Three ways we’ve made our B Corp better for people, planet, and communities
In 2020, we were proud to become the first IT services company in Aotearoa to certify as a B Corporation, joining a growing number of Kiwi businesses with purposes beyond profit.
Having recently celebrated our 5th year in business, it was a good opportunity for us to reflect on what we’ve achieved since our certification, and to also consider where there is still room for us to have greater impact.
Here are the ways we’ve made our B Corp better for people, planet and communities, and the goals we’re striving for.
Planet
We’re working hard to reduce our carbon footprint. We measure and assess our impact using Toitū’s carbon assess tool, which allows us to identify areas for improvement and mitigate the impact of our emissions by purchasing offsets. We’re continually looking for ways to reduce our carbon footprint, but some of the ways we’re already making more conscious choices include:
Carbon offset of all air travel
Partner with CarbonZero certified couriers Urgent Couriers
Encouraging remote working
E-bikes and public transport
Green star building work premises
We’re also helping our clients reduce e-waste. As part of every project, we consider opportunities to reduce e-waste by choosing upgradable technologies, rechargeables and more efficient systems. We always look to reuse existing hardware before recommending technology upgrades. We ensure e-waste is collected and safely disposed of on behalf of our clients through Computer Recycling, and over the last year we have collected and disposed of over 800kg of e-waste.
We’re committed to greener ways of working. Brightly HQ is located in Grid AKL, a shared office space and a Green Star Energy rated building, with energy efficient air-conditioning and environmentally sustainable LED lighting. To reduce travel emissions, we encourage remote working, and when commuting to and from work, our team travels on e-bikes or via public transport. All Brightly employees are offered company funded AT hop cards as part of our commitment to encourage sustainable commuting options.
We continue to look at ways to better capture, measure and report on our impact. Through more accurate reporting, we can aim to further reduce and mitigate our emissions to achieve our goal of becoming a CarbonZero certified organisation.
Communities
Through charitable and sponsorship partnerships, we’re putting our support behind important initiatives that align with our vision for a more sustainable and equitable future. Each year we donate 1% of our company’s revenue to causes we support, predominantly through charitable giving platform One Percent Collective. Recently we celebrated our three-year anniversary where we have been able to donate $16,500.00 to 13 of the charities that we support with our regular giving.
We also provide support to a number of local not-for-profit organisations through voluntary hours and pro-bono consultancy and advisory services.
Going forward, we’re working to improve measurement of the time we put into these great causes and identifying opportunities for our staff to contribute more.
Something that’s also important to us is amplifying the messages of sustainability and social justice with other businesses. To connect the local B Corp community and help inspire increased collective impact through collaboration, we’ve hosted a number of BLocal events at The Grid. We’re always happy to chat with anyone considering becoming B Corp certified and to share more about our own experience and lessons. Learn more about Brightly and our approach to sustainable IT.