Why have we become a B Corp?
Proud to be a B Corp | Anthony Collins
Purpose-driven to make a lasting impact on lives, communities and society, we joined the B Corp community in 2022 to make sure the planet and our people remain just as important as profits.
Impassioned to make a change, being a B Corp has strengthened our mission to continuously push to be a better business. It helps us to show and measure how we make a difference to our clients, our workforce and the wider society (and the planet).
As the fourth law firm in the UK to become a B Corp and the first in the Midlands area, keeping us accountable for the last two years, and now further into the future, remains key to our growth.
It has become our toolkit and guiding force for greater accountability and transparency. It gives us a framework that allows us to make the right moves that create an even bigger and better impact on all those we work with.
Importantly, it ensures we remain a force for good in every way.
Our certification as a B Corp
As a social purpose law firm, being a B Corp was a natural step. Assessed over five key impact areas: governance, workers, community, environment and customers, the certification addresses the entirety of our business operations. We were proud to meet the stringent thresholds, but we know the work doesn’t stop there.
We’re going for gold – aiming for better scores across all areas.
As part of the B Corp community, we have aligned our social purpose with the global movement to bring benefit to all people, communities and the planet. The community continues to grow, with over 8,900 businesses globally and over 2,000 businesses in the UK. These include the Guardian, innocent, Patagonia, Charity Bank and organic food pioneers Abel & Cole.
What have we done since being certified?
Striving to be a force of good, we have set ourselves some tough targets, such as being net-carbon zero by 2030, and donated time and resources to the benefit of our clients, workforce and the community.
In the last year we have worked on groundbreaking environmental projects, such as Newcastle City Council’s innovative district heating scheme. The project will decarbonise the public estate and is predicted to remove 4,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year.
We have supported our local communities through our social purpose volunteering programme, having donated over 780 items to food banks around Birmingham, raised over £83,000 for charity and spent 519 hours (72 days) volunteering in the past year.
We have also given our office space its own makeover. It’s now an inclusive and positive working environment for our team, while improving our energy efficiency and sustainability goals. Not only have we been carbon net positive with our printing and since June 2023, we have planted 288 trees through PaperCut Software and One Tree Planted.
It is also our ambition to increase our use of local suppliers, starting with a review of our entire supply chain.
I’m immensely proud that we’re a B Corp because I believe that the law can be used as a significant force for good in society. That’s why I chose to work at Anthony Collins in the first place, because our purpose is integral to that, and it drives the work we choose to do as a firm.
Being part of the B Corp community grounds these values and it also stretches us because we’re working alongside like-minded businesses. We’re all trying to achieve a more sustainable society and for me, that’s really exciting – it gives us things to aim for. It’s about our business being a force for good and being part of a community where we are stretched and challenged to grow our impact further.
Matt Wort, senior partner at Anthony Collins
