Understanding the essence of B Corp

AEGIR-Marine is now a certified B Corp. So, it’s high time to sit down for a coffee and chat with the company’s CEO Peter Ritskes to find out how the B Corp values match AEGIR-Marine’s way of working and its core values.

Let’s start with a basic question. What is B Corp?
Peter: Organisations with B Corp certification are companies verified by the nonprofit B Lab to meet high standards of social and environmental impact, accountability and transparency regarding the five impact areas of Governance, Workers, Customers, Environment and Community. For people new to this subject, a common misconception is that B Corp focuses on environmental sustainability only, but it goes far beyond looking only at environmental parameters. The ‘B’ stands for Benefit for all meaning organisations, workers, communities, customers and the planet.

How does sustainability relate to social aspects?
Peter: It’s about how we interact with our customers, with our suppliers and with our employees. These need to be sustainable relationships, lasting longer than just one transaction, one project or one employment agreement. It’s about building long-term relationships based on mutual trust, care and responsibility. This is part of AEGIR-Marine’s DNA and how we have been working since the early days, 25 years ago.

The whole B Corp process is quite a big investment of a company’s resources. What motivated AEGIR-Marine to apply for B Corp certification?
Peter: It was actually a no-brainer for us to do this as a large part of what we were doing had strong similarities with B Corp standards. The fact that we are now a certified B Corp is valuable proof that we are on the right path when it comes to sustainability. It gives us an independent ‘outsider view’ of our organisation that we are meeting the high standards of B Corp with respect to our people, our workers, socially, the community, but also the environment. The certification underlines who we are.

Let’s turn our attention to AEGIR-Marine’s employees – what does B Corp certification mean to them?
Peter: At AEGIR-Marine, people are at the heart of everything we do. Our B Corp certification is not just an external label, but a recognition of the way we treat and value our people. We have always believed that business success and social responsibility go hand in hand. We are ambitious enough to say that we want to be highly regarded and respected employer, one that offers more than just a job. We want our people to feel proud, supported and part of something meaningful. Whether you work in the Netherlands, Americas, Asia or anywhere else, you should experience the same sense of belonging, fairness and opportunity.

In the end, certification is not the goal itself. It’s a reflection of our ongoing journey to make AEGIR-Marine a company where people truly matter and we are doing good for our employees go hand in hand with doing good for the world.

Do you think that AEGIR-Marine’s B Corp certification will make the company more attractive to job seekers?
About our future outlook: having a B Corp certification shows new talent from the outside what kind of company we are on the inside. Moreover, it shows what kind of company we have always been; it’s pretty much a formalized summary of what we’ve been doing for the last 25 years. This is a powerful statement to future generations, to future colleagues. For me, this is the most important part of being a B Corp.