Here’s How The Hallway Became B-Corp Certified
“People, planet, and profit” was a saying that The Hallway’s CCO, Simon Lee kept coming back to. The triple bottom line, a promise to run a business that is focused on all aspects of good.
It was that philosophy that continued to ring in the ears of Simon, and The Hallway founder Jules Hall when deciding to make the commitment to becoming a B-Corp certified company. A journey that has taken The Hallway a breezy 18 months to achieve.
Simon stated, “The right way to operate a business in this day and age is to be focusing on profit. But there also has to be a fundamental belief that profit alone is not enough, a business could, can, and should be answerable to our people, the broader community, and the planet that sustains us.”
According to the B-Corp process, the very first step to becoming certified is to change the business corporate constitution. The Hallway’s constitution now clearly states that they are a business that are ‘creative catalysts for a flourishing world.’
Although a few changes were small - like the constitution and changes to policy to include reviewing the formalities of carer's leave, volunteer leave, and introducing a sensitive women’s issue policy - the impact of those changes are huge.
The biggest aspect of becoming B-Corp certified was figuring out exactly how big of a carbon footprint the company had, and how to sustainably reduce its carbon emissions.
“When we went into the process, we had no idea what our carbon footprint was, so we first had to find a way of measuring that. Once we found that, we had to figure out ways in which we are actively able to reduce it and offset the ones we have no control over.” he said.
Simon continued to state that the hardest part of the entire process was having the stamina to keep the ball rolling. He spoke of the excitement and adrenaline that ran through the company when they were first introduced to the process, but the reality of becoming B-Corp certified is hard work and extremely detail-oriented.
“The challenge was staying focused on the journey and being in the details. We hired a wonderful woman named Jacinta Grant, who managed the project for over a year and was really focused on the granular details, moving it forward.”
The resilience and stamina to stick with the journey and keep going was the one thing that made the end process entirely worthwhile, “if it was easy, it wouldn’t have the value that it has.” he noted.
Simon revealed that the best piece of advice he could give companies looking to do the same would be to never underestimate the extent of the commitment and to dedicate a team of people to manage the project.
“I think as the advertising industry we have a huge opportunity, people come to us for advice and for our counsel and we can help guide them. An old boss of mine used to refer to advertising as the windmills of the economy, and for us, we need to make sure we are turning the right windmills”, he explained.
Simon concluded with brilliant passion when he said, “Today we made industry news thanks to this certification but the ambition ultimately is that it's not news at all, just normal.”
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