Zen's Journey to becoming a B Corp

Social and environmental steps:

We’re proud to be a certified B Corp. All the steps we’ve taken in our business towards this have been to ensure we’re always doing better for our people, customers and the planet. Our founder Richard Tang, has ensured that the company values are embedded into everything we do, whether that’s through community involvement, sustainable practices or our people-centric way of working.

We’ve focused on the well-being and benefits for our people, to make sure they’re in an environment where they feel supported and rewarded for their hard work. Taking care of our people has been a priority of ours and our teams regularly rate Zen at 90%+ on employee engagement.

Our customers benefit from our excellent service, but also our transparency about who we are, what we do and what actions we’re taking to achieve our sustainability goals. Our annual impact report showcases our progress so far and the ways we’re adapting how we work to always do better.

Here are some of the way's which we've made changes to the day-to-day at Zen:

• 2008 – We introduced recycling on site so it was front of mind and accessible for all
• 2009 – We reduced our CO₂ emissions from transport by 35%, from energy by 28% and increased our on-site recycled waste to 95%. We also obtained the ISO 14001 certification which means we align all our practices to internationally agreed standards to improve our environmental impact
• 2010 – We reduced our paper usage by 9%
• 2013 – Introducing a ride to work scheme meant more people had the option to leave the car at home
• 2014 – We diverted 100% of waste from land

• 2016 – This was when we rolled out LEDs throughout Zen’s HQ to reduce energy usage by 20%
• 2017 – We introduced an on-site cardboard baler, reducing our collections by 83%
• 2018 – This year we switched to green energy, meaning 100% of electricity comes from renewable sources. We also transitioned to ISO 14001:2015.
• 2019 – With an eye on the welcome innovations in electric and hybrid vehicles, we installed 6 electric car charging points on site. We also brought in automatic ‘eco off’ systems for desktops and TVs and offset all of our carbon emissions as part of our Carbon Neutral activity. This year, as part of our people-first focus, we improved our health and well-being agenda, bringing in a more structured and ongoing programme of initiatives.

  And 2019 was a particularly significant year for us because it’s when we began our project to become B Corp certified.

• 2020 – another busy year for us in terms of innovations – we eliminated 80,000 single use plastics from our office and restaurant, upgraded our plant equipment to reduce our energy usage by 13% and reduced carbon produced by business travel and commuting by 50%. Importantly – 2020 was the year we became a Certified B Corp!
• 2022 – A great nod towards our people-first agenda ‐ we became an official Great Place To Work for Well-being.

We’ve made huge strides in the past two decades, always mindful of keeping our people, customers and suppliers happy and staying true to our values. Our processes and ways of working will continue to improve and refine as we grow and develop – so watch this space!