Our B Corp certification and what this means for WeMaintain
As of 5 September 2022, WeMaintain is proud to be part of the B Corp community. We join more than 4000 other pioneering companies willing to positively impact society and the environment.
What is B Corp?
The B Corp label was founded in the United States in 2006 by three entrepreneurs and brings together a movement of committed companies. It is awarded by the B Lab, a non-profit organisation that creates standards, policies, tools and programmes to drive change in business systems. Among the certified B-companies are icons such as Patagonia, Ecover and Triodos. Representatives of this community are present in over 77 countries and seek, through their mission and business model, not to be the best IN the world but the best FOR the world.
Key figures
- +4000 B Corp worldwide
- +77 countries
- Over 600 in Europe
- Over 160 in France
- Over 800 in the UK
- 1 common goal: to use business as a force for positive change
How did we achieve this?
To obtain this label, we answered more than 200 questions based on a dual approach, with:
- a section on the company's mission, which sets out WeMaintain's positive contribution to society
- a second section on the overall coherence of the company's approach, across all the impacts of our activities.
Initially developed by the Deloitte Foundation for B Lab based on the best international standards (ISO26000, GRI, SASB, Global Compact...), this questionnaire was chosen by the UN as a tool to translate the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into indicators for companies.
This evaluation is based on 5 impact pillars:
Employees:
The employee satisfaction rate at WeMaintain is 77%. The very heart of our mission is to enhance the value of the technicians' profession thanks to technology but also thanks to all the employees who work every day to offer them exceptional working conditions. According to the benchmark carried out by the human resources firm "HR4TEAM", at WeMaintain technicians obtain a remuneration 58% higher than that of the market.
Environment:
WeMaintain is committed to reducing its impact on the environment. We carried out our 2021 carbon assessment for the first time in France and immediately invested in renewable energy projects, making us a carbon-neutral company. This carbon assessment was an opportunity to discover our strengths but also our weaknesses. In the coming years, we will continue our efforts with projects in travel, purchasing and waste management.
Governance:
As a company with a mission, we have developed a fair model that reserves 10% of the company's capital for all employees. Employees are given a great deal of autonomy and we have even given them the opportunity to rearrange the teams internally as they wish. So everyone is free to work in a way better suited to them.
Clients:
Recognising that many building managers were dissatisfied with the quality of service provided by their maintenance providers, we developed a technology that allows our customers to monitor the status of their equipment in real-time. Our service is 100% transparent, offering a 99.5% equipment availability rate while allowing customers to reduce their maintenance costs.
Community:
Our company is trying to revolutionise maintenance at each of its operational sites, going beyond the French borders as we have exported our know-how to England and Singapore. We are also working with other real estate players on setting social and environmental standards relevant to our sector.
Becoming a B Corp... Why was WeMaintain interested?
Part of the reason we chose to become a B Corp is that we wanted to be part of a continuous improvement framework. The B Lab standards are high and require our company to undergo a new assessment every 3 years. Thus, this certification puts environmental, social and governance issues at the heart of our company's concerns.
"Obtaining this certification rewards a long work and supports our vision of an inclusive, fair and regenerative economy. Since 2018, WeMaintain's mission has been to put the best of people and technology at the heart of the built environment. By creating our technology, we have given a real advantage to our technicians as it helps them detect potential malfunctions upstream. This saves time for the technicians and the customers as we optimise the availability of their equipment. But B Corp is pushing us to go even further by considering the impact we have on the environment and society at large."
Quote Romain Bordier, Managing Director France.
How can we improve?
By managing our supply chain better, for example:
We are not manufacturers and therefore buy our maintenance parts from companies that own the makes and models we need. We are sometimes constrained by delivery times, but we would like to make a greater effort by favouring suppliers who demonstrate convincing CSR commitments. We want to involve as many stakeholders as possible in our ecological transition process, so our first duty is to start these conversations with them.
B Corp certification is a recognition of the work we have done, but above all, it is a compass to show us where we need to make progress. It guides and motivates us collectively to have a more sustainable impact on the world of maintenance and real estate every day.
If you're interested in working with WeMaintain, contact our Head of Sales at cheryl@wemaintain.com.