A B Corp’s perspective on 1,000+ B Corps in Europe
How the European B Corp community is celebrating the growth of the movement and what this milestone means
There is now a community of over 1,000 B Corps in Europe, transforming 157 industries in 26 European countries, engaging +85,000 B Corp employees, and impacting the lives of people all across Europe!
Surpassing the 1,000-mark is an important milestone for the European B Corp movement, as it brings us closer to achieving our collective vision of an inclusive, regenerative and equitable economy that benefits all people and the planet. Therefore, to celebrate this moment accordingly, B Lab Europe teamed up with the French design branding agency and Certified B Corp Pixelis to develop a celebratory campaign to highlight the community’s values, impact and pride. As an early adopter of the B Corp certification and a representative of the European B Corp community, we asked Mathilde Thève, Creative Director at Pixelis, to reflect on the milestone and what it means for the future of the movement.
When and why did Pixelis join the B Corp community? What’s your mission?
Pixelis joined the B Corp community early on, back in 2015. When we started our B Corp journey, our team set the goal of reaching a B Corp score of 100 points (out of 200) by 2022. During our first evaluation in 2015, Pixelis reached 86.3 points, so we had to do a lot of work and continuous improvement to achieve our set goal. Now, in 2022, we are not only proud to have reached a B Corp score of 121.2 points but also to be able to inspire other businesses.
At Pixelis, we are committed to the same mission as over 1,000 B Corps in Europe and over 5,700 B Corps worldwide — Using Business As a Force For Good™. We fully recognize the principle that if companies are the problem and the source of many difficulties, they are also responsible for being part of the solution! We believe that brands have an essential role to play and that by reducing their environmental impact and by rallying others around strong ideas and values, they inspire a large number of people to take action and improve their practices.
What does this milestone of reaching over 1,000 B Corps in Europe mean to you?
That we are now more than 1,000 B Corps in Europe is great! For a long time, the movement has been associated with the United States as it originated from there, but this milestone today proves that the European business community has also completely embraced the B Corp approach. What inspires us a lot beyond this number is Who is certified today — iconic and committed impact businesses but also companies in transformation, from large corporations to very small structures, from startups to established brands. All these B Corps together are leading the way and seek to be better for the world, not the best in the world. It’s also very exciting to be in a movement where all companies support each other: Collaborative projects between B Corps are numerous!
Today, we realize that more and more of our clients are interested in the B Corp Movement. They’re aware that the certification can be a business lever for them and generate a virtuous circle: Consumers turn to more engaged companies, companies increase their attractiveness and the movement expands. And on a daily basis, we are used to soliciting other skills than ours to best meet the specific demands of our customers. B Corps are our best friends when we need creative and committed minds!
What was your approach when designing the celebratory “1000 B Corps in Europe” campaign? Which values does the B Corp movement carry for you and how did those translate into your creative approach?
With the celebratory campaign, we wanted to convey the joy and pride of being one of over 1,000 B Corps in Europe through a free, abundant, and colorful design.
Freedom: to show the light spirit that reigns in the community, the campaign was enhanced with a set of colorful stickers. They are placed in a spontaneous way and reflect the values of the B Corp movement — “Interdependence”, “Benefit for all”, “Movement”, “Community”, “Future”, and more.
Abundance: the number of elements and the different sizes represent the diversity of the B Corps in our community, their scopes, sectors, and activities, which should inspire other companies to join the movement.
Color: to reinforce the festive element of this announcement and the inclusive nature of the B Corp community, we utilized bright colors. And there’s nothing like a black background to bring out bright colors.
How do you imagine the future of the B Corp movement and your own B Corp journey?
At Pixelis, we are convinced that the B Corp movement has a bright future and believe that with the right communication, more and more consumers will become aware of the movement and push their favorite companies to demonstrate their commitment by joining the community. 1,000+ B Corps in Europe is great news today but we are certain that we will soon be so many B Corps that we won’t be able to count all of them!
