermott reflects on reaching an important milestone in SRA’s Journey towards BCorp certification.

“What does a leading architectural practice look like in the 21st century? We believe its one that holds itself accountable to sustainable business practice, to its people, to the planet and the places it impacts. ”

 As a long-standing member of the SRA team,  I have had the opportunity to discuss with my colleagues what sets SRA apart from other architectural practices. I have always received  remarkably similar responses; how they feel that their opinions are heard, feedback is quick, how great it feels to know that their time and efforts are seen and valued, and how remarkable it was that they felt comfortable in the team so quickly.

Our office environment is collaborative, not competitive; our tone of voice is inclusive, not isolating; and our day to day practice is transparent across the company. We know what people are working on, how it is going, who might need a helping hand and who’s available to help.   

It’s always been important that all our team members know how much the rest of the team values them, and we want them to benefit as much from us as we do from them.

We are a company that believes our purpose is responsible practice, for the benefit of people, the planet and the places that we impact.  

“The B in BCorp stands for Be the change”

Beyond the special team at SRA, we felt there was something else that made the practice distinctive, but we didn’t know how we could define or measure it. This fell into place, however, when we found BCorp, which felt like both a natural fit and a step in the right direction.

BCorp is a business certification run by B Lab, a global non-profit network that aims to make it easier for mission-driven companies to have a more positive impact on the planet and its people. Our values and approach were already well aligned with the BCorp aims in terms of our approach to sustainability, our environmental footprint, our social values and our business practices, that it felt like an easy decision to start the journey to join the BCorp community.

Globally, although more than 150,000 businesses have signed up for the BCorp Impact Assessment, only 4500 have been certified – underlining their high standards. Of that number there are now 750+ in the UK and currently only 7 certified Architectural practices nationally.

To submit our application for B Corp Certification, we have undertaken a rigorous assessment process that measured our performance in five impact areas: Governance, Workers, Customers, Community and Environment. It’s taken months of work to get here, and involved some really valuable self-reflection. Having submitted our impact assessment, the next step is for this to be independently reviewed and verified by B Lab.

“BCorp is to Business as Fairtrade is to coffee”

BCorp certification is the external recognition that our business is purpose driven, that it aims to commit to continual improvement and defines how we measure our successes in business and architectural practice, to show that the people, the places and the planet are of equal importance.

BCorp values and encourages transparency in business practice; a characteristic that we foster in our practice. Committing to sustainability in construction is a complicated endeavour as the industry connects to wider, global systematic issues. Transparency in the industry about how we impact the communities and environments that we work within will enlighten us further on how we can make positive changes in the whole supply chain.

We are very excited to become part of, and contribute to the BCorp community. We aspire to be a forward-thinking contributor to the wider conversation on how we can all make a positive impact in practice.

Could your business be a BCorp too? Come with us!  B Lab Global Site (bcorporation.net)