We are thrilled and very proud to announce that we are B Corp certified. We have always passionately believed in using business as a force for good, but now it’s official!
B Corp certification was awarded only after a rigorous and detailed assessment of our social and environmental impact, and governance structure. We are particularly delighted to share that we have the Highest Impact Score among all the UK facilities and cleaning companies – 108.5, while the median score for an average business is 50.9.
Hive MD Louis Beaumont says: ‘’B-Corp for me was the most significant certification that we could ever attain, as it independently showcases the truth about our business and the way it is operated. In a world where greenwashing is rife, I felt this was important to clearly demonstrate that we were different.
The B Corp is regarded as the Gold Standard, and their values align so closely to our own that it was a natural choice to be able to demonstrate what an amazing company we have built.
For us, it is critical that we change the perceptions of the cleaning industry in the eyes of the world, and B Corp is hugely important in helping do this. A business should operate in a better way in order to achieve B Corp, so the way I look at it, Hive Cleaning have thrown down the gauntlet and nothing would make me happier than other companies picking it up and knocking us off the number 1 spot. People and Planet before Profit!’’
What is B Corp
The B Corp certification – the absolute gold standard of certifications—addresses the entirety of a business’ operations and covers five key impact areas of Governance, Workers, Community, Environment, and Customers.
B Corp Certification is a designation that a business is meeting the highest standards of verified performance, accountability, and transparency by:
Demonstrating high social and environmental performance by achieving a B Impact Assessment score of 80 or above and passing their risk review.
Making a legal commitment by having a corporate governance structure to be accountable to all stakeholders.
Exhibiting transparency by allowing information about our performance measured against B Lab’s standards to be publicly available on our B Corp profile
B Corp Certification is holistic, not exclusively focused on a single social or environmental issue. The process to achieve and maintain certification is rigorous, examining and assessing all the aspects of environmental, social and governance activities and operations in great detail.
Why B-Corp?
The certification is not self-serving but will benefit our clients, staff, suppliers, and other stakeholders by evidencing that we’re transparent and genuinely eco-focused, ethical, well-run company that uses business as a force for good.
B Corp themselves say that ‘’As leaders in the movement for economic systems change, B Corps reap remarkable benefits. They build trust with consumers, communities, and suppliers; attract and retain employees; and draw mission-aligned investors. As they are required to undergo the verification process every three years in order to recertify, B Corps are by definition also focused on continuous improvement, leading to their long-term resiliency. ‘’
How Did We Get It
While Hive Cleaning’s fundamental principles always were environmental and social responsibility and transparent governance, it still took us a good 18 months to achieve this extremely prestigious and important certification. And not only did we succeed, but we received the highest impact score in the UK facilities and cleaning sector.
The certification process is rigorous, with applicants required to reach a benchmark score of over 80 while providing evidence of socially and environmentally responsible practices relating to energy supplies, waste and water use, worker compensation, diversity and corporate transparency. To complete the certification, the company will legally embed their commitment to purpose beyond profit in their company articles.
Our Impact
Community: We are positively impacting the community around us in terms of economic and social well-being with the high score of 43 versus the sector average of 20.8. Our initiatives such as beehive adoption and supporting various local charities have contributed to this high score.
Customers: We are setting high standards for our customers, providing excellent service, and ensuring we are improving our customers’ lives and work environments. Providing 100% non-toxic cleaning solutions, assigning dedicated account managers and bespoke customer care, rapid response times, regular quality audits are some of the standards that have earned this high qualification for us.
Environment: Sustainability principles are embedded in the foundations of Hive Cleaning and care for the environment is a crucial part of our operations, making us the leading sustainable cleaning company in the UK. So there was no surprise that our impact score has reached more than double the sector average (31.2 Vs 14.4)
Governance: We are focused on transparency, employee engagement, and stakeholder feedback since the foundation of the company and believe in ethical, solid governance. We were pleased to see our efforts are recognised by B-Corp with an impact score of 14, while the sector average is 7.
Workers: We follow the best practices in the work environment such as paying above London Living Wage to all our employees, excellent benefits, training opportunities, equal pay, job flexibility, and robust worker health and safety practices. While we are again performing better than the sector average, we are constantly working on improving the work environments and employee engagement.
We are so energised and excited about this certification and are making lots of plans for the next year, so we can improve even more what was already an exceptionally good achievement.
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