Overview
New Hampshire-based client MAYO is a web design and marketing services company focused on building brands and improving profit while caring for people and the planet. For over 20 years, MAYO has upheld an unwavering dedication to ethical business practices and transparency, and serving as a trusted partner for clients seeking sustainable and innovative design solutions.
Services Provided
- B Corporation Certification Consulting
- B Impact Assessment (“BIA”)
Challenge
In August 2020, MAYO Web Design & Marketing Services embarked on a journey toward B Corp certification and quickly realized the substantial commitment involved. Recognizing the need to make B Corp certification attainable for their small team, they sought help from Sensiba to break the assessment into manageable components and craft a project management plan for certification.
“We thought we could do it ourselves and learn the ins and outs of the process,” says Founder and Creative Director Carrie Mayo. “Once we started the process and met other people in the B Corp community, we decided we could become certified more quickly if we went the consultancy route. We connected with Sensiba and they helped us understand the process and reassured us that we’d go through it together.”
“We felt like we were going to have a relationship,” says Jacqui Lewis, director of marketing strategy and account director. “It was an exercise in documentation that seemed overwhelming, but Sensiba provided a strategic process with milestones and we chipped away at it. They provided templates we could customize so we didn’t have to start from scratch.”
Sensiba’s collaboration with MAYO began in July 2021. Throughout the process, our team played a vital role inconducting regular check-ins to ensure accountability and momentum. Our expertise was instrumental in optimizing the integration of B Corp certification into MAYO daily operations, a strategy that makes certification viable for small companies lacking a dedicated sustainability team.
“Our biggest thing was we wanted to be authentic through this process. There were parts of the certification where we could have checked a box, but we held the line of authenticity together. We met ourselves where we were in the process and got a roadmap to areas where we would continue to grow.”
Carrie MayoFounder and Creative Director, MAYO
Solution
Utilizing Sensiba’s vast knowledge of the B Corp certification process and the B Impact Assessment (“BIA”) tool, MAYO engaged us to provide their team with a full B Corp certification consulting process. The results of this engagement enabled us to give the client a greater understanding of ambiguous sections in the BIA, recommendations for improvements, and templates to help operationalize and document the company’s values and processes.
“The process was smooth and collaborative for us,” says Lewis. “We set up a timeline for the steps Carrie and I needed to dive into and Sensiba offered regular meetings to ask what we’d done and provided an opportunity to ask questions and lean on their expertise.
This client engagement evolved as follows:
Step 1: Filling out the B Impact Assessment (BIA)
We first walked the MAYO team through the B Corp certification process and began setting up the company’s BIA. After inputting the company’s specific size, sector, and market, the BIA generated a unique set of questions touching on material ESG topics related to governance, workers, community, customers, and the environment. We carefully answered each question in the assessment with the MAYO team. After filling out the entire BIA, we created a gap analysis report that offered strategies to help MAYO improve its scores and implement new internal processes and procedures.
Step 2: Submitting for Review with B Lab™
Over the next few months, we worked side-by-side with MAYO to implement the improvements suggested in our gap analysis. Each month, we held a project management call that broke the assessment into more manageable pieces and kept things moving while they continued their daily business tasks. On each call, we would advise on any challenges that arose, provide templates as starting points for complex policies, and celebrate any internal successes that came from the ongoing organizational transformation.
Once we had the necessary documentation uploaded and reached a score above 80 in the BIA, we submitted their assessment for review by B Lab. While in the review and verification stage, we were a liaison and answered any questions or requirements from the certification process with B Lab, which included sitting in on calls and communicating with B Lab’s analysts.
Result
Becoming a Certified B Corp with Tangible Progress on Key Issues
After working with Sensiba for six months, the client successfully submitted its B Impact Assessment for review. After undergoing a rigorous certification process, Sensiba helped MAYO become a Certified B Corporation in August of 2022. Building off the detailed list of recommendations to improve sustainability performance in the near-and long-term, we provided ongoing strategy and consulting services to support the client in implementing a sustainability roadmap for their recertification in three years.
Becoming a B Corp opened us to an entirely new network, and it’s part of so many conversations we’re having these days,” Mayo says. “It can be a conversation starter like, ‘What is a B Corp?’ or someone asking what being a B Corp means to MAYO.” We have a stronger sense of our network and working with like-minded people. Internally, it’s improved the openness of our culture and our collective vision. We made a decision as a company about what we’re passionate about, and sharing that passion helps us connect with people who share our values. We made a decision as a company about what we’re passionate about, and sharing that passion helps us connect with people who share our values.
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