BFTW 2019 Community: Underground Communications

Underground Communications shares the positive social impact stories of companies doing great things. They’re a PR and communications agency providing strategic advice and implementation of effective communication strategies to organisations that want to make a change in the world. We speak with Underground Communication’s founder Karen Porter, to learn more.

1. What makes your company Best For The World?We are working towards a return to community values where companies, society and individuals come together for the better. By choosing to work with companies that have, or would like to have, a positive social impact and sharing their stories we are helping to effect a change for good and enable collaboration towards a better future

2. What makes you stand out from other companies?Our communications agency was founded on ethical values and with a view to having a positive social impact through our work. For us to achieve our mission we need to work collaboratively with clients who are innovating. This means that we also need to innovate. Our focus on positive social impact is what makes us stand out in our industry and connects us with clients based on a common goal to improve the world. Applying for B Corp certification allowed us to refine and improve processes that we already had around flexibility and our focus on business for good. And, during this time we have restructured into a truly collaborative team across all areas of the business, completely moving away from the traditional top-down organisation structure of the industry. Being acknowledged by B Lab for our efforts and awarding us Best For The World in Community is a true recognition of our values and will really help to cement our values and connect with organisations that value what we offer. 3. How do you plan to celebrate?We celebrate each quarter as a team, but this quarter will be an extra special celebration. Luckily we have an awesome B Corp close by that serves some of the best beer in the world (4 Pines Brewery), which seems like a fitting place to recognise this awesome achievement

4. Part of being “Best for the World” is striving to always use your business as a force for good. What initiatives do you have planned for the coming year to continue to be Best for the World?We’ve already learned so much about how to be a better business for good and are always looking for new systems and processes to implement that will improve our client service offering. Over the past few months we have been actively involved in the formation of the B Local Sydney chapter and hope to formalise that involvement with a leadership position within the local community so that we can help to share the benefits and values of being a certified B Corp to the wider business community.

5. What advice do you have for other B Corps and purpose-led businesses that want to improve their impact?A fantastic way to start improving impact is to connect with other certified B Corps, share ideas, collaborate and look for ways to work together on projects that have a positive social impact. The B Local Community closest to you is a great place to start. This is also a way to learn from other companies that are further along in the journey than you, as well as sharing your knowledge with those that are new to the community.