As a business made up of people doing great things every day - and importantly doing it in the right way - I’m delighted to say that Reheat has officially become a B Corp.
Achieving B Corp status is a big day for Reheat. When we first came across the B Corp movement a few years ago we thought it was a no-brainer, we knew we were already ‘that kind of business’. What we didn’t know at the time was how difficult it would be to prove that we were! A lot of work has gone in to demonstrating we can earn the title and into collating the evidence needed. This is a huge achievement and I’m delighted with the Reheat team who have worked towards getting this accolade.
At the time of writing, we are one of only 22 businesses from the North East, and one of a handful of renewable energy companies amongst only 1700 businesses in the UK who’ve achieved B Corp status. We’re in good company too, inspired by our friends at Nc’nean organic whisky distillery, who have been a shining example of what is means to be a B Corp and have felt the huge impact of being part of a remarkable community. We were also really pleased to recently see another business we’ve worked with over the years, LC Energy (a wood chip supplier in the South East of England) also recently certified, demonstrating how we’re also leading within our industry.
We are proud of our score too (88.7), as we benchmarked ahead of our sector and for our business size, as well as the country average. However, scores aside, the journey’s only just beginning with B Corp for us. In order to keep the status, we must (and will) continue to improve to bring the very best version of ourselves to everything we do as a business – for our people, customers, community, the decisions we take and our governance, and, of course, the environment.
Already, we are making incremental changes in the business, reflected in our policies, in finding more and better ways to give our team a voice, even getting a (very) local coffee supplier on board. Any, and all changes we can make to be better and grow sustainably are positive steps, and the B Corp framework keeps us in-check by challenging us and keeping us focused on improvements ahead of the next assessment in three years time.
We wouldn’t have got here without the help and support of our network. We have lots of ‘thank-yous' to dish out including to our own Melissa Rowell who’s diligently got Reheat over the line with our application, Katrina Appleyard who’s been an absolute rock and kept us accountable throughout, Ward Hadaway for helping get the governance piece right and Annabel Thomas, Nc’nean for her inspiration throughout. We’re looking forward to becoming part of the North East’s B Corp community and helping it to grow and thrive. Bring it on!
Finally, a huge thanks goes to our indomitable team for making Reheat a force for good. I’m immensely proud that we’ve managed to achieve B Corp status and I know the rest of the team are too.
Ben Tansey
