2022 progress report

We are committed to improving across the B Corp impact pillars in 2023 and beyond.

“We are facing extremely turbulent times, economically, socially and environmentally. Due to the UK’s reliance on expensive imported fossil fuels, thousands of households are struggling to pay their energy bills – with an estimated 8.6 million people expected to be in fuel poverty by April 2023. The need to accelerate towards a clean energy system is now greater than ever and we’re confident that, by working together, we can fight both the energy and climate crisis.

That’s why we’ve been focusing on further diversifying our portfolio of renewable energy projects so we can help create a cleaner, fairer future for the next generation. One of the things we’re most proud of this year is working with Ambition Community Energy – a committed, innovative community energy group based in our home city of Bristol. We provided them with a £4 million loan to build England’s largest onshore wind turbine which, once built, will be capable of generating enough clean power for close to 3,000 homes – the equivalent of their domestic use. The profits from electricity sales will also be plugged back into local causes – a perfect example of what can be achieved when we come together to solve big problems.

Protecting people and the planet is in our DNA. In 2022, we developed our biodiversity strategy which commits us to supporting long-term sustainable development, aligned with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal 15: ‘Life on Land’, which we will extend further in 2023 by implementing individual biodiversity management plans for each of our sites. We donated another £30,000 as part of our Community Benefit Programme, which is helping community buildings to make critical energy efficiency and sustainability improvements, and we also audited key parts of our supply chain, ensuring that suppliers meet strict environmental, social and governance criteria. It was fantastic to be recognised as a ‘Best for the World’ B Corp for our positive impact on the environment for the second year running, but we want to make sure we continue improving across the B Corp impact pillars in 2023 and beyond."

- Matthew Clayton, Managing Director, Thrive Renewables

Verified score and goals for recertification

Our latest verified B Corp score is 110.8 from when we certified for the first time in 2020. You can see a breakdown of our score by category in the chart below.

 

 

 

B Corps are required to recertify every three years to demonstrate they meet the B Impact Assessment’s rigorous standards. Recertification is also an opportunity for B Corps to further build on their impact. We are currently focusing on improvements to our business and we will recertify in December 2023. We aim to achieve a recertification score of 120 in December 2023.

 

Impact area plans and progress

 

What we planned             
What we did
Relevant impact area

Reduce the number of printed documents sent in the post.

Saved over a tonne of paper waste by only sending paper copies of reports to investors who specifically request them.

Environment

Research and develop a biodiversity policy.

Policy developed, approved, and published. Resulting actions commenced.

Environment

Commit to net zero carbon emissions by 2030.

Committed to net zero by 2030 via the SME Climate Hub. Created and published a net zero plan including what is to be included in our full emissions inventory.

Environment

Increase engagement with our community benefit programme.

Received record number of entrants to the 2022 round of grants

Community

Update Responsible sourcing requirements in our procurement policy.

Consulted with global supply chain experts and started development on the policy.

Community

Promote external professional development and cross-function skills training opportunities.

Introduced ‘Food for thought sessions and additional external training

Workers

Monitor effectiveness of hybrid working arrangements

Staff survey to gather feedback and plan for the future

Workers

 

Thrive’s impact is reported in detail in our annual report which is available to read here.

Commitments for 2023: 

  • Finalise our updated responsible sourcing policy
  • Update employment policy to include how we manage intern engagement
  • Develop measurable diversity goals for the organisation
  • Deliver diversity training to the team
  • Introduce annual staff wellbeing and feedback survey
  • Implement an environment section into our Operations Management System
  • Develop our employee handbook to include and encourage good environmental stewardship in virtual offices
  • Implement biodiversity management plans for individual sites
  • Report on biodiversity strategy in our annual report
  • Implement B Corp SDG reporting
  • Gain a picture of our Scope 3 carbon dioxide emissions and expand reporting in line with our plan
  • Better understand customer outcomes by proactively monitoring for feedback