Grow Good is a BCorp Consultancy Company. Grow Good brings the open book to the exam when companies are going through the BCorp process. Inspired by Steve Ardagh, CEO of NZ’s first BCorp certified organisation, Tim Jones, now founder and CEO of Grow Good, completed the BLab ANZ training programme, which made him New Zealand’s first qualified B Consultant. He has now assisted more than 70 companies globally to successfully navigate the BCorp Impact Assessment.
Tim found this passion while going through what he called his “existential wet fish to the face moment”. At the time he was selling medical devices. This didn't sit well with his values and he found himself asking “why am I doing this?”. After attending Steve’s talk around BCorp’s, Tim was totally inspired and eventually became the NZ Bcorp Ambassador. In 2015 he took the leap and went out on his own. Grow Good became Certified as the 6th BCorp in New Zealand in mid 2016.
Certified BCorps are a new form of business that seeks to balance purpose and profit. Tim tells us, “Rather than solely focusing on profit maximisation, BCorp’s consider the impact of their operations on their workers, customers, suppliers, community, and the environment.” The BCorp website cites that “it is a designation that a business is meeting high standards of verified performance, accountability, and transparency.” Tim acknowledges that we need our planet to be surviving and thriving into the foreseeable future as a business owner.
BCorp reviews your business against the 5 pillars of:
Governance
Workers
Community
Environment
Customer Model
Clients come to Tim because the BCorp assessment can sometimes feel like an exam you have to take that you haven't revised on. Tim explained that it can be hard to translate, but Grow Good helps with this. He said “Grow Good is like the open book you can bring in the exam.”
BCorp saw the greatest growth ever in 2021. Tim puts it down to companies having their existential moments. During the COVID-19 pandemic people started looking for more meaning and were drawn towards the topics of biodiversity and the effects of climate change. Grow Good is part of a movement of more than 5000 businesses collectively pushing towards betterment in similar areas. The results are phenomenal, the average highest to low pay ratio is 7:1 in BCorps. In non BCorp’s the average is 141:1. BCorps are also 7 x more likely to use renewable energy compared to non BCorps. BCorp’s are not only good financial entities, they are good for the planet and its people.
BCorp has come a long way, but with only 0.05% of companies world wide certified, they are still only scratching the surface. BCorp is not perfect but in Tim’s opinion it's the best we've got. B Lab, the non-profit organisation that runs the B Corp Certification programme, are continually improving, they are currently on version 6 with version 7 coming soon. This new version is likely to include a lot more categories. Hitch is hoping to see companies being rewarded for measuring and reducing commuting emissions.
Grow Goods' vision is to co-create a world where every human thrives in a manner that is regenerative to the planet. In 10 years time Tim’s mission is for every business to be BCorp certified. Tim is a big fan of a Warren Millar quote (the guy who kick started alpine skiing), “If you don't do it this year, when you do, you'll be one year older.” Tim says the same about BCorp, “if you don't start the process now, it's no longer going to be aspirational. The BCorp train is coming.”
It's free to take the B Corp assessment - you only pay money when you click submit to go through the verification process with B Lab . Tim encourages everyone to go and see what is involved. It's the one certification system everyone is getting behind.
To chat all things BCorp, you can reach out to Tim via Grow Good's website www.growgood.co