We’ve re-certified as a B Corp!

This post is part of a series where our co-founder Steven Korner will be talking about a range of topics – from design, to what it’s like to engineer a product in the sustainability space.

Method has successfully recertified as a B Corporation!

People across the business have been working on the certification over the past year, from re-completing the Business Impact Assessment, completing the submission and providing the evidence.

The efforts have paid off and Method recertified at 119.8 points, over 26 points up since our first certification 3 years ago. While it's not all about a score, this is a great sign to me that we’re moving in the right direction and incorporating B Corp values in our organisation. Not to mention, it’s a huge amount of work and an accomplishment for the team and the business.

It was a no-brainer that we were going to recertify, being a part of the B Corp community for the past 3 years has been hugely beneficial. We have connected with so many new organisations, asked the question ‘what should a B Corp do’ when making decisions and been recognised in the “Best for the world” honours two years in a row.

Our Marketing Manager, Lee Bright, has even taken up the role of a B Local leader in Wellington organising events for current and aspiring B Corps in Wellington alongside Clare from Springload Te Pipītanga.

Next month, they’re hosting a public/private panel event on Better Business Wellington, how values-led businesses can continue.

What is B Corp Certification?

The B Corp Certification is a holistic assessment of your business across 5 key impact areas - Governance, Environment, Customers, Workers and Community. The application process is intensive, requiring people across the business to assess and evidence our progress on our business model and information about your operations, structure, and various work processes

How has our business changed in the past 3 years?

While the past three years have posed some unique challenges, Method has continued to double down on what makes us tick. If I were to pick three;

1. Speaking with our customers about their waste struggles and designing solutions to solve them

We keep our offering tight, we want to be the best at what we do - not everything there is to do. This means that we have a good understanding of our audience and designing solutions that have the greatest impact.

In the past 3 years, we launched a 20L bin to help enable consistent recycling practices in smaller shared spaces. Our signage solutions and adaptability of our core bin range have been revised consistently thanks to our amazing Head of Operations @Mark Humphris. Last but certainly not least, we’re launching a data solution in just two weeks that will change the game for organisations trying to achieve the highest level of waste achievement. (Watch this space on the 13th of March)

2. Consistently improving the design, materials and end-of-life of our products

At the heart of it all, we are a product design company, so this is a going focus for the team, here are just a few of the improvements we have made:

• With the launch of the Method Twenty, we were able to take all of our learnings and increase the recycled materials to 80% and maintain recyclability.
• We have just successfully completed our first recycling programs in Australia and the UK with end-of-life stock ensuring our materials are entering products with circular programs.
• Ongoing revisions of our packaging for all products to improve recyclability and to reduce potential damage in transit
• We have just committed to paying for the return of end-of-life stock in each of our markets to enter our product stewardship scheme.

For those not aware, our product stewardship scheme takes bins that are still usable, refurbishes them, and donates them to local charities, not-for-profits, or schools. Recently, through the Good Caps Program, we just donated refurbished stations to three schools in Hawkes Bay - for collecting lids that feed into the materials for our bins.

3. And, letting the passions of our team drive us forward and better

As a founder no matter how hard I try, I can’t do everything. Method is fortunate to have a team of passionate and dedicated people that care about what they do and each other in every team.

It’s this passion and drive that has helped get Method where it is today. Our sustainability team, in particular, work to improve the impact of Method in addition to their roles.

What are we focusing on for the next 3 years?

1. Our longest-standing employee, Josephine Rawstorne, has returned from maternity leave moving into a more Sustainability focused role and helping us leverage the opportunity to reduce waste that our new product offers us. She will be consulting with our customers on reducing waste and starting a formal program of work for our sustainability strategy. She is a highly knowledgeable sustainability professional and we’re lucky to have her back.
2. As Method is back to a growth phase, we’re looking at our remote teams and how we can best support them and ensure they continue the Method culture.
3. We’re continuing our carbon journey - this is a huge one, we’ve been measuring our impact internally but we’re ready to start taking the next step in a formal process.

Thank you for your ongoing support of Method, we’re excited for the launch of our new data solution and many more things to come.

Profile: Steven Korner

Steven Korner graduated from the University of Canterbury with first-class honours in Mechanical Engineering.

After leading the neonatal care product design team at Fisher and Paykel, and inspired by buying Total Bins, he and his wife India decided to create their own company and their own product.

Steven took an analytical approach with Method – spending weeks researching, prototyping, and gaining customer insights to decipher what could really make a difference in the waste market.

As co-founder and CEO, he has spearheaded Method’s innovative product research, development and design, and is the creator of Method’s award-winning 60L Office Recycling Bin.

Any questions? Get in touch here.