As of July 2023, Country & Town House is delighted to announce that it is a B Corp™
Certified B Corporations are a new kind of business that balances purpose and profit. By changing their Articles of Association, they are legally required to consider the impact of their decisions on their workers, customers, suppliers, community, and the environment; and meet high standards of social and environmental impact.
As the highest scoring B Corp™ in the UK media industry and the first glossy magazine in the world to certify, Country & Town House is counted among businesses that are leading a global movement for an inclusive, equitable, and regenerative economy.
With a B Impact Assessment (BIA) score of 92.3, underscoring its dedication to creating a positive impact on the environment and society, Country & Town House is integrating sustainable practices across all levels of its operations and leading by example in the pursuit of a more sustainable and regenerative future through its editorial ethos.
‘As for so many others, it was really during the pandemic that we were actually able to step back and really assess what we wanted the business we started back in 2007 to be,’ says co-founder and editorial director Lucy Cleland. ‘We were given an opportunity in this strange time, warped by such an unfathomable experience, to ask ourselves what we could do better – for us, our stakeholders and the planet at large.’
‘I had also been suffering from what I now understand to be ecophobia – a fear of the collapse as the world as we know it due to the impacts of climate change, loss of biodiversity, destruction of our natural resources, droughts, flooding, food scarcity, overpopulation – you name it, I thought it. Well, what to do exactly?
‘The only answer was – and remains – to take action. To use that anxious energy and convert it into something purposeful and, hopefully, impactful. This is when we decided unanimously as a business – with the blessing of our shareholders – to try to become B Corp™ certified, as it provides the most holistic and in-depth process by which to rigorously assess our business and make it fit for purpose in a world that demands better standards for people and the planet.
‘It took us a long time to work through the incredibly in-depth assessment that looks at five impact areas – governance, community, environment, customers and workers – so we called upon the wonderful Greenheart Consulting to help, encourage and educate us.
From assessing our carbon footprint, to ensuring that all our policies are fair and equitable, going over and above basic requirements, to identifying our biggest impact areas through a materiality assessment, we began to feel far more confident about the process as we proceeded. Now, I can look at the assessment with excitement and comprehension rather than fear and exhaustion.’
And even though C&TH is now accredited with a score to be proud of, it feels that its journey has only just begun.
The mission now at Country & Town House is to make sustainability effortless and to become a trusted media platform for promoting it in every way possible – in how people shop; what they buy; how they travel; where they travel to; what and how they eat; how they look after themselves.
C&TH wants to celebrate the brands that are working hard to change their own impact, looking at materials and supply chains, creating products that are beautiful and that last.
C&TH wants to let its audience know about the companies that have the lowest carbon impact on travel but the highest enjoyment of it. C&TH wants to shout about hotels with sustainability in their DNA; fashion brands that think about circularity and are reckoning with their industry’s adverse impact on the environment and workers; and the designers who are creating sustainable solutions for all our lifestyle needs.
C&TH wants to tell the stories of pioneers who are leading the way to a way of being that gives back and doesn’t take, take, take.
As a business, Country & Town House is going to make mistakes, and not get it right the whole time. It has been just as complicit in a way of operating that encourages the buying and making of too much stuff and taking up too much resource and energy. And it has a lot of historic content that is driven by encouraging excess consumerism.
But by following the mantras of buying less but buying better and offering alternatives; eating locally, eating seasonally; travelling with a lighter footprint and a more conscious mindset; investing money and love in crafts and products that will last, and not falling for trends that keep us in a relentless consumer cycle, C&TH can feel a part of creating its own (better) future. It will be reviewing its editorial guidelines on an annual basis and will always aim to include the most sustainable options first.
The last thing C&TH wants to do is belittle, discourage, hector, harass either its brand partners or its readers – there’s no quicker turn off. It intends instead to inspire as it has always done with beauty, passion, ideas, information and intelligence – and to continue to gather its own knowledge along the way.
Country & Town House is funded through advertising and brand partnerships and has a responsibility towards our partners as stakeholders in our business. It abides by its ethical marketing policy. It also understands that businesses are at different stages of their journeys to becoming more sustainable and each company will take different approaches within their industries – it can be complicated and nuanced. C&TH believes all businesses will eventually have to change and will always advocate for better practice.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email [email protected]
