Birgit Kehrer, CEO of ChangeKitchen CIC, has today announced its certification as a B Corporation (or B Corp), joining a growing movement of companies that are reinventing business for the benefit of all people and our shared planet. Verified by B Lab, the not-for-profit behind the B Corp movement, the achievement demonstrates that ChangeKitchen CIC meets high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability alongside a commitment to goals beyond shareholder value.
The news comes as the ongoing climate crisis and widening social inequality continue to pose urgent challenges to our economy. B Corp Certification assesses the entirety of a business’ operations and covers impact areas related to practices around governance, workers, community, the environment and customers. The certification process is rigorous, with companies required to provide evidence on performance while legally embedding their commitment to purpose as well as profit in their company articles.
ChangeKitchen CIC is now part of a growing community of over 10,700 businesses globally that have certified as B Corps. The B Corp community in the UK is the largest and fastest-growing in the world, with over 2,700 companies spanning a range of different industries and sizes. Names include The Guardian, Innocent Drinks, Patagonia, Tony’s Chocolonely, The Big Issue, Finisterre, Elemis, and Sipsmith Gin – and now, ChangeKitchen CIC.
Chris Turner, CEO of B Lab UK, says: “Welcoming ChangeKitchen CIC to the B Corp community is hugely exciting. Its commitment to doing business differently will be an inspiration to others and will help spread the notion that success in business is as much about people and planet as it is profit.”
Birgit Kehrer, CEO and founder of ChangeKitchen CIC, says, “Since our inception in 2010, ChangeKitchen CIC has proudly been a social enterprise through its legal status. That doesn’t change with our certification as a B Corp. Becoming a B Corp adds wider recognition and external validation of our ethos and values, business systems and policies, embedded social value and commitment to ‘cooking up change’ particularly in the areas of food justice, social mobility and environmental impact.
The process of accreditation has been a ‘whole team’ approach as we’ve taken time to check and test not only what we say we do but what we actually do. Social impact reporting through our external audit with Make An Impact CIC has been invaluable during this period as has the active engagement and support of our Board.
I’m so incredibly proud of everyone who has been involved in our journey as a social enterprise, with each person contributing in so many different ways. As the saying goes, ‘It takes a village…’ and our ‘village’ has just expanded with the potential for new markets, further product innovation and extended partnerships. However, I’m determined that our culture of kindness, person-centred care, and producing quality, globally inspired menus will remain at the heart of everything that ChangeKitchen CIC does.”