Awareness around the impact of the climate crisis – and the actions urgently needed to reduce emissions – is growing by the day. Brands and companies are getting serious about sustainability, and a surefire way of demonstrating a real commitment to ethical practices is to pursue a B Corp certification. In April, it was announced that there are now 2,000 certified B Corporations in the UK, with the purposeful business movement doubling in size here in just 18 months. Across 95 countries, more than 8,000 have made the B Corp grade to date.
Climate action, circular practices, diversity and fair wages are all key elements of achieving the certification. When your company makes art supplies and paint, which typically contains potentially harmful chemicals, making manufacturing processes sustainable to meet B Corp requirements is particularly challenging. Despite this, Colart, the parent company of heritage paint purveyor Winsor & Newton as well as art supply brands Lefranc Bourgeois, Liquitex, Conté à Paris and Charbonnel, has become the first art company to achieve the certification, thanks to effective changes to their practices that reduce environmental impact.
