This year’s EADA B Impact teams are made up of a total of 28 participants from both the International Masters and International MBA. As a member of a B Impact team, students work as consultants to help companies measure and manage their social and environmental impact. The end goal is to move companies closer to obtaining the B Corp certification, awarded by B Lab. This consulting project provides participants with valuable experience defining project scope, setting timelines and establishing workflows.
Working towards B Corp certification was a big draw for students looking to learn more about the process.
I wanted to know more about the B Lab Cosmos and find out what companies need to undertake in order to obtain the certification. The knowledge that I gained about the certification process is the biggest takeaway for me.”
Christopher Gohla, International Master in Sustainable Business & Innovation participant class 2021
EADA students receive specialised training from real consultants in the application of the B Impact Assessment Tool. The Tool is the first step in measuring the social and environmental impact of a company, with an evaluation process consisting of 3 main stages:
- Company assessment – determining what the company needs to build a better business for workers, the community and the environment
- Compare with other companies – analysing the answers in the assessment and comparing them with what other companies are doing
- Design an improvement plan – develop a plan based on the needs identified in the two previous stages
“I knew that the experience of working with companies that already had a social purpose would add value to my CV -- and my knowledge base in general,” she says. “Besides the technical knowledge, I’ve learned a lot about the whole client approach in the consultancy industry during the B Impact experience.”
Gala Ozollo, B Impact team member
When the participants have finished the evaluation process, the team presents the detailed improvement plan to the company. Once implemented, the plan will make the company eligible for B Corporation certification.
This year’s B Impact teams worked with companies from a wide variety of industries:
– iclotet: manufacturing internal transport lines for intralogistics.
– Both: creating content and experiences to connect people as a communications agency.
– Brava Fabrics: committed to fairness and transparency along the entire fashion supply chain. Brava Fabrics was originally assessed in 2020 and wanted to know how they had improved with the implementation of the improvement plan.
– Baula: developing cleaning products that are ecological and sustainable
– Optimal Therapies: a company that offers a comprehensive service so that insurance companies can offer their patients quality treatments at reasonable prices.
According to Chritsopher and Gala, from networking opportunities to personal growth, the experience was well worth it.
The B Impact team provides every student new insights on one of the big players in sustainability: certification for companies,” they say. “It is also a great chance to make new connections with fellow students and industry partners -- and an added value for your CV.”
You can learn about the experience of the B Impact companies here.
