Wave of British B Corps shows firms can be a 'force for good' and still turn a profit

The list of companies meeting strict ethical criteria is growing fast in Britain, but the largest firms have yet to take the plunge, writes Matthew Bishop

- Matthew Bishop

“Love and power” has become shorthand for the business philosophy of Octopus Energy. The fast-growing electricity firm signs off messages to its customers with these words, and even sells a hoodie emblazoned with them, made, it says, in a factory powered by renewable energy. It’s a quirky way of telling customers that the firm is prioritising them. “People know us and they get us when we send an email out,” says Simon Rogerson, CEO of the parent company, Octopus Group. It reveals the “personality of the brand and the company you are talking to”.

This cute slogan is a small part of a whole package of things that make Octopus Energy a British poster child for B Corporations - a newish kind of “doing well by doing good” company that is legally committed to serving all its stakeholders, not just making as much profit as possible for shareholders.

The bar to becoming one is high - sometimes prohibitively so. This has the advantage of warding off corporates that would use the mark to wash reputations, but has meant that uptake among the largest firms has been slow. Only 6% of British B Corps are large companies with at least 250 employees. So far, one company in the FTSE 250 has become a B Corp - the NHS landlord Assura in 2024.

An existing company becoming a B Corp may have to modify its legal articles of association and meet demanding criteria across seven categories: purpose and stakeholder governance; fair work; justice, equity, diversity and inclusion; human rights; climate action; environmental stewardship and circularity; and government affairs and collective action. “Imagine the world’s most complicated tax return,” says Rogerson. “That is good, right? The bar for this cannot be a tick box. It must be something companies aspire to.”