Our Journey Into Becoming A B Corp And What This Meant For Us

Posted by Samantha Nice, Feb 28, 2023

Our Journey Into Becoming A B Corp And What This Meant For Us

“Our mission is to supercharge wellbeing… not only of our communities but of our planet too. We want to leave both in a better place.” - Nicola Elliott. founder

 

We’re officially a B Corp! It’s been nearly two years in the making, but we’re massively proud to announce that we’ve become a certified B Corp company, alongside 5000+ other certified global companies. We’ve joined a worldwide movement of companies going beyond ‘business as usual’ to make their mark on the world. Our mission is to supercharge wellbeing, not only of our communities but our planet, too. We want to leave both in a better place and so this seal of approval means everything to us as we keep-on-keeping-on with those small, sustainable steps that make a big difference EVERY. SINGLE. DAY! So how do you become a B Corp and what does it mean for NEOM and our brilliant, ever-growing customer community?

 

What Is A B Corp?

B Corp stands for Beneficial Corporations, which means businesses that act in ways to do good for all. To become a B Corp, a company has to be verified by B Lab, a non-profit network at the forefront of transforming the global business network to lead sustainable economic change. Companies have to undertake a rigorous assessment that digs deep into your business to ensure you’re meeting the highest standards in social and environmental performance, accountability and transparency – no mean feat! Out of a total score of 200, to have a chance of being assessed a company must score 80 and we feel seriously proud that NEOM scored 88 points.


 

Our Mission

Our aim to be a planet-friendly, ‘people first’ force for good has been part of our DNA since NEOM started in 2005. Our products have always been made from 100% natural fragrances and natural or naturally-derived ingredients, carefully sourced from an ethical supply chain and made in the UK. We’ve worked continuously to innovate our packaging by using minimal plastics and recycled materials, while all the time maintaining NEOM’s reputation for everyday feel-good luxury.

 

Being Planet-Friendly

As a Certified B Corp we continue to make conscious and informed decisions around our sourcing. Using sustainable natural ingredients and organic materials means we have a focus on biodiversity and traceability of our supply chain. For example, we’ve reformulated over 30% of our Essential Oil Blends to remove Brazilian Rosewood and Guaiac Wood, to protect the survival of endangered species and replenish the earth's natural resources. ‌

We also track our emissions… we’ve now achieved carbon neutrality for our scope 1 and 2 emissions up until 2021 (the emissions directly controlled or owned by a company) and we’re on the journey to achieve the final scope 3, which is ALL the indirect emissions on our company supply chain! All our retail stores run on 100% renewable electricity, with a company-wide recovery and recycling program across all our sites.

 

Our Packaging

We’re committed to choosing sustainable ingredients and making all of our products reusable, refillable, recyclable or compostable. From reducing packaging where we can, to using aluminium and glass over plastic, we’re continuously taking small steps to make more conscious decisions. Our secondary packaging is 100% recyclable and any paper we use is sourced from sustainable forests. We use paper tape and all our order shipper boxes are 100% recyclable too.

 

Our People & Communities

People are at the heart of NEOM. We use our voice, our leadership and our natural products to improve the wellbeing of our communities. From creating products with purpose, to genuine wellbeing support and advice from our brilliant mental health and wellbeing experts, we’re on a mission to support as many people as we can through our social media channels. That’s also down to YOU… our fantastic community empowering each other with wellbeing advice and building a supportive, friendly network. You can join our Facebook Wellbeing Club here or follow us on Instagram and TikTok.

 

A Force For Good

Being a Certified B Corp means doing good wherever we can. In 2022 we raised and donated over £35,000 to our charity partnership the Mental Health Foundation. We’ve created virtual festivals, raised money from our limited-edition charity candle, climbed mountains (quite literally), lifted furniture at the local charity shop, de-weeded and prepped local wildflower parks, picked litter on the Thames, planted trees and even had a morning at a care home giving NEOM hand massages! We’ve also donated over 20,000 NEOM products to NHS hospitals and other sites, Ukraine Aid and Toiletries Amnesty.

 

Our People Come First

Being a B Corp is also about about balancing profit with people and the planet. Our culture is honest, respectful and kind and we strive to always have a positive impact on our 123 strong workforce’s wellbeing. We’ve joined over 12,000 accredited businesses to be a Living Wage Employer (,an independently calculated rate to make sure our wages can meet the cost of living) as well as having Mental Health support plans in place and four wellbeing days available for our team each year taken whenever they need it most. We were mega chuffed to be finalists for the 2022 "This Can Happen Awards for Best New Approach to Mental Health" and will continue this journey by training up 12 mental health allies across our team this year.