
Small steps, real change: why I’m proud of our B Corp progress
Being a B Corp is about constant evolution, not just a badge on our company website. As we hit our two-year milestone, we’re looking back at the standout moments of 2025 and how we can continue to improve.
Author: Jess Evans, Head of Delivery
As Head of Delivery at Shaped By, I worked with our Founder & CEO Nick Farrar on our B Corp certification journey and I now lead our Doing Good team and B Corp re-certification taskforce. The focus of these groups is for Shape-lings to come together and identify where we can make improvements for the community, the environment and our team.
We’re coming up to our second anniversary of being a certified B Corp. It’s crazy how quickly time flies, and, although we’re slowly chipping away at our objectives, it’s always great to look back and reflect on progress. Two big stand out moments for me from the past year are around the focus on our People-first value and supporting our community.
People-first
Thanks to a successful 2024-25, we were able to deliver on our intentions to move all team members from regional salaries to London weighted salaries as per the DBA benchmark. This was the last stage of our salary progression plan to reward our hardworking team and to celebrate the success of the previous year.
But also it’s a way of attracting new talent to Shaped By. We all know that the adoption of AI is having an impact on hiring junior roles in the creative industry and is generally being used to replace that entry-level type of work. However, the South West is a hub for creativity and there’s so much talent out there that we certainly don’t want to overlook.
We want to nurture and grow the future creative generations as they come with new ideas and new ways of doing things that will holistically enhance our work as an agency.

Supporting the community
As a small business, it can prove quite challenging to have the necessary resources to help our community. This is the area we needed to work on the most as part of our certification and certainly one we have dedicated time and resources to over the past two years:
Portfolio review event – we invited current students, post-university students and those looking for a career move into the creative industry to bring their portfolios along to be reviewed by our designers and creative directors. A great opportunity to give back to future talent and a big achievement our team fondly look back on. Look out for the next one in summer 2026!
Creative careers awareness – we felt that we could do more to reach a younger audience who may or may not be aware of the types of roles a creative agency has to offer. So a few of us put on their best creative uniforms and headed back to school to talk to students at Plymouth University and Redland Green School in Bristol about career opportunities and skillset in the creative space. The interest of students was second to none and we are looking forward to repeating this year.

Charity pro-bono campaigns – we also wanted to use our collective creative skills to help charitable causes. That’s what led us to supporting Marmalade Trust deliver their key yearly Loneliness Awareness Week campaign for 2 years in a row. We’re very proud of this collaboration and its eye-catching design!
Hear more about our collaboration with Marmalade Trust here.
Looking ahead
The next goal for me is our B Corp re-certification in May 2027. We are currently looking at the new V2.1 standards and working our way through the Impact Topics to ensure that we’re concentrating on the right areas and continuing to measure our impact in the relevant ways.
As always, it’s not the grand gestures and big reveals that count, it’s the consistent small steps and constant improvement engrained in our day-to-day that make a real difference. After all, that’s what being a B Corp is all about.
What I’ll do in 2026
Jess
“This year I will make a conscious effort to buy more products from certified B Corp companies. Whether that ‘s skincare, food, clothes or alcohol, I’ll be looking out for that special B Corp logo which is proof of an all-round good company that looks after its workers, communities and works hard to do good in the world.”

Kate
“For my carbon commitment – focus is on the garden – planting trees and hedging to back and front, aiming for native plant species, ensuring the garden is wildlife friendly. Insulating our loft as well, replacing radiators with more energy efficient ones and updating windows.”
City
“This year, I’m making a conscious effort to leave the car at home when getting around Bristol, swapping it for cycling and walking as my go-to modes of transport. I’ve also been getting more involved in my local community, helping to found a neighbourhood group focused on reducing traffic and making our streets safer and greener for everyone.”
Tom
“I installed my new more energy efficient windows at the house as planned. I’d also like to explore more opportunities to mentor and reach out through Alumni programmes to support education.”
Interested in finding out more about our 2025 achievements and 2026 commitments?
Read our report.

















































