What Agencies Can Learn From Havas New York's B Corp Certification

Last year Havas New York CEO Laura Maness was at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, listening to a fireside chat led by MediaLink's Michael Kassan, Salesforce leader Marc Benioff and Unilever CEO Alan Jope. Expecting a discussion about technology, Maness was surprised when the group instead talked about environmental initiatives and supply chain responsibilities. She walked away from the experience feeling even more excited about the changes she was implementing at Havas New York. After a two-year process that began in 2019, Havas New York became B Corp certified this month. Traditionally, the certification has been associated with environmentally-conscious brands like Allbirds, Ben & Jerry's or Patagonia. It's a rare distinction in the agency world—especially for a large agency network. The non-profit B Lab manages the process and awards certification. “It was really walking out of that convention center and setting that intention at the beginning of 2019 that being in advertising is not an excuse to not take responsibility and to not hold ourselves to the highest standards in business,” Maness said. Havas London became B Corp certified in 2018 and Havas Lemz in Amsterdam was certified in 2020. Havas New York is the first U.S. agency in the Havas network to qualify for the distinction. Havas New York became a certified B Corp as PR agency Edelman is under fire for its involvement with fossil fuel clients. Many agencies are responding to changing industry standards by incorporating sustainability and social justice initiatives into their agency's mission statements. In this changing climate, more agencies may soon pursue B Corp status. Some, like Media.Monks and Wieden+Kennedy (its Amsterdam office is already certified), have already committed to earning the certification. Havas New York wants to help other agencies through the process. "We're hopeful that more agencies and more companies will actually follow us," said Maness. Havas New York told Adweek about the certification process and what other agencies can expect: A rigorous assessment To become certified, agencies must complete B Labs' free online B Impact Assessment. After completing the assessment, the company will earn a score representing its positive impact in five areas—workers, customers, community, environment and governance. A score of 80 is required to qualify for B Corp certification. Havas New York achieved a score of 87.2 out of 200, with 50.9 the standard score for all companies who have completed the assessment. Certified B Corp's are required to make their assessments public on B Lab's Certified B Corporation website. One of the byproducts of completing the assessment is an education about what's possible for a company, said James Huerta, executive director, creative technology at Havas New York. "Their assessment is rigorous." Huerta said. "You can use that as a starting point for yourself to see what improvements you need to make." For Maness and Huerta, the B Corp designation is not an accolade, but a long-term commitment to social good. B Corp certification requires an ongoing commitment with recertification every three years. "We are two years and three hundred days away from having to re-certify," Maness estimated. "It never ends, and that's what we love about it; it's continuous." B Lab audits qualifying companies' assessments to ensure they provided honest responses. Havas New York said it participated in a live two-hour audit with a standards analyst from B Lab and that during the meeting it provided additional context on its responses to the B Impact Assessment. After COP26 and #EdelmanDropExxon, World’s Largest PR Firm Announces Climate Strategy Agencies need executive sponsorship Completing the assessment will require impact from multiple stakeholders at the company, depending on its size, said Huerta. Agencies should expect to collaborate with their finance and legal teams on this. The agency recommends creating a small internal B Corp task force made up of employees who can dedicate up to 20% of their time over the course of two years to completing the assessment and meeting its certification standards. In some cases, a qualified company must also update its Articles of Incorporation. B Lab's timeline for completing this requirement varies depending on a company's size. Havas New York suggests other agencies look into this legal requirement at the beginning of the certification process to make sure the articles are updated on time. To make all of this possible, getting buy-in from a leader is crucial, Maness said, noting that the process is difficult to complete and impacts the company's business model and operations. "You have to have executive sponsorship in order for this to be successful because it's not an initiative. It's a strategy and blueprint, and a commitment for how you will operate your business and all of the decisions that go into that," she said. Finding clients with shared values Havas New York did not need to sever any relationships with clients to earn the certification, but the B Lab Assessment does involve disclosing relationships with what B Labs deems sensitive industries, from fossil fuels to high interest lending. B Lab did not flag any of Havas New York's disclosures. The requirement to disclose associations with sensitive industries means that an agency's account roster could be a factor in the certification process. "We proactively seek purpose-driven clients," said Maness, adding that Havas New York turns away potential clients, like gun manufacturers, that don't align with the agency's commitment to social good. Havas Group's 2021 Meaningful Brands Study released in May showed that 73% of consumers believe brands must act now for the good of society and the planet. "Here we are leading the study and sharing these findings, and the implications of these findings and now we can proudly say that Havas is doing both. So it's truly walking the walk," said Maness. Young Marketers Want Agencies That Align With Their Values—Especially on Climate Issues