Cambridge & Counties Bank achieves rare B Corp certification for a UK bank

Cambridge & Counties Bank has achieved B Corp Certification, one of the most comprehensive and prestigious independent assessments that a business is meeting high standards of verified performance, accountability, and transparency.

Cambridge & Counties Bank becomes one of the very few banks in the UK to become a Certified B Corporation. The assessment is run by B Lab UK, a non-profit network.

In order to be certified, a company must demonstrate high social and environmental performance by achieving a B Impact Assessment score of 80 or above and passing an in-depth risk review. Cambridge & Counties Bank itself scored 92.8, outperforming the banking sector on its impact on the environment, customers, and its people.

As a Certified B Corporation, Cambridge & Counties Bank has adopted specific wording into its Articles of Association to reflect a commitment to creating a material positive impact on society and the environment and to consider the impact of its decisions on all of its stakeholders, including employees and suppliers.

B Corp Certification status supports the bank’s long established ESG programme. For the third year running in 2022, for instance, it was independently accredited as Carbon Neutral Plus. It also met a pledge to increase women in senior management, with 32 per cent female representation at the end of 2022 and a target of 40 per cent by 2025.

Donald Kerr, chief executive officer at Cambridge & Counties Bank said: “As a B Corp, we’re counted among businesses that are leading a global movement for an inclusive, equitable, and regenerative economy.

“We see it as recognition of who we are and what we have strived to achieve as a bank supporting the UK SME sector, and that as we grow, we do so in a way that is sustainable and has a positive impact on the world around us.”

By Mark Adair – Correspondent, Bdaily