Achieving B Corp status earlier this year is a significant milestone for Little Red Rooster, and one we worked hard to achieve. As some of you may know, it’s incredibly rare for a service-based company such as PR to achieve this status – we don’t have a manufacturing process or a shipping policy and so forth where we can make an obvious difference. Instead, we promise to simply always do what we can, no matter how big or small – whether it’s the recyclable packaging we ship all samples out to press in or the plethora of benefits we offer our team.
Earlier this week, our CEO, Victoria Ruffy, was invited to speak on a very special panel discussion as part of the prestigious London Design Festival, in support of our sponsorship of Green Grads UK – a programme established by the one and only Barbara Chandler to support the next generation of creators and designers who are looking to make a difference through eco-friendly and sustainable designs.
Held at the prestigious Heal’s Building in London, Green Grads participants were invited to take over the entire third floor and use the space to display what it means to be an eco-designer, from crocheted water filtration devices to wind powered coffee grinders, as well as hosting the panel discussion itself.
Heal’s department store, London
The panel was formed of LRR CEO Victoria, Barbara Chandler, Ben Cross, development director at General Projects (landlord of Heal’s), Simon Terry, Co-owner at Anglepoise and Harry Engels, the marketing director at Naturalmat.
Each brand has its own unique journey to becoming B Corp and we first heard from Ben Cross about what it means to General Projects and its ongoing renovations of the Heal’s building, “Keeping the integrity of the building while undergoing renovations is our main B Corp mission. An existing building is far more sustainable than a new one.”
Vic summed up our approach to our B Corp status succinctly: “Fairtrade to grocery brands is what B Corp is to us.” This really sums up exactly how important the certification is for us, especially as a service-based company. Harry from Naturalmat completely agreed,, and highlighted the finer details that Naturalmat pays attention to throughout all manufacturing processes, from sourcing materials to making an effort to cut down on water and energy consumption.
Naturalmat Exmouth Bed
The co-founder of Anglepoise, Simon, who is in fact the fifth generation of the Terry family to run the company, expressed how important the lifecycle of products was to him and that each product the brand produces has a roadmap of 250 years. “Most brands struggle to look five years into the future, but I find it just as easy to look ahead 250 years. Five years is simply not good enough.”
Anglepoise Mini Desk Lamp
The conversation concluded with Ben noting how B Corp brings people together, both brands and individuals – and, well, we wouldn’t have all been there this week if it weren’t for B Corp! Throughout the discussion, we learnt the importance of B Corp for both us and other likeminded brands, plus understood the journey to become B Corp for two other completely different brands, outside the region of PR.
We continue to support Green Grads and its mission to provide opportunities to creative graduates, and we look forward to the next panel discussion taking place and seeing what the future holds for these talented designers.
