From A to B Corp with Dorien & Dorien
Since November 15, 2024, Blooming Buildings has achieved B Corp Certification: our social and ecological impact have been tested and verified to meet the high standards of B Corp. But that doesn’t come easily. The big challenge for Blooming Buildings: how can we showcase the impact we make on biodiversity in urban areas? Because that’s exactly where we make the biggest difference.
Fortunately, we have two Doriens in-house. Climate expert Dorien Cornelia van Kranenburg (Dorien C) and impact manager Dorien de Boer (Dorien B). Together with the rest of the team, they worked hard over the past year to achieve this milestone.
Dorien B: An important first step was completing the Impact Assessment, B Corp’s free tool with around 200 questions. This gives you a clear idea of where you stand: this is where we’re doing well, here’s where we can improve, and this we’re already doing but need to document. For instance, we prioritize walking or cycling whenever possible. If that’s not feasible, we use public transport. However, we hadn’t documented this practice anywhere.
Dorien C: In B Corp, you earn points for overall business operations. This is the same for all companies. Then there’s the Impact Business Model: how do you generate revenue while making an impact? For us, it’s all about biodiversity: the more revenue we generate, the more biodiversity we create.
Dorien B: Standard certificates in the construction industry, such as BREEAM and WELL, didn’t fully reflect our type of impact. Following guidance from B Lab (the organization that evaluates the assessments), we explored the Biodiversity Net Gain. In the UK, every construction project must create 10% biodiversity. To measure this independently, the Biodiversity Net Gain framework was developed. Wageningen is also exploring how this can be applied in the Netherlands. So, we’re ahead of the curve in this area.
‘We were able to tick ‘Good’ on 92% of our projects for Biodiversity Net Gain.”
Dorien C: For Biodiversity Net Gain, three things are important: 1. There is food available all year round. 2. There are many different plant structures: from small ground covers to larger shrubs. And 3: there are no invasive species that spread quickly, such as Japanese knotweed and butterfly bush. If you can’t tick anything, you score ‘Poor.’ If you almost fully comply, you score ‘Moderate,’ and if you can tick everything, you score ‘Good.’ We were able to tick ‘Good’ on 92% of our projects, which is a fantastic score. One rooftop garden was ‘Moderate’ because we didn’t plant enough native flowering plants there. But there was a practical reason for this: the load-bearing capacity of the roof construction wasn’t sufficient.
Dorien B: What we were already doing was combining suppliers so that no two half-empty trucks go to our projects. This is part of our Suppliers Code. In addition, we continuously have conversations with them to put sustainability on their agenda too. We have it in black and white that our suppliers don’t use pesticides and grow their plants peat-free. We ourselves always work with peat-free soil.
The great thing about our B Corp certification is that now an independent party recognizes everything we do. That we are leading the way in the construction and gardening world.
Dorien B: We haven’t included it yet, but we want to next time. And we want to expand it further. We already give many lectures and presentations. For now, we chose to focus on biodiversity. Education is a separate impact model. We didn’t need it to become a B Corp. But it’s a very important part of our theory of change.
Dorien C: We want to ensure that by 2035, there is greenery in every street of every city. We can’t achieve this alone through projects. Our role as a catalyst to create a green spot is very important. Our workshops always ignite a spark in someone. And we are increasingly collaborating to spread our mission internationally.
Dorien B: In the construction world, it’s always about circular building, rarely about adding biodiversity. That’s a blind spot in the construction world. If we can turn that blind spot into a green spot, we’ll make tremendous progress!
Dorien C: The only way for us to score even better on our impact model in three years is to replace more stones with greenery. More surface area means more impact. We’re exploring the opportunities for cementing our activities around educating employees, passers-by but also decision making stakeholders on ‘the value of good green’ through making it a business model. Additionally, we have set goals for broader business operations. And we are happy to engage with anyone who wants to join us on this journey.