Clear Future Financial Planners is the first financial planning company in Gloucestershire to become a B Corporation.

The Stonehouse company said the news was good for business, good for the environment and good for people.

Clear Future joins 2,000 companies in the UK, and more than 8,800 companies worldwide, which are combining ethics with running a successful business.

With B Corporations enjoying a growth rate at 26%, compared to 5% for traditional small and medium-sized companies, Clear Future Financial Planners sees this as a win-win: a way to help futureproof the company and serve its clients better, whilst also contributing towards a healthier environment and thriving local communities.

B Corporation is a global corporate mark laying down tough standards, which companies must meet to prove they are genuinely embracing more sustainable and ethical ways of operating.

Overseen and awarded by the charity, B Lab, it indicates that the business considers the impact of its decision-making on workers, suppliers, the local community and the environment.

Clear Future Financial Planners started the certification journey over a year ago - identifying ways to reduce its environmental impact and improve its support for staff, clients and the local community.

Some of the changes aren't complicated or large-scale and could be achieved by most businesses. Even small actions can add up to make a positive difference.

Examples of what Clear Future is doing include:

• Offering sustainable investment and pension options

• Choosing local suppliers to support the local economy

• Buying the office coffee from a Gloucestershire-based coffee company

• Supporting staff to further their professional qualifications and skills

• Carrying out a year-long energy audit to identify ways of improving energy efficiency

• Adopting a charity each year - this year it's HomeStart Stroud & Gloucester

• Introducing more flexible working hours to help staff balance work and home life

• Recycling office resources, such as toner cartridges, batteries and paper

Simon Evans, Clear Future's MD, said: "Right from the start of the process, we believed it was the right thing to do to both strengthen and future-proof the business, as well as using our power as a company to help make a better world.

"For so long, it's been assumed that the two couldn't be combined. But the B Corporation movement shows it is possible. We now have a framework and a culture in place that will guide us as the business grows.

"It's been wonderful to see the staff really get behind the B Corporation process and be so enthusiastic about it. Many of the changes we've made have been their idea and they continue to drive it forwards.

"There are so many sustainability schemes which businesses can join, that it's difficult to know which ones are really making a positive difference and which are just tick-box exercises. Having been through the B Corp process, we can say that it's hard work, so when you see the logo, you can be sure the company is genuinely doing what it can to be more ethical and sustainable."

Market research reveals the increasing demand for purchasing with purpose - not just amongst consumers, but within the business world as well. Large companies are making sustainability commitments part of their tendering processes, and over three-quarters of consumers say they prefer to buy from companies which undertake activities to improve society.

There are other benefits as well: 78% of workers would rather work for businesses behaving ethically and responsibly; Ben & Jerry's says it increases loyalty amongst their customers by 2.5 times; and staff motivation increases when they work for a company which is also doing good.

For more information, go to https://clearfuturefp.co.uk or call 01453 619191.

Image credit: Sam L Legge