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為什麼 SaaS 企業想要獲得 B 型企業認證:ESG 與投資報酬率指南

作者:Devi Jina
24 March 2025
閱讀時間 1 分鐘
為什麼 SaaS 企業想要獲得 B 型企業認證:ESG 與投資報酬率指南
B Impact Assessment estimator

Is your SaaS business ready to certify as a B Corp?

Tick the policies you already have. See an indicative B Impact Assessment score, the legal step you cannot skip, and the highest-value gaps to close next.

1. Company size
2. Policies you already have4 of 10 selected
Indicative BIA scoreNot yet ready
67/ 200 (80 needed)
▲ 80

13 points short of the threshold.

Impact areas covered

4/5

Governance, Workers, Environment, Customers

Typical time to certify

9-15 months

Document what you already do (benefits, supplier choices) before adding new programmes.

Highest-value next steps

Employee share scheme and wellbeing (+8 pts)

Broad-based options (for example EMI), health cover and financial wellbeing support.

Scope 1, 2 and 3 carbon accounting (+8 pts)

Measured emissions including suppliers and home working, with a reduction target.

Public annual impact report (+6 pts)

Published data on workforce, governance and emissions, with targets you report against.

Why it matters in enterprise sales

UK central government tenders must give social value at least 10% of the evaluation score (PPN 002), and many enterprise buyers ask for ESG evidence in security and supplier questionnaires. Purple is a certified B Corp and ISO 27001 certified.

Speak to an expert

Method: a typical business scores about 50 before targeted work (B Lab reports a median of 50.9); each policy adds an indicative number of points. Real BIA weights vary by size, sector and market, and B Lab is phasing in new standards that replace the single 80-point score with required topics, so check which applies to your certification date.

Useful? Link to this tool
Interactive readiness toolBased on the legacy BIA 80-point model

SaaS B Corp impact assessment and RFP ROI calculator

Evaluate your software business against the five B Impact Assessment (BIA) impact areas and model enterprise procurement advantages. Point values are indicative. B Lab's new standards, which apply to companies certifying from 2026, replace the single 80-point score with mandatory topic requirements, so treat this as a readiness check, not a score prediction.

Estimated B Impact Score
95.5 / 200 pts
Qualifies (>= 80 pts)
BIA Progress: 95.5 pts80 pt Target (+15.5 pts)

Your SaaS business is currently positioned above the 80.0 point threshold to achieve Certified B Corp status.

Enterprise RFP & procurement advantage
+£35,000 / year
RFP win rate
26.4% (+20%)
Estimated wins
6 deals (1 extra)

In public sector (NHS, local government, higher education) and enterprise tenders, B Corp certification is strong evidence for social value and ESG questions, though tenders still score your written answers, not the badge.

5 BIA impact pillars for software companies

Governance:12.5 pts
Workers:14.0 pts
Community:4.5 pts
Environment:8.5 pts
Customers:14.0 pts
Governance
+7.5 pts
Legal mission lock & charter amendment

Updated articles of association or corporate charter to protect social and environmental commitments alongside shareholder profit.

B Lab requires the legal change: a UK company amends its articles (filed at Companies House); a Delaware company converts to a Public Benefit Corporation.
Governance
+5 pts
Code of ethics & whistleblower protection

Formal written whistleblower policy, anti-bribery framework, and third-party anonymous reporting hotline.

Must be reviewed annually and accessible to all full-time and contract staff.
Governance
+4.5 pts
Financial & operational transparency

Transparent sharing of company performance, strategic objectives, and ESG targets with employees and stakeholders.

Includes quarterly all-hands reviews and public transparency reports.
Workers
+8 pts
Real living wage certification & salary parity

All direct staff and contracted facility workers receive at or above the certified Real Living Wage rate.

Verified via Real Living Wage Foundation or regional equivalent benchmarks.
Workers
+6.5 pts
Broad-based equity or profit sharing (ESOP / EMI)

Over 50% of non-executive employees participate in stock option schemes or company-wide profit-sharing programmes.

Helps align team ownership and significantly reduces SaaS employee turnover.
Workers
+6 pts
Healthcare, mental health & parental leave

Enhanced private medical coverage, dedicated mental health stipends, and gender-neutral parental leave over 16 weeks.

Demonstrates employee care and boosts employer brand rankings.
Community
+5.5 pts
Local & independent supplier preference policy

Formal policy prioritising local, independent, or minority-owned vendors for software tools, legal, and operational services.

At least 30% of non-cloud vendor spend directed to local or independent businesses.
Community
+4.5 pts
Paid volunteering days & civic engagement

Employees receive at least 2 paid days per year dedicated to community service or charitable initiatives.

Tracked annually through corporate volunteer logs.
Community
+5 pts
DEI tracking & inclusive hiring practices

Active monitoring of leadership diversity, blind CV screening, and structured apprenticeship programmes.

Ensures equal opportunity and builds diverse engineering and sales teams.
Environment
+8.5 pts
Cloud data centre renewable energy accounting

Tracking cloud compute Scope 3 carbon emissions (AWS Customer Carbon Footprint, Azure Emissions Impact, or GCP Carbon Footprint).

SaaS companies generate most emissions via cloud hosting; selecting low-carbon regions earns maximum points.
Environment
+5 pts
Certified hardware recycling & circular IT policy

All decommissioned laptops, monitors, and network gear recycled through WEEE-certified circular electronics partners.

Prevents toxic e-waste and supports circular economy supply chains.
Environment
+4.5 pts
Remote work carbon offsets & green travel policy

Subsidised public transit, train-first domestic business travel policy, and home-office energy efficiency stipends.

Reduces operational footprint for distributed and hybrid SaaS teams.
Customers
+9 pts
ISO 27001 / SOC 2 Type II & ethical data privacy

Rigorous information security certifications, GDPR compliance, unbundled guest consent, and zero selling of customer data.

Crucial for enterprise SaaS vendors and verified via independent third-party audits.
Customers
+5.5 pts
WCAG 2.1 AA digital accessibility standards

Customer-facing web applications, portals, and dashboards conform to strict WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility guidelines.

Ensures digital tools are usable for people with disabilities and assistive tech.
Customers
+5 pts
Transparent contracts, clear SLAs & customer success

Transparent pricing with no hidden lock-ins, published uptime SLAs exceeding 99.9%, and pro-rated refunds for downtime.

Builds long-term customer trust and strengthens net revenue retention (NRR).
🏆Purple is a Certified B Corporation

See how Purple balances purpose, security, and growth

Read our 2025 Positive Impact Report to see real-world B Corp metrics, ethical WiFi analytics governance, and public sector compliance.

Useful? Link to this tool

在 2024 年夏天,Purple 獲得了 B Corp 認證,加入了全球 9,500 多家以及英國 2,500 多家已獲得此永續發展公信力徽章的企業行列。

繼續閱讀以了解 Purple 執行長 Gavin Wheeldon 以及人才與文化資深副總裁 Esther Park 對於這項認證的看法,以及它為 Purple 帶來的價值。

以下內容為訪談的編輯版本

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Gavin、Esther,你們最初是如何得知 B Lab 和 B Corp 認證的?是什麼讓你們對此感到興奮?

GW: 我聽很多 Podcast 也讀很多書,所以這一直都在我的關注範圍內。我心想「哦,這很有趣」!我不時會重新思考這件事,思考現在是不是去爭取的合適時機,同時也知道這是我絕對想做的事,但我們需要對的人來推動它,而那個人就是 Esther。

EP: 我在以前的機構工作時就聽說過 B Corp,他們曾問過「這是我們應該研究的事情,還是不應該?」我喜歡為一個關心更宏觀願景、而不僅僅是以賺錢為驅動力的機構工作。一個關心其對世界更廣泛影響的機構。

究竟是什麼說服了您去爭取這項認證?您認為它與 Purple 有何關聯?

GW: 這些事情,不論是 B Corp 還是 ISO 標準,都代表你是同類中最好的,如果你想有所成就,去了解「同類中最佳」是什麼樣子並以此為目標是有道理的。B Corp 認證本身承認這是一個旅程,它也是一種在該領域將我們自己與世界上最好的公司進行衡量對比的方法。

EP: 我記得無意中聽到關於 B Corp 的對話,我立刻豎起了耳朵:「這是我絕對、非常想參與的事情。」當時,我已經在 Purple 工作了大約一年,所以時間足夠讓我正確了解這家企業,進而主導贏得這項認證。一切都在對的時間水到渠成。我很慶幸我們去爭取了,因為雖然過程非常緊湊,但真的非常有成就感。

GW: 有趣的是,我們啟動了這個過程,並意識到我們已經領先了相當多。我們開始與我們的投資者 BGF 進行對話,結果發現他們也在這個旅程中,這可以說是一個奇妙的緣分。

您對消費者和企業「用選票(或荷包)投票」,主動選擇向 B Corp 所代表的、具有高道德標準的公司購買產品或與其合作的想法有何看法?

GW: 我認為這不僅僅是消費者用錢包投票,也是員工用他們的選擇來投票。人們希望在一家有使命感的企業工作。有許多研究表明,你可以提供金錢獎勵,也可以提供其他獎勵,但如果人們相信自己正在做的事情,他們會付出更多、工作得更努力。他們對自己所做的事情感到興奮,並覺得這正在改變世界。我認為這同樣重要。回到「為什麼一家 SaaS 企業會想成為 B Corp」這個問題,這其實不單是人們選擇向我們購買產品的問題,而是人們希望與我們共事,並因每天所做的事情而受到激勵和驅策。

而且,雖然我們是 B2B,但我們也有點像 B2C,因為全球有數百萬名使用者登入 Purple WiFi。雖然我們不是他們能立刻認出的品牌,但我們希望未來會是。如果客戶能看到我們是出於正確的理由做正確的事,那就是一件好事。

尋求 B Corp 認證的計劃反應如何?有遇到任何阻力嗎?

GW: 大家都非常樂意接受,而且這實際上還引發了相當健康的討論。通常董事會會議都是圍繞著數字打轉,但自從 Esther 加入董事會後,大家的腳步都變得更輕快了,而成為 B Corp 認證企業的想法更是一個非常讓人振奮的話題。

EP: 每個人都非常支持這項決定,這真的很棒。我必須克服的主要挑戰,是證明這項巨大的承諾與投資從長期來看是值得的。很高興看到我們已經能夠證明這一點。因此,我們提出了商業案例,說明這將吸引投資者、幫助我們吸引和留住員工,並對客戶和合作夥伴產生吸引力。我們在現實生活中也看到了這一點,客戶和員工都對此感到興奮,並促成了超越賺取利潤之外、關於企業使命的更深層對話。

GW: 這不僅僅是從道德角度來看正確的事情,它還能帶來真正的商業利益。

SaaS 領域中雖然有一些 B Corp 企業,但這項認證與 Purple 有何關聯?

GW: 我想這又回到了我之前說過的話。我可以理解為什麼面向消費者的企業會想要獲得 B Corp 認證,因為他們想吸引特定類型的買家,這些買家會用他們的荷包來投票。員工也會用他們的付出投票,他們會因為在一家有使命感的企業工作而受到激勵。但這只是眾多投資報酬率效益的其中之一,並不是我們選擇經歷這個過程的核心原因。在我看來,如果你能一邊做好生意,一邊做有益的事,為什麼不呢?

EP: 這就是你開始接觸這件事的起點,不是嗎?你希望這家企業能做到最好,那麼我們該如何以最好的方式來經營業務?

GW: 沒錯。我認為如果你抱著「我們只是想要在網站上放個標誌或勾選一個選項」的心態,那就是錯誤的方法。但如果你這樣做是為了說我們想要成為最好的,而這正是衡量最佳表現的標準,那就會好得多。在我們進行初步診斷時,我們發現自己已經處於相當不錯的狀況,這很令人高興,但即使我們之前沒有達到,這也是正確的事情。

EP: 一旦我們開始著手研究,我自己也感到很驚訝。我以前一直認為:「我們不是慈善機構或社會企業,真的能獲得 B Corp 認證嗎?」。但我學得越多,就越發現你可以在很多方面成為一家帶來影響力的優質企業,而 B Corp 運動的核心正是關於每種不同類型的企業如何都能產生積極的影響。Gavin 提到,作為一家雇主,我們可以選擇成為最優秀的雇主,也可以不這樣做。從環保的角度來看,我們處理大量的數據,因此我們可以選擇關心這件事並採取行動,也可以不予理會。對我來說,非常值得的一件事是,我們很早就決定與慈善和非營利組織客戶採取不同的合作方式。執行團隊非常直接地做出決定,為他們提供優惠價格,因為我們希望支持這些組織取得成功。

在整個過程中,我了解到成為 B Corp 從根本上就是我們作為一個組織的本質。這真的讓我很高興,因為這感覺很真實。我們就是一家 B Corp,我們沒有在裝模作樣。

GW: 沒錯,就是這樣。我們本來就是一家 B Corp,只是我們之前不知道而已。

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