Becoming a B Corp is a big moment, and quite often, the culmination of months, even years of hard work. It clearly shows the world that you want to be the kind of business that takes responsibility for its impact on people, communities and the planet. An impact report is how you bring this commitment to life in between the years of recertification.
At its core, an impact report is about being transparent and accountable. It’s a way to share with your network and clients/customers what you’re doing, what you’re learning, and where there’s still work to be done. This honesty allows your organisation to build trust with the wider ecosystem of those who interact with your brand; whether it’s suppliers, stakeholders, employees, customers or partners.
At Oxygen, we believe that Impact Reports should be seen less as a mundane annual task, and more as an opportunity to tell a story about the work you’ve been doing, using it throughout the year to pepper impact amongst your other campaigns. Much like the B Corp assessment, your impact report can visit all touchpoint of your business, making a truly valuable piece of content in your calendar.
Practical tips
Start with purpose.
Who are you writing to? How does this report link to your mission as a business? Often the audience for your report will be broad, which shapes your tone. Make sure you write clearly and accessibly, like a human and not a legal document.
Involve your team.
Getting perspectives from across the organisation helps you capture your impact more widely and you might uncover stories you hadn’t thought of sharing.
Use a structure that works for your organisation.
Some businesses choose to use the impact areas from the B Impact Assessment as the layout for their report, but for others it might suit them better to use themes such as ‘people, planet, sector’ – or even something more creative.
Don’t be afraid of what went wrong.
Make sure you talk about your challenges and any goals you’ve not yet met but are still working on. This ensures you not only hold yourselves accountable but shows your audience you really do care about making progress.
Visuals are your friend.
Make sure you use imagery and graphics to break up the text and showcase your brand. Whilst there are no strict rules as to the format and length of impact reports for B Corps, we find that creating an engaging, colourful PDF performs much better than a plain-text word document.
Don’t be scared of data.
Numbers back up your impact, and, when used correctly, can really tell a story about the work you’re doing. Proper data visualisation makes for an engaging and dynamic report.
Give yourself time.
Your audience will be able to tell if you rushed to prepare the week before you published it. Allowing a few months to collect your data from the past 12 months and crafting a compelling narrative will really pay off in the long run.
Share it far and wide.
Be proud of the report and all of the things you talk about in it! We also love to take the visuals and quotes from our reports and use them throughout the year as social media content.
And perhaps the most important tip of them all – make sure it’s uniquely yours.
Your brand is doing special things that deserve to be shouted about.
Looking for a design partner for your upcoming impact report? Or would like to discuss how to turn your existing report into year-long content?
Ruth Davis
As the Strategic Engagement & Impact Lead and Co-Founder at Oxygen, I specialise in building strong partnerships, leading high-impact projects, and guiding organisations on how to embed sustainability into their communications and strategy. With a Master’s degree in Sustainable Development and a background in strategic and digital communications, I’ve worked with a wide range of organisations – from climate-focused startups and B Corps to membership bodies and community development charities. My experience spans brand development, messaging and strategy, and website projects, all with a clear focus on purpose and impact. At the core of my approach is collaboration. I’m passionate about aligning big ideas with practical action, helping teams turn values into value and purpose into progress.
