5 Reasons I.G. Advisors Became a B Corp

We’re really pleased and proud to announce that, this week, I.G. Advisors has become a Certified B Corporation™! Being a B Corp is a formal way of embedding a social mission into our business, and getting certified means the fact that we value and prioritise having a positive impact on the world as much as our business success has been officially assessed and recognised by B Lab UK.

Katie Hill, Executive Director of B Lab UK, says “We are delighted to welcome I.G. Advisors to the B Corp community. The firm epitomises the essence of what it is to be a B Corp through its work with charities and social enterprises, which brings people and skills together to generate the most impact for the greatest number of people. We know that I.G. Advisors will support and be supported by others in the B Corp community and will be instrumental in the growth of the B Corp movement in the UK”.

So, why did I.G. decide to become a Certified B Corp?

1. Our social mission is part of our DNA

In a lot of ways, becoming a B Corp simply formalises many of our founding principles. Every member of the I.G. team has a personal interest and deep professional commitment to strengthening the social sector, and empowering powerful projects within it. The cornerstone of our approach is a belief that there are critical gaps in understanding and communication across the social sector, which often hinder progress and impact. So, we bridge the gaps between fundraisers, corporates and philanthropists, and take great pride in being a catalyst for the transformative potential of our clients’ work. I.G. was founded on the principle of bringing dynamic and entrepreneurial thinking to the social impact sector, and B Lab is founded on the principle of bringing social impact thinking into enterprise. It makes perfect sense for us to become part of this movement. “In a way, I think we’ve always felt like a B Corp,” said Alisha Miranda, I.G.’s Managing Director. “Now we can really claim the title.”

2. We like to do things differently

We pride ourselves on working with individuals, families and organisations with an eye for big ideas, an appetite for innovation, and a healthy attitude to risk-taking. We like to create impactful and lasting initiatives that combat social problems in creative ways, and to be able to say ‘we helped to make that happen’. Being part of the B Corp movement is a great way for us to stand out, but also be a force for change in the business world, and help organisations of every kind think outside the box on what is possible to achieve with the power of business.

3. Our network is full of beyond profit organisations

I.G. Advisors is already part of a growing ecosystem of beyond profit organisations, including our sister companies Social Misfits Media, Lightful and Not My Style. We love to work with other organisations who are committed to social good, and play a part in bringing likeminded leaders together. B Corps have been around in the UK since 2015, but you don’t always know who they are — neither did we, until we started exploring. We’re so excited to be officially joining a community that includes our friends like healthy infant food company Ella’s Kitchen, non-profit recruitment specialists Prospectus, and the UK’s leading charity and social enterprise law firm, Bates Wells Braithwaite LLP. Even Kira, our office dog, already loves Lily’s Kitchen pet food — she’s that B Corp’s number one customer!

4. Having a mission means something to our staff

Our team members all hail from varied backgrounds in the social impact space, having worked in-house as fundraisers, philanthropic advisors and corporate impact leaders. We all have experience in bringing social good projects to life, but sometimes being an advisor can feel one step removed from the ultimate social or environmental impact of the organisations we work with. Becoming a B Corp reminds us that our own work has direct, meaningful impact too, and allows the team to formally commit to the social mission of the business, as well as the missions of our non-profit clients.

5. We want to ‘walk the talk’

A lot of businesses make doing good, or creating social impact, simply a PR priority, and has no buy-in at board level. We spend a lot of time advising our corporate clients to build authentic and meaningful interventions that create value and impact at both business and a social level. Whilst I.G. has always been committed to social impact, the rigorous certification process required to become a B Corp has allowed us to assess our performance against a robust social and environmental framework, and challenged us to find areas where we can do even better. Even though it’s not easy to become certified, we wanted to ensure we were measuring ourselves against the highest standards possible.

“Even though we live and breathe the social good space, the certification process highlighted a lot of things that we still need to work on,” said Alisha, I.G.’s Managing Director. “Being a B Corp doesn’t mean we’re perfect — but it means we now have a clear way to understand our operational impacts on our clients, the environment and the broader world around us.”

Our MD Alisha, CEO Carlos and Advisor Emily with our B Corp plaque from B Lab UK

What is I.G. Advisors?

I.G. is a strategy consultancy, working in the social impact space. From large grant making foundations to corporate brands, grassroots charities and everything in between — we can work with you to develop strategies that set you up for success in the long- term. If you’d like to explore working together, please get in touch or visit impactandgrowth.com for more information.