To become a B Corp, companies must pass rigorous requirements in relation to governance, staff, community, environment and customers.

Honeycomb, which offers behavioural science, qualitative and quantitative research, and has offices in Melbourne and Sydney, is one of a few research companies in Australia to have become B Corp certified, including Nature and Wallis Social Research.

There are now around 750 B Corps in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.

B Corps are required to re-certify every three years.

Renata Freund, founder at Honeycomb Strategy, said: “While fundamentally the actions and behaviours needed to secure certification were already aligned with how Honeycomb operated, it forced the business to document and systemise what best practice looked like. It has set us up to scale with these values in mind, ensuring we stay true to what’s most important to us. 

“It can only benefit the industry as a whole when we lift the benchmark for social and environmental impact and make it a non-negotiable for how agencies operate. It should be a race to the top, not a race to the bottom.”