We were delighted to celebrate B Corp Month throughout March 2024.
B Corporations are businesses that balance ‘people, planet and profit’, collectively shaping what a better future can and should look like. With 1,900 UK B Corps and over 8,000 across the world, we’re proud to be part of this global community of businesses demonstrating that ‘the only way is forward’.
Smile Together achieved this prestigious certification in July 2022, the first dental practice in the UK to do so, with an impressively high overall B Impact Score of 122.9 – in context, 80 qualifies for B Corp Certification.
Every March, the global B Corp community join together to show the world how B Corp certification is more than just a mark – it’s a global movement of people moving the standard of business forward, proving that businesses can flourish when they pursue a more impactful path. We kicked off the month by posting the global B Corp thunderclap video across our social media channels, proactively supporting the #ThisWayForward campaign launch.
Throughout the month we shared content on our social media channels demonstrating how Smile Together moves forward for our people, patients, community and environment. Everything from delivering our Smarter Smiles oral health programme, visiting harboursides in our mobile dental unit treating fishermen who rarely visit a dentist due to the demands of their work and supporting Cornwall Health for Homeless pop-ups, to donating oral health packs to local charities best positioned to reach those families and individuals most in need across the county, switching to an electric fleet and procuring more sustainably.
On 22nd and 23rd March we exhibited at the BDIA dental showcase in London, travelling up in our brightly branded hybrid car which prominently displays the B Corp logo. Our 7’ surfboard was equally eye-catching alongside our stunning backdrop of Godrevy Beach with our logo and the B Corp mark artistically drawn in the sand. This was created to celebrate us gaining our certification in 2022 and continues to define us as a company nearly two years later! We had a great couple of days at the BDIA showcasing our fantastic career opportunities and benefits of working for an employee-owned dental CIC and certified B Corporation – our steady-hand challenge and prize draw was popular with a chance to win prizes from fellow Cornish B Corps such as St Eval Candle Co and Made for Life Organics!
On 25th March we held a Shareholder Meeting, bringing together our employee-owners to learn more about our financial accounts, recent changes to our Articles of Association and their importance for our B Corporation recertification process, and what it means to be a shareholder in Smile Together. We made a final donation to our charity of the year Children’s Hospice SW bringing our total fundraising to a staggering £25,315 before shareholders choose their next charity beneficiary, and closed proceedings with a viewing of our mini impact film, shareholder vote and delicious buffet at The Barn, Pengelly Farm.
B Corps are constantly on the move, working to create more inclusive workspaces, improve their impact on the planet and respond to the world’s ever-changing issues. Smile Together is proud to be part of this inspiring community, tackling oral health inequality with an enviable track record in social impact and enhanced focus on our environmental impact, calculating our emissions across scopes 1, 2 and 3 and implementing a carbon reduction plan. We’re supporting Cornish habitats through a partnership with fellow CIC Plant One who bring businesses, individuals and landowners together to plant trees in Cornish soil, and becoming a Reserve Guardian with Cornwall Wildlife Trust, helping to protect those newly planted trees and ultimately create a Cornwall where nature thrives.
B Corp Month has been a perfect opportunity to share what it truly means to move forward as a certified B Corporation, continuing to do the right thing as a business and collaborating to make the world a better place. At Smile Together we have a great track record of working in partnership with others, and being employee-owned means our people have a genuine voice in our business, maximising impact for our patients, our communities and our planet. We are continuously moving forward and finding new ways to grow our impact.
There’s more information on our B Corp journey here and to see what great company we’re in, visit www.bcorporation.uk.
