How to prepare for B Corp certification, with founders of CYD Connects, Jenn McGarrigle, Mica Janiv & Aisling Connaughton

How To Start Up by FF&M

In this episode, we hear from Jenn McGarrigle, Mica Janiv & Aisling Connaughton: the co-founders of sustainability consultancy CYD Connects. With extensive backgrounds in beauty, technology and sustainability, the team came together in 2019 to help other founders and businesses become more sustainable and benefit a wider group of societal stakeholders other than just shareholders.

As experts in becoming B Corp certified, Jenn, Mica and Aisling share practical advice on how to achieve B-Corp certification and how every business has the potential to be a force for good.

CYD Connects advice:

• Before you can make public statements about your company you need to explore the background internally; be the first to ask the tricky questions
• Remember that consumers can now ask questions directly thanks to social media
• Sustainability (the UN definition) means meeting the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
• Remember sustainability is an essential not a luxury
• The three pillars of sustainability are:
  • The environment
  • Societal imperatives like gender equality/black lives matter/mental health
  • The economy and how we make money.
• All three are essential and need to be balanced with each other
• B Corp expects a legal commitment
• You can download B Impact Assessment to measure and track your performance; there are online tools to measure your impact (use of energy, carbon footprint)
• When starting up, having a plan to be sustainable from the outset will make you more efficient in the long run
• Simple steps to accreditation: complete your impact assessment; then if you score over 80 points, you will join a queue; then you await verification (this will depend on the type of business you are)
• Verification will give you enormous self-assurance and confidence which will help you build your business
• And remember to share the experience you have gained doing this, with other founders

The 15 commitments to conscious leadership book: https://conscious.is/15-commitments

CYD Connects can be reached at [e-mail]

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Recorded, edited & published by Juliet Fallowfield, 2023 MD & Founder of PR & Communications consultancy for startups Fallow, Field & Mason.

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