The marketing manager of Pukka Herbs, the founder of Green & Black's new company Carbon Gold, and the MD of Stroud-based company, Invivo, spoke at first B Social meeting, exploring how businesses can mix success with conscience and ethics.

More than 50 people from all over Stroud district, and some from further afield, met at the Museum in the Park to hear about the concept of B Corporations, companies wishing to use business as a force for good. 

Such companies are taking active steps to help make a fairer society, a healthier environment, stronger communities and high quality working conditions for employees. But becoming a B Corporation is a rigorous process.

Humphrey Bacchus, MD of Invivo, said: "It was far more in-depth than we'd anticipated initially. The certification process examines every aspect of a company's activities from how it treats its employees, its contribution to its local community and its impact on the environment and even down to the ingredients we use in manufacturing our nutraceutical products. A company has to achieve high standards before it'll be accepted as a B Corporation."

But Humphrey believes that it's a process which enables everyone to benefit.

"Normally, there's a divide between business and the community, but the essence of B Corporations is to remove that barrier so that everyone benefits - its local community, the environment, its employees and even the supply chain as our ethical and sustainable way of operating has to be passed to them also. But thanks to this whole process, we now have lots of exciting plans to give back and help society flourish. We're talking grass-roots health initiatives, internships, charity work and much more."

The idea started in America and is now a global movement with over 2,600 companies in 60 countries certified as B Corporations, including Jojo Mamam Bebe, Innocent, Ben & Jerry's, and Hootsuite.

Event organiser, healthcare company Invivo, is one of 175 certified UK companies. At the end of the evening, Humphrey Bacchus presented the certification plaque to Greg Pilley of Stroud Brewery, one of the latest UK companies to qualify as a B Corporation.

Attendees at the B Social event included over a dozen local B Corporation companies. They agreed to turn the event into a regular one, where such companies could support and help others to go through the certification process.