Pizza Pilgrims: “Getting B Corp status is the beginning, rather than the finish line”

Congratulations on the accreditation​. How did it feel when you heard you’d been successful?​
On the one hand, of course, we’re elated to have got there. It’s taken two years to get to this point, and it’s quite a unilateral process. So, it was a huge feeling of relief and excitement when we found out that we’d got it. On the flip side, though, I look at it as us just getting to the threshold. There’s so much more to do. The achievement is great, but it’s not something we’re looking to just shout about from the rooftops. That’s not why we did it. The reason we did it was to create a framework for us, which was third party approved and could tell us where we could be better as a company. That’s the bit I’m excited about. Getting B Corp is great, but ultimately, it’s the beginning of something rather than a finish line. Now we’re working with everyone in the business, from our kitchen porters to our managing director, to see what can be done within the framework to make us better for the future.

What was it about the B Corp movement that appealed to you?​
What’s great about B Corp is that it literally covers every area of your business. People assume it’s mainly about sustainability, but it’s not, it’s about how you engage your teams, how you engage your community, governance, charity work etc. Every single person in our business, from the board members to the teams working the restaurant floors, have been so supportive. It’s really engaged everyone.

Tell us about the process​
It's so daunting when you first get the paperwork. There are some 200 action points on a spreadsheet, and you have to demonstrate which ones you cover already and then work out which ones you want to pursue in order to build up your score [to achieve B Corp status, businesses must achieve a B Impact Assessment score of 80 or above]. I didn’t think it would get any traction with our employees, so we divided it into priorities and then had meetings with different teams on what elements were relevant to them. And then we held general meetings every so often to track progress.

What was the most challenging element of the assessment?​
The sustainability stuff is tough for restaurants. B Corp’s framework is designed to capture every business type. Obviously there are some businesses in other sectors that have no offices and only six employees, so their impact on the environment is going to be easier to manage; whereas we, as a multi-site restaurant group, found it a much harder challenge to get over. There are some elements I think they got wrong too. For example, there’s a significant number of points available for offsetting, which is not something I believe in, and so we decided early on that we wouldn’t be pursuing those points. It meant the journey was harder, but also that we didn’t compromise our values. That’s one thing I would say to others looking to do B Corp – it’s important to look at every single thing and decide which bits are right for you. It’s important you don’t change what you’re about in order to meet their requirements.

Is there any other advice you have for restaurants looking to start the process?​
If you’re going to do it, do it wholeheartedly. We brought in a dedicated leader for the project and you need that kind of resource. It’s such a huge commitment, but don’t be too daunted by it. For us, the first time we did our score it was much lower than we expected, and that’s when you realise the scale of the challenge. But don’t let that first score leave you thinking you’re never going to get there, because when you break it down and if you’ve got the engagement of your teams, it becomes a unifying force, and you will get there.

You now have more than 20 sites, what’s Pizza Pilgrims’ expansion plans for the year ahead?​
As with everything we try and do it’s a slow and steady approach, opening each new site in an affordable and manageable way. We have a restaurant opening in London Euston in the coming months, and there’s a few more in the pipeline. We want to keep going at the right pace. As we gotten more grown up, we’ve managed to build a successful team around us and that means that now an opening doesn’t feel like climbing Everest every time. It’s much more manageable and as a result we can continue to grow sustainably, but at a faster pace.