Anyone who is a bit at home in the sustainable world knows the phenomenon of B Corp, a major certification for companies with a green mission. Big players like Tony's Chocolonely, Ben & Jerry's are a B Corp, but Dutch companies like Food for Skin and innocent are also part of it. These are all companies that make products, such as food and personal care products, more sustainable. But of course, services can and should also be more sustainable. Whoever commissions a text translation from translation agency Fairlingo is also doing business with a B Corp. Cool, what about that? We spoke to Sam van Gentevoort.
Translation agency Fairlingo: a translation agency with B Corp certification
In cooperation with translation agency Fairlingo
A translation agency with sustainable certification raises many an eyebrow. How can it be more sustainable then? Sam van Gentevoort hears it more often. ‘But if you realise that business services have the most jobs in the Netherlands, that is exactly where there is a lot to gain! And that is why Fairlingo is working towards that coveted B Corp certification.’
What is a B Corp?
If you come across a company or product with the B Corp logo, that's good news! You can then be sure that the organisation behind it has gone through an extensive certification process and is therefore really serious about becoming more sustainable. You don't become a B Corp just like that and only if your entire business operation meets sustainable criteria. If you have successfully gone through all the steps, you become a member of a global movement that wants to change business sustainably. To carry this label, you have to meet and continue to meet a lot of requirements, because every year, B Lab (the non-profit organisation behind the certification) gives you a score. Every year there is room for improvement. If you don't show improvement or really underperform, you can also lose the title. There are currently 3,600 companies entitled to call themselves B Corp.
What makes a translation agency sustainable (or not)?
Sam: ’The biggest negative impact makers of our business are the stuff we buy like computers and also our groceries for lunch. After that comes the energy consumption of our office and staff transport. And we work digitally a lot and those emissions are certainly not negligible either. Do you erase that storing unused data generates a bigger carbon footprint per year than the entire aviation industry combined? Interestingly, in a service provider, behaviour often plays a more important role than in, say, an industrial company. Our approach is mainly based on the behavioural principle ‘less is more’. For instance, we have no business cars and almost everyone comes to work by bike. Our office is 100 metres from the railway station and so we encourage travelling by public transport. Our recruitment and selection policy focuses on employees who live within a maximum 45-minute commute. Most people do not become happy with a lot of commuting and it is also not sustainable.’
Do you have a good example of how you are continuously trying to become more sustainable?
‘We believe that working less can help solve many environmental and social questions. From research shows that working less can halve CO2 emissions. We recently piloted a six-hour working day and, as a first step, shortened the working day from eight to seven hours with pay. It turned out that it was not yet possible for everyone to do the same amount of work within a six-hour working day. Therefore, we decided to switch to a seven-hour working day first. Colleagues can additionally work from home until 40%. A shorter working day may also be feasible. However, this might come at the expense of social interaction and ‘loafing time’. Loafing in fact, often plays a role in the creation of the best ideas, while in discussing the trial, it emerged that it can also be stressful when we start rushing ourselves to finish work at three o'clock.
We also try to make our purchases as sustainable as possible. Our policy is to buy second-hand as much as possible. For instance, our conference table and many desks are second-hand and so is my smartphone. Where necessary, we choose more sustainable alternatives. For instance, we get green electricity from Dutch soil, coffee from a local sustainable company and, in cooperation with the landlord, we installed double glazing in the monumental office. We try to make colleagues aware of how they can make more positive impact. For instance, we did an internal campaign to promote more waste-free living and attended a training on how to make sustainable choices.
Finally, the translation agency has no debts. I believe that the global high debt contributes to global depletion. This money should be recouped once with returns through economic growth, production and consumption.’
Why did Translation Agency Fairlingo decide to go for a B Corp certification and how did it go?
‘I have always been interested in sustainability, as I grew up on Vlieland and could regularly be found in nature together with family and friends. I have been involved in the Meaning Economy in Twente and from there I came across B Corp. This idea was discussed with colleagues and most people were positive about trying to become a B Corp. Many B Corp components already fitted our corporate culture. It was especially important to formalise practices and make figures transparent. We now have a B Corp team that meets every month to discuss improvements and 10% of the profits we spend on B Corp-related projects, such as carbon offsetting, yoga and fruit in the office.
B Corp provides concrete tools to improve operations and join a global movement to learn from others and inspire each other. In purely economic terms, it costs more than it delivers. Indirectly, it also delivers something like contributing to a more beautiful world and employee satisfaction. Not everything should be measured is my opinion. I believe companies that are successful in the long run for all stakeholders often have a holistic approach. When companies have doubts, my tip is to have a conversation together about opportunities and fears. Fears are often the origin of an unhealthy ego, greed and unwillingness to change. Becoming a B Corp offers opportunities to create more meaning as a company and make it more future-proof.’
Patagonia, Ben & Jerry's, Fairphone, The Body Shop and Triodos Bank... You work for many sustainable companies. Wonderful! Do they place this requirement on you as a supplier?
‘My experience is that awareness is growing among companies and governments. In practice, we still see many organisations giving other issues, such as price, more weight. A good example is that municipalities are obliged to procure sustainably, but in the big tenders for translations in government and semi-government, sustainability now plays a negligible role. The number of B Corps is growing, which is very positive. Our number of B Corp clients is also growing, but is still only a small percentage of the total number of clients. This is not surprising when you realise that only 220 Dutch companies out of more than two million companies in the Netherlands are still B Corps.
The challenge is for sustainability to gain critical mass. I am curious to see how this will develop in the coming period, as economic forecasts are less positive. Inflation is even higher than average and there are warnings that public debt is growing too fast. Many organisations are caught in the current economic and financial system. The main task is to free ourselves collectively from this narrative. This could be achievable, for example, by true pricing and reintroduce the gold standard. We would probably have to give up things that are part of this bubble. We could get more happiness in return such as more time for each other and a healthy and green living environment. But are people ready for that? Sharper choices will have to be made.’
Sustainability is never finished, a B Corp certification remains hard work. What will be your next sustainable step?
‘Last year, we piloted a six-hour working day and as an intermediate step, shortened the working day to seven hours. The next step is to go to a six-hour working day. Besides ecological impact, B Corp is also about social impact and that is an area where we can improve further. The impact that artificial intelligence (AI) is likely to have for translation agencies is an opportunity and also a challenge. One prediction is that AI will do basic translation first and then a translator controlling the text. The opportunity is to create value by being able to translate more efficiently. The challenge is that revenue for translators remains stable. You often see that when something becomes cheaper, quantity grows. This means that the amount of data will grow and the associated CO2 emissions. Also, we want to optimise previous steps such as choosing more sustainable suppliers and making our recruitment and selection more diverse.’
What is your tip for business service providers, such as a translation agency, who are not so far along in making themselves sustainable? What easy first step do you think they could take hot best?
‘Discuss with colleagues and other entrepreneurs what opportunities they see and delve into both post-growth and green growth. Green growth assumes that the economy can continue to grow if we innovate enough. Post-growth means a shift of focus from quantitative growth (consumption growth) to qualitative growth (quality of life growth). That, I think, is the right way to start living within the earth's carrying capacity. For example, we can learn from natural peoples. ¨Come to me if you need anything,¨ said an Inuit grandmother to her grandchildren. ¨And I will tell you how to live without it.¨’
How does Fairlingo work?
‘Fairlingo is a translation platform that easily offers professional translations completely online. Fairlingo's working method includes uploading the document, after which a quote is generated within 30 seconds. After approval of the quote and payment, the translation is started immediately. During the translation process, customers can follow the translators live. Fairlingo guarantees high quality by using only the best native translators with experience in the field and having each translation checked by a native reviser. If a translation does not meet the quality standards, another translator is called in free of charge.
Privacy is ensured by giving access only to the translator and proofreader working on the job, and by protecting personal and company data according to ISO-17100 certification. Fairlingo has transparent rates with no minimum amount for each language, with a quote within half a minute. Clients receive a professional translation including revision and satisfaction guarantee from as little as €0.05 per word. The translation process uses translation memory and terminology lists to ensure consistency and avoid unnecessary costs. Fairlingo accepts various file formats for translations and offers a simple, fast and affordable solution for professional translations.’
Want to know more about Translation Agency Fairlingo and their B Corp certification? Want to work as a translator or need a good translation? Then check out their website.
About Sam van Gentevoort
Sam works at Translation Agency Perfect and Fairlingo. Two translation agencies that are B Corp certified and want globalisation to contribute positively.
More tips from thegreenlist.nl
- Also see: Translation agency Perfect, the sister of...
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Photo credits: Leeloo Thefirst (Pexels), Sam van Gentevoort.
