Why B Corp?

Zest was established on triple-bottom-line principles of people, planet, and profit, with sustainability at the core of everything we do.

Our inherent purpose is decarbonisation; we offer the infrastructure needed to provide everyone with the opportunity to take part in the electric vehicle transition and live a lower carbon lifestyle.  

In addition, our goal is to create infrastructure for all. As such, our work doesn’t just focus on the top one or two per cent of early adopters in the electric vehicle market, who likely have access to home charging. We strive to spread the availability of infrastructure to locations in the built environment where everyone will be able to charge conveniently as part of their everyday life.

As a profit-making company, financial and commercial sustainability is built into our business model. With funding through the government-backed Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund, we ensure the projects we invest in are sustainable over the long term. We commit to building and maintaining infrastructure through contracts spanning 15 years that not only consider the current needs of the communities and people we serve but also those of future generations.

Why did we choose to pursue certification as a B Corporation? As a business leader, I believe it’s imperative to consider how a company’s behaviours impact the people we work with, our communities, and the planet so that we can offer the long-term stability that clients and customers need. Zest was established with these values, and with a view to harness our business as a force for good, B Lab’s ethos was a natural fit for us.

Despite the alignment of our values, achieving the B Corp certification was by no means an easy task. While we were already making progress with quality qualifications, including ISO 14001 Environmental Management and 50001 Energy Management System, the B Lab Impact Assessment helped us look beyond the work we were already doing. It shed light on any gaps in our approach and provided a blueprint to work towards.

“This way forward”, the theme of this year’s B Corp month, is reflective of our approach to business; we aim to lead by example but recognise that to be a force for good and to move forward, we need to continue challenging our ways of working and striving to do better.

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