We are thrilled to announce that Wrendale Designs is now a certified B Corporation! This milestone is a testament to our ongoing commitment to balancing purpose and profit, ensuring that our impact on the world is as positive as the products we create.
Certified B Corporations, or B Corps, are companies verified by B Lab to meet high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. We're excited to join a small group of just 2,000 B Corps in the UK, who are all working hard to make a difference. Being a B Corp means we're serious about doing good for people and the planet and we're thrilled to be part of this movement aiming for a better future.
Becoming a B Corp wasn't a walk in the park. We really had to roll up our sleeves and dive into every aspect of our business and measure our performance in five key areas - governance, workers, customers, and the environment. It was truly a team effort, with everyone contributing their unique skills and perspectives to ensure we met the rigorous standards. This achievement reflects the dedication and hard work of the entire Wrendale family.
The median score for ordinary businesses who complete the assessment is currently 50.9. We're proud to say that we earned an overall score of 81.1. Here's how our focus in each of these key areas made it happen...
We are incredibly lucky to have an exceptional team who together form the core of the 'Wrendale family'. They are the driving force behind the business and that’s why we do everything we can to make Wrendale a place that people want to work. Ensuring a minimum living wage and introducing an enhanced maternity and paternity package are just some of the ways we support our team through life’s important milestones. We have also permanently adopted a 4-day working week with no pay sacrifice, something that has had a significant positive impact on well-being, mental and physical health.
In addition to these initiatives, we always make sure to carve out time for team building activities such as Wrendale walks, our summer sports day and our much-loved annual parties. We believe that when our employees thrive, our company thrives, creating a positive and productive atmosphere.
At Wrendale, our vision and values are at the heart of everything we do. We take immense pride in our work across all levels of the business, and we're thrilled that our commitment to transparency, accountability, and ethical behaviour has been recognised with our B Corp certification.
We've updated our corporate governing documents to legally require consideration of all stakeholders in our decision-making process, including customers, suppliers, the community and the Wrendale family.
Every decision we make is driven by our core values, ensuring we constantly strive for improvement and innovation. We're committed to learning new skills and creating a supportive environment where teamwork thrives. Additionally, all our managers have responsibilities or expectations related to social or environmental missions, guiding their teams with these important values in mind.
Supporting charities, both locally and globally, has always been a priority for us at Wrendale. We proudly partner with the Marine Conservation Society, a UK charity dedicated to thriving seas. So far, we've sold 25,518 units of our mini boxed cards, donating 80p from each box sold to this charity.
Additionally, we're committed to contributing towards our local community; proceeds from our staff sample sales go to support local food banks and charities, providing essential items like food, toiletries, and Christmas gifts for families facing hardship. We also actively participate in local litter cleanup efforts. It’s a huge privilege to support charities that align closely to our values, and we couldn’t be more proud of that.
Our customers are fundamental to the success of Wrendale, so it’s important to us to build lasting relationships – we do this by always listening and responding to your feedback. Whether it's monitoring our customers’ happiness, earning quality certifications, or even how fast we get back to customer service enquiries; we're on it! Our impressive Net Promoter Score of 97 is a testament to our commitment to our customers. And our B Corp certification? It’s our badge of honour, celebrating our commitment to top-notch products, sustainable choices, creative marketing, and customer care that's simply world-class.
It’s no secret that we are keen advocates for sustainability and the environment, and over the years we have increasingly focused on how to make Wrendale more sustainable. This will never change! We are committed to reducing our environmental footprint by sourcing materials responsibly and supporting sustainable practices through our supply chain. A huge 97% of our product range is packaged completely plastic-free, and we are continually exploring ways we can reduce waste.
Teaming up with charities such as the Marine Conservation Society and the Eden Reforestation Project, we actively support sustainable initiatives. Since launching ‘Little Wren’ in January 2023, we've planted a tree through the Eden Reforestation Project for every baby grow sold. To date, we've planted 19,378 trees and counting!
We take immense pride in being able to use business profits to fund the ‘Wild Wrendale’ rewilding project. Led by Hannah and Jack, ‘Wild Wrendale’ is an inspiring project pushing boundaries to bring back lost species and habitats on their farm in rural Lincolnshire. You can click here to find out more.
We are incredibly proud of this achievement and what it represents, but the story doesn’t end here! We’ll keep you in the loop about our B Corp journey, sharing updates on our latest projects and improvements. Thank you for being part of our story (so far!) and supporting a business that values purpose just as much as profit.