Leadership Letter
01 INTRODUCTION
01 INTRODUCTION
The past year has been truly exciting for us, and I'm sincerely grateful to B Corp for opening up opportunities for us to learn, gain inspiration, educate ourselves, and challenge our limits. Most importantly, it has enabled us to take meaningful actions and transform into a business that's a force for good.
We had so much positive feedback on becoming a B Corp, not only from our clients, but from our suppliers, friends, family and other B corps. Suddenly our inboxes were full of emails from people and businesses that we didn’t know, welcoming us to the community. All of this helped foster a positive company culture towards B Corp.
We’re now actively incorporating improvement of the B Corp areas into our business strategy and future goals. However, this transformation did not occur overnight; it’s taken us the past year to really solidify our thinking in this direction. After our certification, we were bursting with great intentions and ideas, which at times felt overwhelming and made it difficult to focus on our priorities. Our year has been full of distractions; we saw the cost of living crisis impacting health and wellbeing, the wider adoption of AI changing the creative landscape and the way we work in terms of our people and environment doing a 180º.
So that's why our whole team educated themselves on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to help us refine our focus and determine how we can make the most significant impact as a business. We involved the entire SF team in selecting the SDGs they are most passionate about, resulting in three specific goals that are now driving our business decisions and strategy. And we've established a dedicated B Corp Action team to implement our SDG goals. We’re genuinely excited about our ambition to create achievable goals and make a meaningful impact in these areas.
Additionally, this year we've committed to initiatives like Clean Creatives, Design Declares and the Menopause Pledge, which I'm proud to support this year. These initiatives provide valuable guidance through shared information and value-driven decision-making. One of our ongoing challenges is increasing the number of female designers in our business and encouraging their participation in our industry as a whole. As our team has grown this year, this challenge has become even more apparent. By openly articulating our commitments, we hope to initiate positive change.
I genuinely see a clearer direction for SF’s future impact and know that we have the people and the desire to drive forward small but significant differences for people and the planet.
We look forward to sharing them with you.
Bryony
We look forward to sharing them with you.
Bryony
02 the journey
Our journey
to
becoming
a
B Corp
At the back end of 2022, we reached the end of a year-long journey: Something Familiar became a B Corporation.
watch: the sf Journey to b corp certification
At the back end of 2022, we reached the end of a year-long journey: Something Familiar became a B Corporation.
Why did we choose to do this?
Our vision is to redefine what it means to be an agency. To create a positive space where open, honest relationships come before anything else. Where change is inspired by creativity. And where every single decision is made consciously.
Being a B Corp shows that we’ve been independently verified against a series of benchmarks. It’s the only certification that measures a company’s entire social and environmental performance.
It’s a way for a business like us to turn our commitment to growing the business sustainably, into a framework which supports, encourages and celebrates our progress.
It’s something real and tangible that shows Something Familiar stands for business beyond the usual.
We’re here to support our team, our clients and the planet. And we’re always looking for ways to do that as effectively as possible. To us, that looks like making conscious decisions in ways that have been properly considered. Our culture is underpinned by transparency, because it inspires trust. Which is essential. What’s more, we’re mindful of well-being of every kind, because our people are our priority. After all, we couldn’t do any of this without them.
The impact on our business
Becoming certified was validation that our values were in the right place and that our vision to redefine what it meant to be an agency was on its way. It’s great that now we know where we’re heading, everyone is excited to be involved and has their part to play.
We had so much positive feedback, not only from our clients, but from our suppliers, friends, family and other B corps. We’ve been inspired by the community and loved finding ways to collaborate. If we're not doing something, someone else is doing it and we love to be challenged!
With this framework in place, we‘re optimistic about the future and we feel good about saying that we’re working towards making a positive impact. B Corp has made us be introspective as a business, so that we celebrate our successes, learn from our challenges and motivate ourselves for more.
What we did in 2023What we did in 2023What we did in 2023What we did in 2023
What we did in 2023What we did in 2023What we did in 2023What we did in 2023
Development
Supporting Ripple Africa beyond tree planting and forest conservation, to offset our carbon, is something we're incredibly proud of.
Transparency
Seeing things clearly: Improved onboarding, clarity on contract wording and new feedback initiatives for all stakeholders (like directors’ 360º feedback and satisfaction surveys).
Training
Inspiring ourselves: Annual SkillShare membership and £500 towards training including ongoing support from external mentors, attending design conferences and webinars.
Time-out
Looking back: We introduced weekly 1-2-1s and ‘Beer of the Month’ sessions which are a team exercise in reflection and gratitude. The directors also began organising quarterly away days.
Values
Positive moves: We formed a B Corp Action Team and made B Corp training mandatory, reviewed our flexible working policy, moved to green hosting, revamped our welcome handbook, trialled summer hours and talked about mental health.
Partnerships
Getting involved: We joined WECA Good Employment Charter and took the Clean Creative pledge. We collaborated and bigged up Bristol B Corps with a fun light projection!
Money
Growing sustainably: We increased our revenue by 60%. We moved pensions to NEST to include socially-responsible investing and awarded yearly bonuses.
people
New friends: We wrote job ads using gender-bias software, employed people of varied ages, including 6 new hires (now 3 female managers) and we introduced a cycle-to-work scheme.
Mission
Giving Back: Christmas appeals, introduced a 10% charity discount, donated 1% of our revenue to 1% for the Planet and offset carbon with Ripple Africa.
Reputation
Empowering clients: Worked with purpose-driven clients to elevate their marketing, achieved a 5* NPR score and incorporated regular feedback sessions.
04 our B cORP SCORE
0.3
Governance
0.2- Mission & Engagement0.7
- Mission Locked10
- Ethics & Transparency4.5
Workers
0.8- Financial Security7.7
- Career Development4.1
- Engagement & Satisfaction3.3
- Health, Wellness & Safety4.0
- Career Development0.5
- Engagement & Satisfaction (Salaried)1.5
Community
0.2- Diversity, Equity & Inclusion2.5
- Civic Engagement & Giving4.8
- Economic Impact12.1
- Supply Chain Management0.5
Environment
0.9- Environmental Management3.2
- Water0
- Air & Climate1.5
- Land & Life2.5
Customers
0.3- Customer Stewardship0.9
- Support for Underserved / Purpose Driven Enterprises6.4
06 goals & objectives
SDG 5: Gender Equality
Patriarchal structures and institutionalised oppression in society, lead to disproportionate poverty, lower income and unequal access to resources for women, LBTQI and gender nonconforming individuals.
Our Strategy
This initiative empowers women, LBTQI and gender nonconforming individuals, supports care investment, promotes leadership, funds organisations, and addresses health issues. It prioritises diversity through transparent processes and inclusive practices.
Our Goals
Being female-led we feel strongly about raising awareness and making improvements for women, LGBTQI and and gender nonconforming people.
Empowerment:
- Invest in care and flexible working arrangements
- Promote women’s leadership and gender equality through partnerships
- Fund women’s organisations
- Female-focused placements
- Mentorship in women-focused groups
Health and Wellbeing:
- Support menopause awareness and training
- Menstruation sick days
- Additional benefits for pregnant workers
- Tailored parental leave
- Employee input and happiness surveys
Diversity and Inclusion:
- Transparent promotions and communications
- Publicise gender discrimination policy
- Gender discrimination training for new hires
- Diversify suppliers and team
- Diversity training
SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities within and among countries
In our interconnected world, global challenges like poverty, climate change, and discrimination transcend borders, impacting everyone regardless of nationality or location.
Our Strategy
Committed to local and global impact, this initiative involves collaboration with other B Corps for worldwide influence, and locally supporting causes related to reducing inequalities, fostering equity and sustainability.
Our Goals
We want to help unite an increasingly polarised world in any way that we can.
WHAT WE AIM TO DO:
- Decrease high to low pay ratio
- Collaborate with other B Corps for global impact
- Continue to carbon offset to help the people of Malawi
- Pro bono work and volunteering: for causes related to reducing inequality, like food poverty.
SDG 13: Climate Action
Climate change is a real and undeniable threat. The effects are already visible and will be catastrophic unless we act now. Urgent action, education, and innovation are crucial.
Our Strategy
With a targeted Climate Action Plan and looking at a multi-faceted approach, this initiative aims for a tangible impact to foster a more sustainable and resilient future for our planet.
Our Goals
We can make necessary changes to protect the planet, everyday.
Action that we can take, now:
- Create a SF Climate Action Plan
- Set targets for reducing carbon footprint
- Employee engagement programs
- Incentives for environmentally-friendly commuting
- Clean up events
- Educate how to be a sustainable business
06 goals & objectives
Looking Forward
Our B Corp target
when we recertify
in 2025 is: 100
Thanks to our
clients
friends
partners
and SF team
for
joining
US ON
our journey
You’re the best.
Getting B Corp certified has given us the chance to learn, get inspired, educate ourselves, and challenge our limits. Ultimately, it's allowed us to make real changes and become a business that's a force for good. But it goes without saying that we couldn’t do it without you!
Check out our 2023 showreel below: