We are now a Certified B Corp
We are absolutely delighted to announce that we are now certified as a B Corporation (or B Corp). This means that Verm-X is joining a growing group of companies that are reinventing business by pursuing purpose as well as profit.
After a comprehensive evaluation process, we have been certified by B Lab, the not-for-profit organisation behind the B Corp movement, as having met the rigorous social and environmental standards which represent its commitment to goals outside of profit.
What is a B Corp?
The B in B Corp stands for Benefit. The full title is Benefit Corporation (B Corp). Benefit Corporations are certified by B Lab, a non-profit organisation responsible for the standards and evaluation process. Their goal is to create sustainable businesses that create social good while remaining profitable.
Being recognised as a B Corp means that Verm-X joins a global economy that uses business for good, creating benefits for its customers, its employees and most importantly: the environment. The certification shows that we’re excelling in our social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency.
The B Corp certification addresses the entirety of a business’ operations and covers five key impact areas of Governance, Workers, Community, Environment and Customers. The certification process is extremely thorough, with applicants required to reach a benchmark score of over 80 while providing evidence of socially and environmentally responsible practices relating to energy supplies, waste and water use, staff engagement, diversity and corporate transparency.
Verm-X is now part of a community of 5,818 businesses globally who have certified as B Corps. The B Corp community in the UK, representing a broad cross section of industries and sizes, comprises over 950 companies and include well-known brands such as The Guardian, innocent, Patagonia, The Body Shop and organic food pioneers Abel & Cole. Other pet industry B Corps include Naturaw, Lily’s Kitchen and Beco.
Our environmental impact
Whilst the B Corp application process looked at our environmental footprint in terms of the energy and water we used, our carbon offsets and our packaging, we also had to measure the wider impact of our products upon the environment.
For the past 20 years, Verm-X has been working to combat the growing problem of anthelmintic resistance. ‘Anthelmintic resistance’ or ‘wormer resistance,’ as it is more commonly known, refers to parasites that have evolved to be no longer affected by pharmaceutical wormers.
We asked customers to tell us about how Verm-X had helped reduce pharmaceutical usage and 90% of responses indicated that, since using Verm-X, use of pharmaceutical wormers had decreased. 88% of customers also told us that Verm-X had helped them to become more aware of the environmental impact of using pharmaceutical wormers.
What does this mean for our customers?
Verm-X customers can now shop with the added confidence of knowing that our business processes been extensively evaluated and confirmed by B Corp’s exacting standards. However, a core element of the B Corp process is not just to look at what we already do, but at what we’re planning in the future.
In the coming weeks, we’ll be publishing our impact assessment on our website. This document will set out our roadmap towards a more sustainable future and detail the steps we’ll be taking to work as a force for good. For example, a transition to plastic-free packaging wherever possible, using organic ingredients in our products and working to provide educational resources about pharmaceutical resistance and responsible use.
We’ve said it all along, but we are so proud to have completed this certification process and proven that we really are kinder to animals and kinder to the planet.
If you have any questions about our certification process or would like to find out more, you can reach us on Facebook, Instagram or by emailing sales@verm-x.com
