How #WeGoBeyond with B Corp
March is B Corp Month, and this year the theme is all about showcasing how the B Corp community of businesses go beyond the status quo, taking action to prioritise people and planet over profit and transform the economic system. It’s to demonstrate that B Corp isn’t just a mark, it’s a global movement of people making their mark on the world.
At Brightly, we’ve chosen to pursue a more impactful path. We’re dedicated to doing our part in addressing community and social issues as well as environmental ones – and being B Corp is an important part of committing to, and measuring, our impact.
Here's more on how and why we go beyond business-as-usual.
We go beyond typical IT services
Our strategies are guided by sustainability. Our ethos is always to infuse ethical, planet-friendly IT initiatives into the tech foundations that support our clients’ business. We advocate for more conscious considerations through the use of technology, with the aim of inspiring collective change towards the reduction of energy waste, carbon emission and e-waste.
To us, sustainable IT means getting the most out of what you’ve already invested in, having financially sustainable infrastructure and also about making more conscious choices when it comes to both process and products. We know that careful planning now can not only immediately cut costs and reduce e-waste, but continue to make a positive impact on the environment for years to come.
We go beyond for the planet
As a certified climate positive organisation, 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.
Toitū climate positive certified means measuring emissions to ISO 14064-1:2018 and Toitū requirements; managing and reducing in line with science and Toitū requirements; compensating for remaining emissions to at least 125% following Toitū requirements and covering a minimum of the total Toitū boundary; and contributing to broader social and environmental outcomes.
The audit was conducted in accordance with the Programme Verification Guidelines including ISO 14064-3:2019 and the Verification and Sampling Plan.
We make the following conscious choices to reduce our carbon footprint:
Work with CarbonZero–certified Urgent Couriers
Encourage our staff to work remotely
Provide access to e-bikes and subsidised public transport
Work in a Green Star building at GridAKL
Offset the carbon of all our air travel
When choosing new equipment for our clients, we look at repairability and EPEAT ratings as well as performance and reliability. We work on a principle of first upgrading, repairing, or both. When equipment needs to be replaced, we ensure that e-waste collection is included in the process. We've been recycling our e-waste with Computer Recycling for the past four years, diverting 1,163kg from landfill in the past 12 months. We also support Recycle A Device, an organisation that makes it easier for businesses to get unused (and then refurbished) laptops into the hands of students who need them.
We go beyond for equity and social justice
The Brightly vision is an equitable Aotearoa - and we know there’s work to be done within the tech sector. Brightly's governance structure means we go beyond to embrace equity and create an inclusive and equitable workplace. We’re also creating opportunities and expanding diversity in Aotearoa’s tech sector through our partnership with Rea, an organisation that provides people with the skills they need to advance their careers in technology, and then connects them with well-paid employment opportunities within the industry. Rea’s purpose is to provide inclusive, equitable access to education and employment to increase industry diversity while addressing tech’s skills shortage.
We recognise that the diversity challenge starts in education. So, as part of our commitment to creating change, we also partnered with DigiWahine, an initiative run by Microsoft New Zealand which aims to dispel stereotypes associated with high tech jobs through mentorships, role models and technical experiences, particularly for students from Māori and Pasifika backgrounds.
Our preference is to partner with local and diverse suppliers and product providers. Through our supplier selection process, we opt for local providers, consider diversity of representation, and prioritise partnerships with organisations who are also contributing to wider social good initiatives through their own work.
We go beyond for our community
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 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.
To help purpose-driven clients, we offer full-service support with reduced-rate impact partner pricing to support businesses within the Sustainable Business network, social enterprises, not-for-profit organisations, and, of course, others in our B Corp community. We provide support to a number of local not-for-profit organisations through voluntary hours and pro-bono consultancy and advisory services, including the Heart Foundation, Garden to Table, and Sustainable Coastlines.
We go beyond the minimum
We’re a living wage accredited employer. The Living Wage rate is voluntary and is paid by employers who want to make sure their workers get enough money to live with dignity. In response to growing poverty and inequality for Kiwi workers, we partnered with Living Wage Movement Aotearoa as a commitment to paying Brightly employees a living wage. This also includes supporting workers such as cleaners and other contractors are paid a Living Wage and we work with our key suppliers to support this. In addition to this, we bump up our Kiwisaver contributions and annual leave for our team.
Want to know more about becoming ‘B’?
No matter how large or small your business, B Corp certification is a meaningful way to measure your own performance and impact. It helps you set goals, establish measurable policies and consider how you can continue to contribute to creating positive change as part of a wider movement. Having first certified in 2020, we’re currently focusing on re-certification which helps us understand the improvements we’ve made over the past three years, and where there’s still work to go even further ‘beyond’.
We’ve shared more on how to become a B Corporation and B Lab Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand offer plenty of resources to support you on your own journey, however if you’d like to learn more about how B Corp certification is shaping our approach to more sustainable IT, get in touch.