We’ve been part of the B Corp community since 2022, when we were originally certified with a score of 83.4. Not bad, considering the average score for ordinary businesses that complete the assessment is 50.9. However, as we’re always looking to improve our sustainability practices, we set three new goals for our 2025 recertification push:
Did we manage to achieve all three goals, or did we fall short? Read on to find out…
Why are we required to recertify?
Receiving B Corp Certification is not a one-off achievement. It’s a continuous process, designed to set any company on the path to becoming truly regenerative, rather than simply committed to minor incremental sustainability improvements. That’s why all B Corp Certified companies are required to recertify every three years.
Just as in 2022, when we first certified, TWOTHIRDS was required to meet or exceed certain standards, which are broken down into 5 categories:
So, how did we do?
We’re delighted to announce that not only did we recertify, but we also increased our score by 6.2 points. This is a huge achievement during a difficult financial period for sustainable brands, with many having closed their doors, meaning investment in sustainability projects within the company was lower than we would have liked. Huge thanks go to the whole TWOTHIRDS crew for keeping us on course.
Where did we improve?
We increased our score in three categories: Governance, Workers, and Environment, with the latter being where we made the biggest strides, increasing our points total by +4.4. This was partly due to us reducing our Scope 1+2 emissions.
However, the biggest stride we made was thanks to a carbon footprint study we participated in as part of the European Union’s CRAFT IT 4SD project. The study proved that PRE-ORDER has the power to reduce emissions by up to 20% compared to regular online retail business models.
What’s still a work in progress?
One area where we failed to make progress was in the Community category. This was mainly due to our inability to donate as much to charitable organisations as we did in 2021/22.
This is something we will endeavour to fix moving forward. However, we believe that the company’s commitment to reducing waste both in our local area and in the global south far outweighs the impact of donations to NGOs. Systemic change is far more valuable than shortsighted philanthropy. That said, we still never miss the opportunity to support causes we truly believe in, like Coral Guardian.
Partial PRE-ORDER acceptance, but frustrations remain
Back in 2022, B Lab was unwilling to accept the positive environmental impacts of overproduction waste reduction. This was due to the lack of academic studies proving the industry had an overproduction problem. Three years later, those same excuses no longer hold water, with major reports from the European Environment Agency and others revealing exactly why so much waste clothing is dumped on Ghana’s beaches or Chile’s Atacama Desert.
We detailed such studies and provided data showing how our PRE-ORDER system reduced overproduction compared to industry standards over the last four years. We also showed the positive emissions impact of PRE-ORDER with the carbon footprint study mentioned above.
Despite all this, we were only awarded points for the emissions savings PRE-ORDER enabled and NOT for the huge reduction in overproduction waste the system makes possible. In the end, this amounts to up to 20 points we were denied, all because PRE-ORDER did not fit neatly into a pre-existing IBM (Impact Business Model) defined by B Lab.
The new incoming B Corp standards must be more flexible so they allow for, and give credit to, truly innovative business models that go beyond business-as-usual to make the systemic change our industry so desperately needs. Meanwhile, we’re working hard on crucial new sustainability projects that focus on supply chain traceability, digital product passports, extended producer responsibility, and much more.
Here’s to recertifying again in 2028!