#246 Pedalling Towards Purpose – Forests Journey To B Corp Accreditation

Watch the video interview here Europe is only partially on track to meet its 2030 environment and sustainability objectives, and while some objectives are being scaled back, we are seeing the introduction of more regional regulations that require tangible annual sustainability reporting. Businesses that have built sustainability into their way of working from the start are leading the charge and defining what it means to operate responsibly. As with today's guest, Forest, an e-bike provider that is not only 100% powered by renewable energy but has also achieved the coveted B Corp Accreditation. In this episode, Mel Blackmore is joined by Laura Elms, VP of Sustainability & Corporate Affairs at Forest, to discuss how they embedded sustainability from the start and explore their journey towards B Corp Accreditation. You'll learn · Who are Forest? · Who is Laura? · Why was B Corp important to Forest from the start? · What other Standards do Forest currently hold? · What does Forest's higher B Corp score of 99 mean in reality? · How did Forest embed sustainability into a business from day one rather than retrofitting it later? · How has Forest balanced growth with genuine environmental accountability? · What does tackling Scope 3 look like in urban mobility? · Why did they also attain Verra Validation, and why does third-party validation matter? · How do sustainability, communications and public policy intersect in Laura's role? · Advice for those seeking B Corp Accreditation · B Corp Version 7 · What role do you think sustainable transport should play in helping cities to meet their net zero targets? Resources · Forest · B Corp Accreditation · Carbonology In this episode, we talk about: [00:30] Episode Summary – Mel is joined by Laura Elms, VP of Sustainability & Corporate Affairs at Forest, to explore how they lead the way in sustainability including insight into their journey towards B Corp Accreditation. [01:10] Who are Forest? Forest is the only shared E-Bike operator to power its entire fleet with 100% renewable energy. It's also one of the world's first micro-mobility companies to have B Corp Accreditation and Verra Validation. [01:40] Who is Laura and how did she get involved with sustainability? Laura admits that she had a rather non-linear approach to getting into sustainability. She started her career shortly after graduating in financial communications and investor relations. Working in her first firm, she worked closely with a women called Caroline who went on to found Forest along with two other co-founders. Caroline reached out to her 2 years after starting Forest and Laura felt it was a no-brainer as she had a pre-existing interest in sustainability, and had come to prefer the start-up space over a more corporate setting. As is typical with the nature of start-ups, Laura wore many hats from the outset as it was a small team of four. Sustainability was what she was most passionate about, and has been the area she nurtured for Forest over the course of her six years working with them. [03:40] Why was B Corp important to Forest from the start? Laura noticed that B Corp was gaining traction back when Forest started in 2020. She was curious about the intersection between B Corp and ESG, particularly from a start-up perspective. When starting at Forest, she knew it would be a significant benefit to utilise renewable energy, but she felt like they needed to go above and beyond that. From there she researched B Corp and the costs involved, which were affordable as it's relative to your revenue, which is a great advantage to start-ups. She was pleased to find that Forest could cover the 5 pillars of B Corp's credentials, not only providing bikes for urban settings but also providing excellent governance and additional benefits to their surrounding community, workers and environment. In short, B Corp helped set the foundations for a good well rounded company that could grow. [05:15] What other Standards do Forest currently hold? Forest currently hold ISO 9001 certification and are looking to implement ISO 14001 in the near future. They currently operate within 18 boroughs in London, and are expanding from one central hub to several more warehouses, which is what will be covered under that ISO 14001 scope. With B Corp as their guiding North Star, they're confident they have all the right foundations in place to grow as needed. [06:10] What does Forest's higher B Corp score of 99 mean in reality? Within B Corp there are 5 pillars: · Community · Environment · Governance · Customers · Workers Its core focus is sustainability, but its approach is much more holistic and similar to the way ISO's implement a system that ...