NouvelleBox and B Corp: Navigating the Certification Process

Frankly, the timing couldn’t be more opportune given that in certain parts of the world the imperatives of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) are increasingly under threat. Meanwhile, the European Commission is in the process of ensuring that traders do not mislead consumers about environmental and social impacts. There’s a lot of change and factors to consider and digest.

“With decarbonisation efforts falling short of targets and the climate crisis accelerating, inaction is not an option,” notes The State of Fashion 2025 compiled by BOF and McKinsey & Company.

“We couldn’t be prouder to join this community and can’t wait to show the world how we can catalyse positive change,” enthuses founder and director Darren Hildrow, explaining how this achievement demonstrates that NouvelleBox meets B Lab’s high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability.

So, what does the process of becoming B Corp certified entail? It is certainly a rigorous undertaking requiring a lengthy in-depth assessment of business impact and to be independently verified by B Lab, the non-profit behind B Corp. Each aspect of business operations is measured and the ripple effect of a business, including all the people that it touches, assessed. All B Corps are legally committed to balancing purpose and profit and to use the power of their business as a force for good. A company cannot gain certification until it makes a legally binding commitment to people and planet, alongside profit. In the UK this means amending a company’s Articles of Association (legal governing documents) to include wording that protects the company mission and binds directors to ethical decision-making. NouvelleBox has done this, and its Articles of Association are publicly available on Companies House a government-run agency that registers limited liability companies in the UK.

Pyrrha in Vancouver, Canada and E.C One in London are two of the 50-plus progressive jewellery-related, for-profit companies that have achieved B Corp status thus far. And like NouvelleBox, their primary intention is using business as a force for good.

However, the jewellery industry has recently come under the B Corp microscope, resulting in a pause in certification for some in the jewellery sector. This was clarified by a B Corp spokesperson. “As B Lab works to evolve the standards for B Corp Certification, we are using this moment to optimise risk standards and processes more broadly. Companies that operate in the jewellery industry and generate more than $10 million in annual revenue cannot currently certify on the current standards. This pause is in place while industry-specific risks are being incorporated into the development of the new standards. Jewellers that are already certified can re-certify on the current standards and will be assessed against the new standards once available.”

Mica Janiv, the sustainability consultant who guided NouvelleBox through the complex process, attributes this pause to gold and gemstone mining being deemed a ‘controversial industry’ and any business connected to mining undergoing extra scrutiny before even being considered eligible for B Corp status. She notes that this new twist made the certification process which NouvelleBox completed much more complicated than it had been in the past.

“We had to jump through more hoops than any of my other clients have done to prove to B Lab that NouvelleBox is part of the solution, not the problem,” she explains. “We built several robust codes and policies that push every player in the supply chain to take up the mantle of responsibility for ethical mining.”

Undoubtedly, Hildrow and Janiv have learnt valuable lessons from the experience and they’re now looking to share this with the NouvelleBox community to help interested parties navigate all the complexities involved.

Hildrow has grown his international community of jewellers, brands, buyers, press and related businesses, and since gaining B Corp certification in December 2024 is seeking to shape it even further. “As a family of jewellery artisans, the NouvelleBox community understands that quality craftsmanship does not compromise on excellence, does not bend on ethics, and does not exploit natural resources. This is why NouvelleBox is committed to supply chain transparency and accountability. Not just its own, but those of clients and partners,” he says.

NouvelleBox joins a growing community of over 9,000 businesses globally that have certified as B Corps. With over 2,300 companies spanning a range of different industries and sizes, the UK’s B Corp community stands out as one of the largest and fastest growing in the world. 

But it’s shaping the immediate NouvelleBox community that Hildrow sees as his role. “We’ve created a set of sustainability tools for all our clients. When jewellers embark on their journey with NouvelleBox, we support them with a sort of ‘sustainability kit’. The idea is that as a community, we can uphold rigorous ethical standards throughout our industry’s value chain.”

For more information about B Corp and help with navigating the certification process, please contact Mica Janiv via hi@micajaniv.com or visit her website: https://www.micajaniv.com