Marylebone-Based Wilful Group Attains B Corp Certification

The Wilful Group, the communications agency for positive changemakers today announces a group-wide B Corp certification, further driving its mission to accelerate purposeful innovation with powerful communications.

Supporting clients in climate and energy, FMCG and lifestyle, digital and tech, health, finance and infrastructure and talent and education, The Wilful Group comprises agency brands Cherish PR, Gong Communications and Wilful, each of which certify alongside the parent company. Gong was the 13th company to certify as a B Corp in 2017, then recertifying in 2021.

The group-wide certification achieved an impressive Impact Score of 97.0, boosted by the Group’s outstanding performance for its impact on its people.

Wilful’s commitment to the London Living Wage for its internship and young starters programmes, healthcare and dental provision, health counselling and assistance, internal promotions and bonus provision were all recognised in the impact assessment.

In addition, flexible working practices such as hybrid and remote working, job sharing, and transition opportunities were particularly noted. Finally, the company’s financial transparency, social and environmental performance also scored highly.

Rebecca Oatley who co-founded The Wilful Group with Narda Shirley says: “Despite merging two distinct company cultures and facing a challenging economic environment, we have committed to our B Corp certification as a roadmap for our mission to drive positive change. Organisations may shrink and grow but as a service business, our priority has always been our people. We have placed our team’s well-being over shareholder returns but in doing so have created even better results and experiences for our clients and partners. We have managed the business to avoid redundancies and enable promotions and pay rises. For us, as a B Corp, this was not the right thing to do, it was the only thing to do.

“This is a period of disruption that will enable these new shareholder mindsets to thrive”, she continues.

Additionally, the Group created a B Corp e-learning platform, B Corp 101, developed in collaboration with B Lab Europe and Danone. B Corp 101 is designed to engage and inspire potential B Corps, current B Corps and employees around the B Corp certification.

Alongside its certification, The Wilful Group has also recently published its 2023 Impact Report, a B Corp requirement that serves as a business performance barometer. The report outlines the company’s initiatives to reduce its carbon footprint and includes plans to help decarbonise the PR sector.

For more information, access to The Wilful Group’s 2024 Impact Report, or to explore the B Corp e-learning platform, please visit www.thewilful.com.