It’s a B!

Kate Sandle, Community Manager for B Corp UK quotes Ghandi: “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”  For Mediatree, from this month onwards, we are a B.  A B Corp — 3 letters ABC. Simple but not easy in any way—our newly minted B Corp appellation is just the beginning of the journey.

Like Everest Base Camp, it’s a climb that requires transformation, and throws challenging milestones, but as of right now, we are still warming up. Remember when B Corp was ‘benefit corporation’? We do. That’s how long we’ve eyed this goal.  And now we have our sights set on the impact we want to have in decarbonising Investor Relations.

Being a B Corp, logging into the B Hive and busying ourselves with the announcement and internal briefings and celebrations feels special.  Verified by B Lab to meet the high standards and social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability, Mediatree’s hefty mission is buoyed by our new innovative, like-directed, like-minded community. We can B with others.  When the cupcakes are digested, the bunting is untacked and the heady speeches are behind us, the team stands still and absorbs the enormity of the responsibility we each uphold, buzzing inside at the potential this simple letter unlocks in us as individuals as well as the collective.

Why we wanted to become a B Corp

The world of investor relations is fast-paced and focused on effective delivery of companies’ financial and strategic information.  This means covering ground to meet the buy-side, sometimes a lot of ground, on a regular basis — year in, year out.  The extent of the associated carbon emissions (think flights, cars, events, webcasts, capital markets days, global industry conferences….) is deeply concerning, with remarkably little focus on the impact.  When we developed our GreenerRoadshows™ product a few years back, we knew it could contribute to turning the tide and enabling the Investor Relations community to reduce their environmental impact whilst maintaining a business-as-usual approach.

Spearheaded by our CEO Fallon Painter and her passion for sustainable business management and sustainable finance, The Mediatree leadership team came together as the GreenerRoadshows Committee with Andrea Burgui and Tom Meek.  Subsequently we onboarded Sustainability managers, today represented by Félix Rauch, and in our pivotal year of entering the B Lab also with Tyrone Edwards and Christopher Zheng.  Together, they worked to use the power of our business to build a more inclusive and sustainable economy, both as a company and in the marketplace we serve.

Galvanised by this strong vision, as well as by really being able to play a part in moving the needle in our industry and carried by the enthusiasm and the energy of all who got involved, the company pioneered significant digitised and decarbonised solutions to make investor relations more sustainable.

Our whole team has now rallied to fundamentally transform Mediatree for the better and solidify our culture by adopting sustainable working practices and being a positive contributor in our community, both professional and civic.  When B Corp first came to the UK, our Founder, Laurence Borde, and Fallon both dreamed together about this day, about articulating a mission that could effect the transformation that would bring us here.   Our Board of Directors acknowledged a climate emergency and changed the company statutes to implement a mission lock in the company Articles, for Mediatree and its subsidiaries. All for one, one for all, together we are now all joined in this steep climb towards better and more sustainable solutions for investor relations.  Today, our team is energised and rallied behind what it means to be a B Corp and how we can make a real impact thanks to ongoing action and meeting the goals we continuously set for ourselves.

What it means to be a B Corp at Mediatree

No one knows IR events like us.  A leader and pioneer in this market internationally for almost 25 years, Mediatree is perfectly placed to analyse, calculate and report to companies on how best to run carbon-neutral campaigns and programmes through our sustainability arm, GreenerRoadshows™. Becoming a B Corp is a huge moment for Mediatree as a company and for its sustainability ambitions and this milestone will only lead to an acceleration of our drive towards decarbonising our industry.

And for the employees of Mediatree?  As a B Corp company, we believe that Mediatree can be a force for change in our society and so, together with the B Corp community, we want to mobilise everyone towards collective action to address society’s critical challenges and shift the behaviour, structure, and culture of traditional capitalism. The key concept here is to balance profit with purpose.  So, what are our goals, and how do we each contribute?

The key goals we set for ourselves for 2022

People:

• Diversity in senior roles: promote equal opportunity environment
• Age diversity: age-inclusive culture across all areas of the business
• Racial diversity: continue strengthening the culture of D&I
• Gender diversity: maintain 43% male 57% female or target 1:1 balance

Community

• % of revenue donated to charity: donation growth +10%
• % paid time off for volunteer service: 2 days pro bono to volunteer per person
• % of per capita worker time donated as volunteer, community service: grow the % per person pro bono volunteering work by more than 1%

Sustainability

• Total Scope 2 GHG emissions, renewable share of electricity, total energy consumption: Carbon neutrality of Mediatree, sustainable office practices
• % of roadshows offset: 100% offset of all our services
• Distance travelled, flights, car journeys…:  Continued development of virtual and hybrid events to reduce the impact of roadshows
• GreenerRoadshows to offset 100% of our service

As a company, we are in the process of defining our chosen actions for 2023, which we will announce shortly.

So, Mediatree. Dear old, resilient, creative, all-encompassing, innovative and above all sustainability focused Mediatree. We have one wish for you today:

aim high and be the change you wish to see.