Koskela achieves B Corporation® Re-certification

Koskela is proud to announce that we have been re-certified as a B Corporation®. This important milestone was achieved in late 2021 and reaffirms our position as a force for good in transforming the spaces we live, work and learn.

As pioneers in our field, applying for B-Corporation certification in 2017 wasn’t a matter of changing our business to suit the requirements, but rather a marriage of values and a welcoming into a community of like-minded businesses.

The beauty of being a B-Corp is that there is always room for growth. We’ve spent the last three years working on ways to improve our business for communities, people and planet and are proud to announce that we have been re-certified with an improved score of 96.2 from 82.

“It was great to see Koskela make progress in increasing our score on our reassessment - even if we didn't quite get to 100 points! The great thing about the BCorp assessment is that it's not a set and forget type of certification, it really encourages you to embark on a process of continuous improvement, so you keep striving to do better.” – Sasha Titchkosky, Director and co-founder Koskela.

Let’s recap on why B-Corporations matter

To become a certified B Corporation® you are independently assessed by non-profit organisation B-Lab to meet the highest standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency.

By harnessing the power of business, B-Lab positively impacts companies around the world to help them balance profit with purpose.

By redefining how business can be done, the collective of B-Corporations are hoping to create positive change for our planet and people with clever and compassionate business models.

Three ways we’ve made Koskela better for people, planet, and communities

1. People – we standardised our processes to improve the quality of our products

By implementing a standardised system of processes, procedures and policies for Koskela’s supply chain and company management we were able to achieve our ISO 9001: 2015 Quality Assurance and ISO 14001: 2015 Environmental Management certifications.

These certifications provide independent verification to our stakeholders and customers that Koskela is committed to quality and improving environmental performance.

Established in 2000, Koskela has always produced quality products and minimised our impact on the environment. As Koskela grows, we wanted to firmly embed these values into the daily running of our organisation.

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) develops standards, which they think of ‘as a formula that describes the best way of doing something’. Certification is renewed every three years, and in order to retain, Koskela must prove we are continuously improving.

2. Planet – Committed to Absolute Zero by 2035

Koskela is committed to tread as lightly as possible on the natural world.

We consider our impact on the planet in the way our products are designed, made and what goes into them, as well as in the way we do business.

Koskela is committed to reengineering our business model so that we design out any waste generated by our products and in doing so, work to achieving our goal of absolute zero emissions (with no offsets) by 2035. Beyond that we will become carbon positive, removing more carbon from the atmosphere than we emit. We are committed to Science Based Targets (SBTis) and are certified as being carbon neutral across all three scopes of our emissions - not only our business operations but we also offset emissions that result from the manufacture of our products and the transport of them. We have a solid grasp on where our carbon emissions come from and have a whole of business focus on reducing these.

3. Communities - Reporting our pathway to Reconciliation in our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP)

Koskela's second Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) has officially been endorsed by Reconciliation Australia. The two-year plan assists Koskela to develop innovative strategies that empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

An Innovate RAP focuses on developing and strengthening relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, engaging staff and stakeholders in reconciliation, and developing and piloting innovative strategies to empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Read the official RAP plan.

What’s next

We are keen to see the newly revised B Corp assessment standards and expect that the assessment criteria in relation to carbon emissions reductions will be tighter as the pressures of climate change are felt across the globe. This will be a critical focus for us in advance of our reassessment in 2024.

We also take our B Corporation status seriously and use it to advocate for action on climate change and reconciliation. We’ve been instrumental in a business lead campaign “Pass the Bill, not the buck” in support of Zali Staggal’s Climate Change Bill. We have supported this alongside other B Corps such as Australian Ethical, Patagonia, Frost* Design and a host of other companies. Stay tuned for more on this campaign in the lead up to the Federal Election in 2022 which is the critical one for Australia if we want to keep global heating anywhere close to 1.5 degrees. Even at 1.5 degrees warming the effects on our lives and the climate will be profound. It’s time to get politically active and engaged!

Five things we’ve learned from other B-Corps

Patagonia

Patagonia was the original inspiration behind us embarking on our B-Corp journey. As fellow product-makers, they really inspire us, and their constant quest to do better sets a high bar.

Intrepid

For using their B-Corp status to drive carbon emissions reduction strategies for their travel business, but also to be instrumental in helping drive change across the travel industry through Tourism Declares.

Who Gives a Crap

For proving that you can have a sustainable business while giving back, donating 50% of all profits.

Australian Ethical

For their political bravery. Even in a regulated, conservative industry, they were brave enough to highlight our governments lack of genuine climate action on a world stage at COP 26.

Five things people may not know about our business

We were the first furniture and homewares company in Australia to receive B-Corp certification
As part of our wellness program, all Koskela staff work a 9-day fortnight, so we can spend more time going on weekend adventures, volunteering, working on personal projects, and catching up with friends and family.
All of the raw materials and freight associated with Koskela products are offset by us while we work on ways we can switch to low emissions materials and methods
Since launching our first Social Impact project in 2009, Koskela has returned over $1.1 million to First Nations communities
For the last 22 years of business, Koskela has produced all furniture in Australia to help support local makers and maintain total transparency across production.

A specific policy or internal program that makes us special

One of the key differentiators of Koskela as B-Corp is that we don’t just talk the talk, we walk the walk. The B-Corp philosophy of using business as a force for good is made possible through the net positive impact our internal 9-day fortnight has had on the business.

What sounds like a radical concept, is in fact practical at its core. Internally, staff have an improved sense of wellbeing with an extra day to prioritise their personal interests and passions. This results in a more efficient workforce on working days, less sick days taken and overall a more compassionate and happy workforce.