Wove is a Dublin-based design agency started 21 years ago by Johnny Kelly and Scott Burnett. The business encompasses strategy, brand, and digital, with each area providing different but related services. Their work spans multiple sectors: Arts & Culture, Craft, Education, Hospitality, Public, Media and Financial Services. Johnny explains, “Over a three-month period, we’ve worked on a five-year organisational strategy for a national cultural institution, delivered a public engagement piece for a county council, branded a new business in the early start-up phase, and developed an e-commerce strategy and platform for a 7th generation business.”
The team at wove, focuses on research and strategy while their sister company aad focuses on brand, digital and content creation, “There is a nice connectivity between us—we work very closely together and one team is informed by the other”. The thread that connects everything accomplished at wove and aad is change. “Our mission is to help clients make positive change—to their business, teams and communities. It’s not good enough if the change is only to the bottom line. We’re interested in changing how they work, how they engage with stakeholders, how they move forward.
Bringing about positive change is one of the reasons that inspired the wove team to pursue B Corp status. “It’s something that already aligned with our own company culture and way of doing business. By going through the process, we benefited from learning about new structures. And, of course, the recognition that comes with it.”
B Corp is a movement that aims to assist people and organisations in changing how they do business so that they contribute to a better, fairer, more equitable, and less polluted world. B Corp status is delivered by B Lab—a nonprofit aiming to transform the global economy to benefit people and the planet. Johnny believes that business is the cause of many of the issues we experience today, “B Lab has identified values, structures, and tools that any business can incorporate to become a business for good. If that business wants to, it can undertake a certification process, and if it’s successful, it becomes part of the B Corp movement. As of October 2023, we became a certified B Corp.”
When asked about the social and environmental issues wove aims to address through its B Corp status, Johnny explains they had already started working on digital sustainability in 2020. “We made a conscious decision to reduce the carbon impact of our digital products and to educate our clients, the online community, and the next generation of designers about the subject.” But he also mentioned that there isn’t necessarily a need to focus on those issues explicitly. “Instead, think of it more like your processes and ways of doing business are better for everyone, including your workers, customers, suppliers, community, environment and profitability.”
The journey to B Corp certification has had a welcome impact on wove’s organisational culture—across the team, it’s fostered a shared understanding of what’s required to run the company, and it’s helped everyone feel more connected to the organisation because of it. “The B Corp certification was delivered 100% by the entire team. The process empowered individuals to make changes as they saw fit. They researched and created the necessary policies, so it’s as much their thing as it is wove’s.”
To meet the criteria for certification, the team had to put a structure on things that were treated more casually up to that point. “We created new policies covering diversity, equality and inclusion, equitable recruitment, civic engagement, virtual working and ethics. We also created an advisory board of external people to help us make decisions, increased annual leave by five days, introduced a day off for International Women’s Day for anyone identifying as female, inclusive parents leave package and health insurance for the entire team.”
While wove’s B Corp journey is ongoing, they remain dedicated to upholding the highest social and environmental performance standards. Through annual impact reports and continuous improvement initiatives, they aim to establish new standards for responsible business and motivate others to do the same. The certification only lasts for three years. After that, the team must reapply and repeat the process. Every B Corp must also produce and publish an impact report highlighting the areas a company intends to improve. An annual fee must also be paid to B Lab to help run the organisation, which is calculated on company turnover. About 30–40 companies are now part of B Corp Ireland, which James McManus and Chloe Healy run. While wove’s journey is still unfolding, they are excited about the potential for collective action and impact through collaboration and partnership.
How do customers and clients respond to their new status? “90% of the time by asking what’s B Corp?” Johnny explained. “But that’s fine. It’s an opportunity for us to talk about it. The movement is going to grow, and I think in the future, it will be a requirement of doing business for a significant proportion of companies. Why would I not prefer to spend my money on an organisation that adheres to values that benefit society and the environment?”
Johnny advises anyone currently considering applying to B Corp to connect with an advisor who can walk you through the process, as some aspects can be quite daunting. His second piece of advice is to start! “By beginning the process, you’re beginning to improve the company”. He highlights how understanding the people behind B Corp are and how helpful they are throughout the process. “They want the movement to grow, so they will help wherever they can. It’s such a positive movement; why wouldn’t you want to be part of it. The more, the merrier!”
Wove’s B Corp status has enhanced its internal operations and resonated positively with its clients and partners. While some may ask about the significance of the certification, the team see it as an opportunity to educate and advocate for a more sustainable approach to business. As awareness grows, they envision a future where B Corp becomes essential for ethical business, driving demand for socially and environmentally conscious organisations. Looking ahead, wove is eager to collaborate with fellow B Corp organisations that share their values. For businesses considering certification, Johnny’s advice is to “embrace the opportunity to align your values with your operations, seek guidance from experienced advisors and embark on the journey with enthusiasm and conviction”.
About wove: https://wove.co/
About aad: https://aad.works/
wove on B Corp.net: https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us/find-a-b-corp/company/wove-strategic-consulting-design/
Wove’s Social and Environmental Performance Impact Report 01
Article on Digital Waste (by Scott Burnett): https://medium.com/woveways/mapping-digital-waste-2920128c9631
About B Lab and B Corp: https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us/
Tools supplied by B Lab: https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us/programs-and-tools/
Design Declares Ireland: https://designdeclares.ie/
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Michelle Urban is a designer and illustrator, and is currently working as a Junior Graphic Designer at So Studio in Dublin. She is a member of the Design Declares Ireland social media team and the global InkyGoodness illustration collective.