To formalize sustainability efforts, Shayp became B Corp in January 2022 with the B Lab certification. Shayp joins a community of 140 Benelux companies and more than 4000 Certified B Corporations in more than 77 countries and over 153 industries. In Belgium 25 companies were attested to “use business as a force for good” such as IBA, Alpro, Alterfin, Kazidomi, Inclusio or Brunehaut Brewery. After months of hard work we are very proud to receive this distinction. It represents a big step forward for a scale-up working each single day to improve its impact on the environment and to promote well-being inside of the company.
First of all, Shayp looked into the B Corp certification to understand the standards to be considered as an “impactful company”. This certification raises the following question: What can be considered as positive and impactful for a company? As the answer was not self-evident we needed to ask ourselves: what do we need to do? How to do it and where to start?
The B Impact Assessment is the online tool used for the B Corp Certification. This is an important source of information gathering policies and practices considered having a positive and material impact on your stakeholders. Additionally, those policies are graduated according to the degree of their positive impact. As a result, it becomes easy to ask yourself the right questions and manage your impact, as it is commonly said: “We manage what we can measure”.
“Shayp is still a small company, but from the start, as a cofounder of the company, I have been strongly convinced of leading by example and creating impact. The only way to create a sustainable and measurable impact, according to me, is to use business as a force for good. This has been on my mind since the very first day I started this company” said our COO, Grégoire de Hemptinne.
Shayp has been thought since the beginning to have a positive impact, from the conception of our devices to its expected positive outcome. When we assessed that Shayp had implemented sufficient good governance, policies and practices having a material positive impact to be eligible for the B Corp certification, it was already an enormous accomplishment.
As stated above, we used this certification as a learning tool to allow us to identify what matters the most and what we should improve or implement at Shayp. The pre-assessment was the beginning of a long process to better grasp the meaning of the certification, understand the requirements and implement change. To achieve this, Shayp’s sustainable project manager, Louis Clerbois worked full time on the certification process.
“We quickly realized that we needed to dedicate one person on our team to the B Corp certification. This was a long-term task that was successfully and rigorously carried out by Louis Clerbois. We were lucky to find Louis because we didn't have enough internal resources to follow up. Together we could realize this project that is so important to us: to give a guideline to Shayp, to anchor sustainability in our business model and to show other players that it is possible to be innovative, sustainable and profitable” shared Ingrid Nolet, Sustainability Manager.
The assessment was only the first step; we wanted to grow with this certification. Indeed, Grégoire de Hemptinne our COO stated that “the process was long and tedious, but very rewarding in the end. It highlighted the importance of growing together in the right direction: what B Corp offers is also a framework to make our business grow further in the right direction.”
Given the fact that the B Corp certification was facing a record of interest, leading to delays in the certification process, we used this time wisely: we had already done the assessment of our operations; it was then easy to conduct an analysis of what could be improved.
Thanks to the requirements specified to each selected practice, we have been able to determine what were the rewarded practices to be implemented at Shayp. This allowed us to improve our score, but also to give instructions on the manner to build specific policies to have a social and sustainable positive impact.
To get the B Corp certification, the company gathers points for the implementation of policies and practices that are rewarded by the B assessment. You can also earn points if your business model is oriented to benefit a specific group of stakeholders. This refers to the Operational Score VS Impact Business Model Score.
Shayp collected a score of 99.6 points. A total reflecting our commitment to preserve water: we have been able to save more than 1 billion liters of water in 4 years of existence. We know our customers can reduce, on average, their waste of water by 97% and the number of water leaks are reduced by 85% with Shayp. We are extremely proud of this positive impact we have, and the B Corp certification rewards us for.
At Shayp, we are acting to include everyone, no matter their socioeconomic status. We are also fighting against climate change, and more specifically against the waste of our most valuable resource that is water. We want to build a world where water is used efficiently, and we have built our technology for this purpose. It is necessary to act to prevent the forthcoming water crisis and water scarcity.
We are also excited to see what this certification can bring for Shayp. We are looking forward to meeting this very impressive community and to building a better future together, but also to attract new talents with the same commitment as we do have to preserve water and earn credibility in our actions. As our CEO Alexandre McCormack precises “that B Corp might become the commercial next point one day as it is a breeding ground of engaged companies.”
We truly expect this certification to help Shayp grow to have a bigger positive impact by helping our company to reach the next step.
The B Corp certification rewards companies aiming to have a positive impact. They are not only business oriented but implement work operations in a positive way, which includes: allowing resources conservation, promotion of health and wellness, promotion of education, charitable giving, etc.
This certification aims to influence a movement of change, a shift in the economic system led by businesses themselves. The change they envision is a new paradigm, where business is used as a force for good.
The B Corp certification measures success accordingly: earning money is not enough to be considered as a successful company, social and environmental matters are as much important parameters.
Hence, the certification identifies companies that meet the highest standards of social, environmental and economical performance, and fight to be the best for the world instead of being the best in the world (business as usual…).
To learn more about B Corp and join the movement, visit B Corporation.