Case Study: Bassike – Achieving B Corporation Certification
About Bassike Bassike is an Australian designer fashion brand that champions local production of high-quality, sustainably-made wardrobe essentials. With eight stores across the country and products stocked by over 80 retailers worldwide, Bassike is regarded as an Australian leader brand in the designer fashion segment. The Challenge In 2019, Bassike made a strategic commitment to elevating responsible business practices as a core part of its purpose and vision. Recognising the challenge of turning their commitment into action, the leadership team engaged The Growth Activists as external ESG experts for guidance. The Solution The Growth Activists had previously worked with Bassike, supporting annual strategic planning and implementation. As part of this work, B Corp certification was identified as Bassike’s best ESG global accreditation option. This certification demonstrates the brand’s commitment to ethical and responsible business practices and the positive impact of its ESG efforts. The Deliverables The Growth Activists guided the Bassike team through the B Impact Assessment (BIA) process, identifying actionable items and operational practices that could lead to significant additional points, referred to as Impact Business Models (IBM). After receiving the BIA report and comprehensive action list, the Bassike team began implementing the next stage, concentrating on improving their policies and operations. Upon completion, they submitted for certification through B Lab, which involved standard evidence verification. The Results Bassike became a Certified B Corp in June 2022, achieving an outstanding score of 92.6 – an exceptional achievement for a fashion retail business. It also demonstrated remarkable success in the BIA by scoring strongly in two impact areas, Community (28.9 points) and Environment (26.1 points). The BIA process and subsequent implementation plan helped the Bassike leadership team identify ethical and responsible business practices that were already implicitly ingrained in the organisation, but importantly the framework helped them articulate them more explicitly and effectively. The BIA also helped them to recognise strengths, identify areas for improvement to meet the standards, and underscored the importance of documentation of evidence of processes and policies as foundational to good ESG practice. Furthermore, the BIA process led to an enhancement of existing operational procedures. Notably, Bassike was able to enrich its Sustainable Ethical Manufacturing Index (S.E.M.I.), a proprietary internal framework developed to guide internal decision-making around Bassike’s supply chain. S.E.M.I. screens and ranks Bassike’s fabric mills, manufacturing partners and the material composition of every Bassike product across three pillars; environment, labour and animal welfare. The BIA framework enabled the Bassike team to cross-reference standards and enhance the process. Finally, the process highlighted the opportunity to strengthen the brand’s ESG narrative for critical stakeholders, particularly for employees and customers, who offered valuable insights into material issues that matter. This led to an employee education program enabling store staff to understand what it means to be a B Corp and engage with customers confidently on the positive impact of the brand on people and planet. In 2023 Bassike also published its first impact report, leveraging the important chain of evidence already created through the B Corp certification process to tell their impact story to all their stakeholders.
Case Study: First Sentier Investors – Achieving B Corporation Certification
About First Sentier Investors First Sentier Investors is a global asset manager with a strong culture of stewardship and a commitment to responsible investing principles. It has been a signatory to the UN Principles of Responsible Investment since 2007. First Sentier Investors’ active investment teams, whether in-house or individually branded, manage assets exceeding A$230 billion* on behalf of institutional investors, pension funds, wholesale distributors and platforms, financial advisers and their clients. It believes that capital allocation can be used as a force for good and incorporates ESG considerations into its investment approaches to make better decisions on behalf of clients, the broader society and the environment. The Challenge First Sentier Investors sought a global certification for its responsible business practices and a designation that would represent its commitment to meet high standards of social and environmental performance. The Solution The B Corp Certification provides an external and global framework to assess and improve First Sentier Investors’ operations, complementing its responsible investing principles to clients, employees, its shareholders and the wider community. The Approach In April 2020, First Sentier Investors engaged The Growth Activists’ ESG practice lead Kirsty Simmonds. Kirsty is one of the first B Lab-trained consultants and advisers in Australia and New Zealand, specialising in guiding large businesses through B Corp Certifications. As a large corporate, First Sentier Investors followed B Lab’s Multinationals and Large Enterprise Businesses certification path. This is a staged approach with milestone reviews and thresholds to meet during that time. It typically takes businesses a couple of years to complete. This process for Large & Complex businesses involved: The final stage was for First Sentier Investors to adjust its constitution to meet the legal requirements to become a B Corp and to engage across the business on announcement. The Deliverables Guide First Sentier Investors through the process to certification. The Growth Activists provided expert advice, troubleshooting, and project management to ensure accountability and progress within the agreed timeframe. The Results First Sentier Investors obtained its B Corp Certification in November 2022 with an outstanding score of 107.2, joining a select group of fewer than 200 large businesses worldwide with this distinction. Its substantial size allows the organisation to exemplify best practices. Kirsty and TGA now work with First Sentier Investors to lead a periodic roundtable event for large businesses to share insights, fostering a forum for leaders to share how large businesses can be a force for good. *First Sentier Investors’ gross AUM, inclusive of associated strategic partnership with AlbaCore Capital Group, as of 31 December 2023.
Case Study: Avant Dental -Marketing Engagement
The Challenge By 2019, the Australian dental lab market had become highly competitive and commoditised, leading dental labs to engage in a price-driven race to the bottom. Avant Dental found themselves struggling to stand out amidst the sea of competitors and were ranked 10th in the market. They recognised the need to break free from commoditised competition and achieve growth, so they partnered with The Growth Activists (TGA) for business growth through integrated marketing. Their key objectives were to acquire new dentist customers, drive revenue growth, and move up from the number 10 spot in the dental lab market. The Approach TGA adopted a data-driven approach to devise a comprehensive growth strategy for Avant Dental: The research, analysis, strategy, and planning phases were finalised in late 2019. Following this, the implementation of brand, communications, and marketing initiatives began in early 2020, coinciding with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Deliverables The marketing engagement between TGA and Avant Dental included the following deliverables: Avant Dental achieved remarkable results through their strategic partnership with TGA: In conclusion, Avant Dental were able to rise above a saturated market, becoming a leader in the dental lab sector. With a strong brand and united digital marketing, they achieved remarkable growth, widened their market presence, and established a solid foundation for lasting success. Avant Dental’s experience highlights how a well-executed, data-driven marketing strategy can drive a business to lead in the market and achieve lasting growth.
