Overseas property portal Kyero has become the latest Bath-based firm to gain the coveted B Corporation certification, strengthening the city’s reputation as a leading centre for businesses that pursue purpose as well as profit.
Kyero, which has more than 750,000 properties listed on its site, achieved the accolade after being certified by B Lab, the not-for-profit behind the B Corp movement.
This means that the firm met rigorous social and environmental standards which represent its commitment to goals outside of shareholder profit.
Kyero was set up in 2003 by Martin and Louise Dell, who still own and oversee the company, as a result of their own experience of buying a property in Spain.
They identified a lack of practical resources and established the business as a platform to help buyers navigate their journey of buying and renting property abroad.
Since then it has helped almost 50,000 people buy an overseas property in Europe and today helps people find properties in Spain, Portugal, Italy and France, connecting them with local agents on the ground.
It is the latest Bath firm to be certified by B Corps following the lead taken by specialist brand consultancy The House, which achieved it in 2017.
Others include creative firms Clearly, Mytton Williams, Agency UK, Storm Consultancy and Edit, global health and social development consultancy and fund manager Mannion Daniels, Leadership Coaching, which empowers leaders to raise their game, and Brevio, a social enterprise on a mission to simplify grant research and applications, reducing admin and increasing impact. Business West, the organisation behind Bath Chamber of Commerce is also has B Corp accreditation, which is regarded as being to the corporate world what Fairtrade is to bananas or coffee.
Businesses gaining it must meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability and aspire to use the power of markets to solve social and environmental problems.
The B Corp certification addresses the entirety of a business’ operations and covers five key impact areas: governance, workers, community, environment and customers.
The certification process is rigorous, with applicants required to reach a benchmark score of more than 80 while providing evidence of socially and environmentally responsible practices relating to energy supplies, waste and water use, worker compensation, diversity and corporate transparency. To complete the certification, the company must legally embed their commitment to purpose beyond profit in their company articles.
Kyero co-founder Martin Dell said: “Kyero has always cared about doing the right thing for our people, our customers, our planet and our community, and we are honoured to have earned B Corp certification in recognition of this.
“We believe you shouldn’t have to choose between running a successful business and doing good – you can do both, and we are.”
The company donates 1% of its total revenue to Spanish homelessness charity Hogar sí RAIS and has invested in becoming carbon negative for the next 10 years.
Mr Dell added: “We’re a fully remote company with a small carbon footprint, but we believe our industry should take responsibility for its impact, so we’ve offset double the travel that’s typically involved in viewing properties and moving abroad in this calculation, on behalf of our clients.
“We are passionate about what’s possible as an international business and employer, fully embracing flexible working with our team based across eight countries.
“We believe in our people and are committed to supporting their personal growth and wellbeing.
“We are really delighted to achieve B Corp status but it’s not an endpoint, we’ll continue to challenge ourselves on how we operate and what impact we have, working to drive forward positive change in the business and across the industry.”
Kyero is now part of a community of 5,100 businesses globally that have certified as B Corps. The B Corp community in the UK, representing a broad cross section of industries and sizes, comprises 800-plus companies and include well-known brands such as The Guardian, Innocent Drinks, Patagonia, The Body Shop and organic food pioneers Abel & Cole.
A number of firms in the wider Bath area are B Corps, including energy equipment consultancy Verco Advisory Services at Neston, near Corsham, tea firm Pukka Herbs in Keynsham and management consultant Twentyfifty in Frome.
