Faith In Nature, who have been creating ethical personal care products since 1974, has announced their newly-appointed B corp status as part of their mission to make good environmental choices available to all.
The prestigious ‘B Corp’ stamp of approval is given by the charity B lab, to companies that have met high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability. Under corporate law in the UK, the purpose of a business is to make money. However, the B Corp movement introduces additional purpose to running a business; people and planet.
Laura Ford, Faith In Nature’s Sustainability Director, says, “Faith in Nature has strived to deliver on its mission to make better choices available to everyone, every day, for nearly 50 years now. We’re thrilled that these efforts have been recognised with the highly-respected B Corp status, helping us to ensure that we remain a force for good in society.”
While having a reputation for being an eco-certification, B Corp actually covers five key areas; Governance, Workers, Community, Environment and Customers; keeping businesses accountable on important decisions ranging from indoor air quality all the way to employment opportunities offered in low-income areas.
Last year, Faith In Nature reimagined what was possible where UK Corporate Law was concerned by putting Nature on their board of directors, amongst introducing the role of Sustainability Director. This planet-first mentality, coupled with always asking “What would nature say?” has been instrumental to the brand’s positive environmental choices, from sourcing 100% renewable energy to helping to save over 100,000 kilos of plastic through recyclable and recycled packaging.
Trailblazers in the natural beauty space, Faith In have been using renewable energy for many years and introduced recycled bottles in 1999, also being one of the first to introduce refillables to the market; now boasting 1L-25L sizes across hair care, body care and laundry products.
What does the future look like for Faith In Nature?
Holding brands accountable for making responsible decisions, the B Corp status is reviewed every three years. By the next review, Faith In Nature plans to have implemented even bigger and better changes across all scoring categories from Community to Environment.
Supporting their local Manchester-based community, Faith In Nature’s new factory in Radcliffe is in development, where the business plans to focus on community engagement and support projects to create a resource for locals. Last year alone, the brand also successfully reduced the energy required in its manufacturing process by 40% and has further plans to reduce this by an additional 20% in the next 18 months.
Though their partnership with TreeSisters has been running since 2021 and helped to plant 33,515 saplings across the world, Faith In Nature has also shared their dedication to further reducing their footprints in both carbon and water moving forward.
“Our commitment to making good environmental decisions stretch as far back as the 70s, when we were one of the very first to introduce refillables to the market – the only difference is we’re now a bit better at collecting the data to prove it! We couldn’t be prouder to join 1,300 B corps in the UK and to be adding our voice to this call for businesses to benefit people and planet, as well as making a profit” Laura adds.
About B Corp
What does the B corp process look like?
To apply for B corp status, brands are required to submit a Business Impact Assessment where there are up to 200 points available, scoring businesses for their positive impact amongst Governance, Workers, Community, Environment and Customers. This is no mean feat, with hard evidence being required for every answer and a six-month waiting list to apply for the sought-after certification.
What challenges can come with the process?
With the business world constantly evolving, innovations can bring challenges within the scoring process. As the first company in the world to appoint Nature to their board and reinterpreting corporate law in the UK, it transformed what was possible; but being so new, it’s not recognised by B Corp (yet!). Though Faith In Nature is adamant that this won’t stop them from continuing to reimagine what’s possible within the sustainable space.
