Think back a decade, or more. Trust in business was at rock bottom and businesses were perceived to be prospering at the expense of the broader community, with many corporate social responsibility efforts failing to effect meaningful change.
B Lab’s Founders, among others, including Michael Porter and Mark Kramer who published their seminal article ‘Creating Shared Value’ in the Harvard Business Review 2011, sparked important conversations redefining the role of business around a simple but significant idea: the interdependence of company success and social progress.
We are all interdependent
It’s more important than ever to recognise that we are all interdependent and thus responsible for each other and future generations. B Corps, more than most, are doing the hard work to create a more inclusive, equitable, and regenerative economic system for all. And that means keeping people and planet in both heart and mind with everything they do.
Selling a select range of stylishly minimal furniture with a focus on customer service, Australian-based B Corp Koala lives – not up a tree – but online, which is one of the ways they’re helping to keep their environmental footprint small and their impact big.
With sustainability ingrained in its DNA, as they grow, so too does their purpose and ongoing commitment to making the world a better place for endangered local animals like their marsupial namesake.
Here to take us Behind The B and share how businesses can have large scale impact for people and planet through a shared value approach is Koala’s Sustainability and Thrivability Manager, Hannah Franklin.
Image: Koala
A company with purpose and innovation at its core
Koala was created with a vision to challenge how people buy furniture. Our end goal is to provide brilliant and thoughtfully designed furniture that customers will love and keep – while continuously striving to leave the world in a better nick than when we found it.
To deliver on that promise, we’ve had to overhaul the industry’s nastiest practices, like overpricing, showrooms, and fast furniture, and replace them with sustainable, ethical, and hassle-free solutions that are just one click away. On a mission to eliminate the choice between affordability and sustainability for consumers, we are committed to sourcing FSC-certified timber for bed frames, cork for sofas, BSCI cotton and TENCEL for sheets, among other things.
We are also passionate about improving habitats for endangered wildlife and have been supporting WWF-Australia since 2017. And we are constantly looking for ways to minimise consumption by creating long-lasting, sustainably-made and consciously-designed products that reduce environmental impacts.
With purpose and innovation at our core – we do things differently; from disrupting the furniture industry to enabling our customers to have a positive impact on our habitats – both inside and outside.
Image: Koala
Reducing impact throughout the supply chain
From our impact mapping, we know that the largest negative environmental impacts are likely to occur at the start of the value chain, during production and manufacturing. We know that by creating anything, any product, we are likely to have an impact on the planet, and so we strive to reduce this impact by applying circular economy principles across our product range.
This means a constant balance between profit and purpose. It’s about creating shared value on both sides, and unleashing the power of purchase to drive positive environmental outcomes.
To that end, we donate a percentage of every mattress, sofa and sofa bed sale to causes we care about, providing long-term support to threatened species. To date, Koala has proudly donated over $2M to WWF-Australia, with plans to expand that even further as our shared value model becomes more easily adaptable and scalable into other markets.
The buck doesn’t just stop at the top
Our CEO Mitch Taylor loves to encourage other businesses to adapt our business impact model, saying that: “we’re creating a business model that values environmental and social capital for others to follow in our industry and beyond. This commitment to ensuring Koala socially, economically and environmentally contributes to a thriving planet is an indelible part of our business’ DNA.”
Though, as a B Corp, it’s important to us that we align all team members across the business, no matter their position, and encourage them to think, reflect and implement new initiatives that can positively contribute to people, community and planet. The buck doesn’t just stop at the top.
A recent example of this — in trying to improve our Lighthouse score, which measures the accessibility of a website — our Tech Team enhanced the design of our website not only to make it more usable from a customer experience perspective, but to make it more accessible to customers with vision or hearing impairments. Our team proactively shifted one of our Q1 goals to strive for an 80% site accessibility target, which by the end of the quarter smashed 91% (currently increased to 97%), which sits above every competitor’s score.
Image: Koala
Giving back is good business
We have learned from many others in the B Corp community that a holistic and shared value approach to business is the key to driving real and ongoing impact.
Knowing that we’re all on this journey together, all committed to learning and growing from each other and trying our darndest to get things right is why we love being part of this community so much; from every small interaction and major milestone moment along the way.
Koala is also extremely passionate about giving back to the community, having contributed more than $7 million to charities in Australia since day one in 2015. Together with our partners, we aim to help people experiencing disadvantage to create a comfy and safe home. Because everyone deserves to feel comfortable and safe both at home and within themselves.
With big plans to share our platform and create space for more diverse communities through our upcoming Comfy Convos series, after a difficult few years for our furry friends, the future’s looking brighter for Koala(s).
Thank you to Hannah Franklin and Koala for this piece, published as part of B Corp Month 2022 as we invite you #BehindTheB to uncover what makes a B Corp a better business. Learn more about Koala’s work and find out more about B Lab’s Theory of Change to transform the global economy.
