Momentum for reinventing UK business grows as 20 CEOs and founders become trustees or ambassadors of the UK B Corporation movement.

B Lab UK announces three new trustee appointments from the insurance, consultancy and food sectors

B Lab UK, the organisation supporting the B Corporation (B Corp) movement in the UK, is delighted to announce that the CEOs of Ella’s Kitchen, Simply Business and I.G. Advisors are joining its board as trustees.

Ella’s Kitchen CEO Mark Cuddigan, Simply Business Group CEO Jason Stockwood and I.G. Advisors CEO Alisha Miranda will join five other leading business figures on the board, whose goal is to use the power of business to build a more inclusive and sustainable economy.

B Corporations (or B Corps) are a growing global community of for-profit companies who are accelerating a global culture shift to reinvent business by voluntarily meeting the highest verified standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. There are 184 certified B Corporations in the UK and over 2,600 worldwide.

In addition to the trustee appointments, 18 CEOs and founders of certified B Corps have stepped forward to act as ambassadors of the movement, with the goal of rapidly raising awareness of B Corps in every corner of the economy. Through the new ambassador programme, these representatives will promote the global movement at events, share their B Corp journeys and support other companies who want to become B Corps.

“B Lab UK is entering into a new stage of growth - and we are thrilled to welcome such highly respected friends and fellow travellers to the team,” comments Charmian Love, co-founder and Chair of B Lab UK, “In the spirit of interdependence we know we will go further and faster by working together to grow this movement of people using business as a force for good”

The ambassadors are all founders or CEOs at Certified B Corporations, including:

Mark Cuddigan (Ella’s Kitchen)
Douglas Lamont (innocent)
George Latham (Wheb Asset Management) Bonnie Chiu (The Social Investment Consultancy) Ed Gillespie (Futerra)
Fran van Dijk (One Stone)
Ryan Kohn (Propercorn)
Narda Shirley (Gong Communications)
Jonathan Trimble (18 Feet and Rising)
Andy Last (Mullenlowe Salt)
Andy Middleton (TYF)
Helen Hammond (Elephant Creative) Paul Hargreaves (Cotswold Fayre) Hermione Taylor (Do Nation)
Adam Garfunkel (Junxion)
Thomas Bourne (Greenheart Business) Matt Hocking (Leap)
Tracy Skyrme (Work Playground)

“The B Corp movement has the potential to be the most important movement of my lifetime, delivering for all stakeholders,” says Ella’s Kitchen CEO and new B Lab UK trustee Mark Cuddigan. “I am extremely proud and humbled to have been asked to become more actively involved in a movement that I feel so passionately about. Business will be absolutely fundamental to the future of our planet, and will need to lead and deliver on the UN Sustainable Development Goals.”

Jason Stockwood, Group CEO of Simply Business and new B Lab UK trustee, says, "I strongly believe that post-WW2 capitalism has proven to be the best model to help improve standards of living for many people. However, we now have a greater understanding that on a finite planet with finite resources the model needs recalibrating. We need to think not only about growth and shareholders (who are important), but also how wealth is distributed more fairly and our impact on the environment. I believe business can be a force for good and B Corp has hit on the right model to amplify that impact.”

Alisha Miranda, CEO of I.G. Advisors and new B Lab UK Trustee comments, “My long-term vision for B Lab is shared by many: that it should be so successful that it no longer has to exist. When purpose has been redefined, value broadened to include all stakeholders, and profit rewarded to those who assess and improve their overall impact, every business will be a B Corp. That utopia, however, is a long way away. This makes the role of B Lab so critical; sharing the mission, increasing the number of B Corps (and making the movement more diverse), and working closely with customers, government, businesses and partners to make the B Corp label an instant marker of value."

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
For more information, contact Head of Community for B Lab UK, Kate Sandle E: Kate.Sandle@bcorporation.uk, T: 07866532314

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