鈥淓very practice always needs to be doing new business planning, looking ahead at new and potential projects,鈥� states Judith Topley, Director at .
鈥淚f you go for a bid it costs money and time. So ultimately it is not worth chasing work that is not aligned with what you want to achieve.鈥�
Measuring is key to assessing your impact
For Topley, ethical issues are practical business issues. They are all part of ensuring her practice is heading in the direction that its staff are comfortable with. Morris+Company have adopted several ways of turning its principles into formal commitments.
鈥淚n 2019 we set up a spreadsheet that directly measures project performance against practice values,鈥� she explains. 鈥淲e wanted to directly measure our internal progress on social value. It鈥檚 part of assessing new business; deciding what to do next.鈥�
At the end of each project, it would be assessed in the spreadsheet. What social value has the project achieved? Has it brought about ecological harm? Do we want to work with that client again?
鈥淚t is a tracker for 鈥榳hat good looks like,' a way for us to define what a good project or good client really is,鈥� she continues. 鈥淲here does potential new work score on those issues?鈥�
While the management of that spreadsheet rests with the new business team, the practice also engages in staff feedback because they want to understand their staff鈥檚 experience with projects and clients. This feedback extends to how the practice itself did, asking questions such as "how well did we manage the wider project team?" And "how well was the project managed internally?"
鈥淲e want to foster a sense of purpose, to work on projects that align with our key values,鈥� Topley states. 鈥淏ecoming a B Corporation seemed like the next logical step.鈥�
A growing interest in the B Corp model
is increasingly popular in the UK. It can broadly be summarised by its defining slogan: business as a force for good. Companies receive verification if they meet high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability, and they must be able to formally evidence these.
Morris + Company are currently working towards that goal.
鈥淲e are not yet certified,鈥� Topley explains. 鈥淲e have carried out a BIA 鈥� a B Corp impact assessment, which scores a business based on 200 questions. A business must score at least 80.鈥�
B Corporations do not have to be non-profit businesses, but they have to balance profit and purpose and make this part of their legal corporate governance structure. The US-based , which created the standard and the tools for assessment, currently lists 18 UK businesses defined as architects, including some well known names such as and .
鈥淲e are using it as a way of improving our practice鈥檚 impact on the wider world. Even if you had no intention of becoming B Corp certified, the Impact Assessment is an excellent tool to assess your position.鈥�
The five pillars of impact assessment
Many businesses use it as a measurement tool: it is on the B Corp website. There are five pillars:
- Governance
- Workers
- Community
- Customers
- Environment
鈥�We took these pillars and set our practice objectives for 2022 against them,鈥� explains Topley.
The practice sees this as a project for the whole team and has set up working groups for finance, HR, environment, sustainability, directors, and governance.
Topley reassures practices that the B Corp community provides supportive resources. The B Corp Handbook breaks down the impact assessment into 鈥榪uick assessments鈥�.
鈥淚t contains prompts, suggestions and challenges, asking if you have considered a policy of X or strategy of Y. These generate ideas and set in motion trains of thought, such us carrying out more staff consultation, or employee surveys on diversity.鈥�
Accreditations are useful business tools
Accreditation to for its quality management system and for its environmental management system are seen as complementary to the practice鈥檚 B Corp ambitions, as well as being useful business tools. And the practice already has accreditation, which recognises continuous improvement in sustainability and comes with its own methodology for strengthening environmental, social, and governance (ESG) strategies.
鈥淲e believe it is important to contribute to the local community. We have worked with , a Hackney-based community education enterprise who bring volunteers from business into local schools. The schoolchildren we volunteer with will be able to walk past our window and see things they have worked on, with an explanation of who we are and what they did.鈥�
鈥淯ltimately, it is about aligning everything we do as a practice. We sense that architects generally want to make a difference beyond the projects. People鈥檚 motivations are not just financial; that is not why you go into architecture. There is a richness there.鈥�
Thanks to Judith Topley, Director, Morris+Company.
Text by Matt Milton and Neal Morris. This is a Professional Feature edited by the 澳门王中王 Practice team. Send us your feedback and ideas.
澳门王中王 Core Curriculum topic: Architecture for social purpose
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Updated 9 September 2022
