maybe there needs to be an upper level for the best ones.
A Corp?
For us, B Corp is a guideline for better business practices. It lays out actions we can take to ensure that our business impacts are taken into account in all decision-making.
The scoring system is set so that you need 80 points to pass (the average company scores around 50), and there is a maximum score of 200. It doesn’t say that a company is perfect, but it does assess how we identify and measure impacts and policies.
We’ve spent the last 3 years making sure that sustainability is fundamental to our business and we have used the B Corp certification as a means of checking our progress and for the next stage of our journey. For us B Corp is not the end game.
We can’t comment on other certified B Corps and whether or not their certification is justified, as we don’t know all the ins and outs, but we can say that we found the certification process to be thorough and helpful, and we’re excited by the developments in the B Corp standards which will require consistent high scoring across all impact areas to gain certification.
I hope this helps to explain our reasoning 
We get it’s everyone’s personal choice which brands they want to buy, and why they make that choice is up to you. From our experience with both Ben & Jerry’s and Innocent Drinks - we think they are doing a pretty good job at being responsible businesses, regardless of their ownership. Of course, there is room for improvement, but that is true for pretty much everyone.
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ouch! 
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addressing other business practices.Well, it’s your dime, personally – I would have thought the time and resources would have been better utilised with going after ISO certifications in relevant areas such net zero / environmental and food safety management systems or even the prevention of trafficking, forced labour, and modern slavery in supply chains.
They have much more rigorous auditing procedures and continuous improvement tracking as well as being far more visible and (respected &) recognised, both by other businesses and consumers.
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Everyone dunking on Huel here, but sometimes you just want some shiny tat to put on the mantelpiece.
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The cows don’t necessarily agree
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Oh and not forgetting this (not so) Innocent Innocent drinks ads banned over environmental claim - BBC News
But I guess Huel has also come a cropper with some of its misleading advertising, so maybe you are in the best company
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ouch #2 
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Moral of the tale – if you dunk your shiny tat in a very murky pond, don’t be surprised if it comes out soiled when you try to extract it.
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“dunk your shiny tat”?
I’m going to work that into a conversation somewhere today for sure.
We get what you’re saying Phil, we agree that B Corp alone is not sufficient. That is why we are measuring and setting Net Zero targets to the methodology of the Science Based Targets initiative and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol.
We also ensure that all our manufacturing sites hold internationally recognized food safety and quality certifications. We conduct carbon footprints for all our products to the PAS 2050 standard and the GHG Protocol. We have signed onto the Tonys Chocolonely Open Chain for our Cocoa sourcing.
We require all our ingredient suppliers to hold internationally recognized, independently verified ethical certifications such as SA 8000 and SMETA. We buy fair trade coffee. We ask all our suppliers to sign a Code of Conduct for social and environmental issues and so on and so on.
Basically, we take every step that we can to ensure we protect people and the environment and operate a sustainable business. I appreciate the feedback and that there are people like you who really care about sustainability and holding businesses to account, we don’t claim to always get it right, but we do always learn from our mistakes and we really do care.
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Discount structure was off topic to BCorp. The 12 posts were split to a new topic: Discount structure
I do like this, it’s great news but I wonder…
Do these aspirations align well with your use of container shipping? (Or possibly affect it in the future)
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Ugh, it sounded good until I read Ben & Jerry’s. Look, I love their ice cream. But their involvement in politics is disgusting. Individuals can hold any beliefs politically. Companies are a huge number of people each individual and unique. There is no way B&J is 100% people or one side and intensity of belief unless they have some very unethical hiring practices. My point being that they inevitably ram a political message down people’s throats … is that ‘doing good’? Hardly.
And again, not to be one of these people but… ice cream and obesity. Hardly making any of our lives as individuals or societies any better in social… health… philanthropic ways?
What exactly does it do that’s good?
Such an association with companies like that I fear could give Huel a bad name. And before anybody gets ratty, the same principle applies to other organisations that are on the other side of any given political view / side.
Huel seems to be great for health. Lifestyle. Maybe someday provided to parts of the world without our low cost, global choice supermarket food availability and reach. They’re concerned with the environment too which is all good. I can see how it’s a company that does good! As evidenced by the fact so many of us love it and use it and swear by it.
But realistically all companies are good. They have a purpose. As soon as they don’t, they don’t survive. All companies are doing something good by existing. All our big research and innovative products come from companies. Things like our NHS are exclusively paid for by the taxes of mega corporations (well, some… but I also don’t pay more taxes than I have to). So I mean, what difference does being a ‘B corp’ mean?
Tl;dr - please Huel, don’t get too caught up in this. You’re a great company without self gratifying certifications like these. Especially when you look at the sick companies that toot their own horn without doing a fraction of the good you do 
I’m not sure why you think it is disgusting for a brand or company to express opinions on a subject any more than if an individual does. The majority of brands do. If B&J want to come out and support things like indigenous peoples rights as something that their brand stands for, then that’s up to them.
They are not ramming it down people’s throats and it doesn’t represent the feeling of all of its staff nor is it presented as such – it’s just something they (allegedly) believe in as part of their brand values. They chose to do so at the risk that it may alienate some of its existing customers or dissuade potential ones.
It’s certainly no more disgusting than people then calling for boycotts of a brand because the expressed views don’t balance with their own – such as the disgraceful hate campaign directed against Anheuser Busch recently.
Huel also publicly express various beliefs as part of their brand values such as their opposition to animal cruelty and environmental concerns. It doesn’t mean everyone working for them agrees with them in whole or part but that’s their choice to work for them.
I would have thought people would have more concerns about B&J because of them being identified as continuing to profit from forced/child labour in their supplier chain rather than supporting the rights of marginalised people to self-determination. I guess not though, as that bombshell caused less than a percentage point blip in their share price compared to the 20% drop Anheuser had for having the audacity to send some personalized memorabilia to a transgender social media influencer.
People have some very screwy moral compasses it seems.
not even close
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Any ‘good’ they do (for their shareholders at the expense of the public perhaps?) plenty times being outweighed by the evil: corruption, fraud, exploitation, environmental damage and human suffering.
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Exactly that. Can’t see much positive from cigarette companies, McDonald’s, arms manufacturers.
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Phil, I clicked like so hard I need a new laptop. Great post.
Somebody’s never had a lovely cigar and a burger while napalming a village. Live a little, buddy.
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Now you mentioned it…I see I’ve been missing out. I just stamped on a few kittens in appreciation of this post
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