Quest Impact Design Studio

Quest Studio’s B Corp Journey

From its inception, Quest Studio set its sights on the B Corp certification as it embodies everything this company was to stand for. As an impact consultancy, we recognize the crucial need for systemic change and our role within it. Becoming a B Corp wasn’t just a goal—but a reflection of ourselves and the change we want to lead.

When we first approached the certification in 2019, we earned a certification score of 87.4.

By following the B Impact Assessment, we learned much about our organization’s potential for impact, and ultimately, this framework led to a strong foundation for our future. Yet, as we always say, the certification is only the beginning of this impact journey. 

Fast forward to this year, we recertified with a score of 122.7! 

We’re not here to boast about our 35-point increase (although we’re proud). What we truly want to celebrate is the improvement our impact journey led and the lessons we learned along the way.

The Quest Impact Roadmap to B Corp recertification
The Quest Impact Roadmap to recertification

B Corp Recertification Journey

Like our first certification journey, we started auditing our direct and indirect impact alongside our gaps. To do so, we created our own Quest Impact Scan. Inspired by the B Impact Assessment, SDGs, and the GRI framework, we measured and evaluated negative and positive impacts across employees, environment, community, governance, and suppliers to gain insights into areas of strength and areas for improvement.

After measuring our holistic impact, it was time for a materiality assessment to determine the priority areas we could and should further commit to as a team.

These two tools became the input for our Impact Roadmap – full of actionable quick wins and short and long-term impact strategies. Our roadmaps are ever-evolving, constantly adapting to the changing sustainability landscape, and guided by the ultimate aim of fostering a genuine, long-term commitment to sustainability, partnership, and positive impact.

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Building Impact Business Models

We can write a book of all the steps we took to recertify, instead, we wanted to focus on the power of Impact Business Models (IBMs).

IBMs are one of the three aspects evaluated in the B Impact Assessment, measuring how intertwined social and environmental performance is with the way you do business. Qualifying for an IBM can be challenging, with most certified B Corps having 0-2 IBMs. Earning credit in an IBM is difficult, and having three or more applicable IBMs is extremely rare.

Since day one, our core policy has always been to provide our expertise only to the “right” customers and projects—those who ignite positive change. Why? Impact-driven businesses play a crucial role in transforming business as usual. By partnering with those committed to driving positive impact, we contribute to enhancing and growing the impact space.

Though we were always a mission-locked organization that focused on supporting purpose-driven organizations, we wanted to look at the lifecycle of our organization and our services. Given that we are mainly service-based, we evaluated the negative impact of our only ‘product,’ digital design, and websites. 

Quest's B Corp recertification score

Realizing that about 2% of global greenhouse gas emissions come from the internet every year, we needed to push our digital sustainability efforts. 

With transformation and a lot of learning, we prioritized responsible development to minimize negative impacts and ensure the long-term viability of all our digital design services. It’s not just about reducing the carbon footprint of our digital strategies and products, but also about ensuring accessibility and inclusivity for everyone. This commitment has earned us our third IBM. As they say, good things come in threes, and we couldn’t agree more.

Learn about all the details of our recertification here!

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The future of our impact roadmap

The B Corp movement is all about driving transformational change. As a certified service provider, we continually ask ourselves: how can we make a bigger impact through our work?

After we finished our original certification, we began conducting extensive research on CO2 neutrality and Net Zero to explore how we could create a tangible impact through our climate-neutral journey. 

The truth is, for a small company like Quest, obtaining a CO2-neutral label would be a manageable feat. However, we realized that while it might enhance our marketing efforts, it won’t significantly improve our overall impact.

Habitats is a non-profit focused on biodiversity conservation and restoration
Quest Studio's newly launched non-profit Habitats

Instead of using our financial resources for a mere badge of approval, we have decided to invest in what truly matters: saving biodiversity. We proudly partnered and launched Habitats, a non-profit organization dedicated to long-term structural solutions for climate change and biodiversity degradation.

Could Habitats be our ticket to a fourth charitable giving IBM in our 2026 recertification? Probably not. In the meantime, we have been busy leveraging our branding, marketing, and fundraising expertise to make Habitats punch a bit above its weight right from the start.

What we are focusing on is bringing systemic change in the biodiversity conservation and restoration space. Check out Habitats now!

The rise of the resale channels

Already before Covid hit, second-hand fashion had been picking up momentum. Especially younger generations have been hanging about flea markets and garage sales to find the perfect second-hand catch. Resale channels as Vinted, Wallapop, Depop, Vestaire Collective perfectly met the needs of consumers who combined tighter budgets with a desire to be more sustainable.

The pandemic really accelerated the growth of the resale market, which has evolved from being a side business to a golden opportunity brands can’t seem to seize fast enough. Projections say the resale market is set to reach around 77 billion USD by 2025. Enter the opportunity for brands: why would consumers  buy their second-hand Hugo Boss shirt on Vinted, when they can do so on a dedicated Hugo Boss resale channel? 

Hugo Boss’s resale launch included comments that secondhand purchases on average are 44 percent lower in carbon emissions than new purchases. Lululemon announced “a major step toward a circular eco-system” while Target says it is testing resale “in service to deliver on evolving guest needs, value and bold commitments to sustainability”.

  • A greener image? Check.
  • Increased customer loyalty? Check.
  • A higher customer lifetime value? Check.
Resale section in a Patagonia shop
Picture credits: Patagonia

Patagonia leads the way

When it comes to setting up a resale channel, fellow B Corp Patagonia led the way in the sustainable fashion industry by launching Worn Wear in 2017. In an official statement, Patagonia’s board claimed: “Worn Wear is a set of tools to help our customers partner with Patagonia to take mutual responsibility to extend the life of the products Patagonia makes and customers purchase. The program provides significant resources for responsible care, repair, reuse and resale, and recycling at the end of a garment’s life.”

As an example setter in the sustainable fashion space, Patagonia got it right: the goal of its program is to celebrate the longevity of their products, and to change the way people think about the clothes they own.

Are you planning on setting up your own resale channel?

 

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4 mistakes to avoid when setting up a resale channel

1 – Forgetting what it’s all about

As active players in the sustainability space, we think reselling products is all about sustainability. It’s about making sure your products are used as long as possible and aren’t thrown away while they are still serviceable.

By using existing products longer, people buy less new products. New goods equal more resources needed, more greenhouse gas emissions and, eventually, more waste.

However, the fundamental goal of most producers, especially when it comes to fast fashion, is to make consumers buy more. Those brands consider their resale channel just another marketing tool to keep consumers engaged so they buy more new products. We know that, ultimately, that’s the catch for many—too many—fashion brands. 

We see brands setting up a resale program and then giving their customers gift cards, vouchers, or discount codes to stimulate participation in the program. Unless these codes or vouchers can only be spent on the resale platform (which is hardly ever the case), this becomes just another way for brands to incentivize their customers to buy new stuff. These brands are missing the whole point of recommerce, to begin with. Can you smell the greenwashing?

2 – Not making it an essential part of the brand’s (impact) strategy

Having a resale program should become an essential part of your business and impact strategy. You need clear goals on how many used items you sell and how that will impact the number of new items you produce and sell. Continuous monitoring and communication will be key as the importance of authenticity, transparency and full traceability will continue to grow in the next few years. Those brands who play their cards right from the start, will be able to turn their resale program into a real long-term differentiator instead of being a one-off gimmick.

3 – Doing more of the same

Resale platforms offer brands a huge opportunity to improve their customer journeys. The potential to create extra touchpoints that stimulate brand loyalty can hardly be overestimated. And yet, we see way too many boring resale channels that all look alike and don’t add any value to the customers’ experience or the brand’s image.

4 – Not using the revenue potential

Some brands are so focused on the marketing potential that they completely downplay the revenue potential. Resale is here to stay and its weight in the shopping landscape will only increase in the following years. So you better have a sustainable, long-term business model that uses the potential of resale optimally by turning it into an important revenue stream.

The rise of the impact consultant

The number of impact consultants is clearly increasing exponentially. From freelancers to agencies and even the biggest management consulting firms. We see a trend of large agencies taking over boutique impact agencies to get the impact knowledge in-house. Heck, we also received a couple of offers to take over Quest.

Makes sense. They notice large companies are finally willing to spend big money on sustainability so they move into that area. That’s good, because we need more people to drive positive change. My only question for these people and organizations is though: how sincere are you?

The rise (and fall?) of impact

Everyone is talking about making an impact or launching ‘impact collections’. All good, but let’s not fall into the typical marketing buzzword bingo trap. Something becomes a trend and then the word is so overused it loses all value. What do ‘sustainability’ or ‘eco’ mean nowadays? Why did we move from CSR to ESG? These terms stopped adding value to the marketing message because they were so hollowed out. That’s exactly what’s happening now with words like ‘impact’ or ‘purpose’. And as an (impact) consultant, you have a major role to play in this case.

So, what if we promise each other this?

1/ Cut the bs, and stop greenwashing

In our first year in business, we refused more revenue than we generated. The reason? The companies who asked us for help didn’t align with our values. In fact, the whole point of starting up Quest was to stop the greenwashing and to only support those who truly wanted to ignite positive changes.

As a consultant, it’s very easy to accept money, play along with your customer and then copy that approach for your next customer. It’s way more difficult to call out bs or greenwashing when you see it. And yet, that’s exactly your responsibility as impact consultants.

As an impact consultant, it’s your responsibility to call out bs or greenwashing when you see it.

Michael Boschmans, Founder – Quest

We still see too many empty promises combined with a lack of ambition. Being an impact consultant shouldn’t be about making clear what minimal promise a company can get away with. You always have to push for true change. Don’t settle for less. If you don’t push these organizations, who will?

 

2/ Make sustainability a key differentiator

Let’s do an exercise and analyze the impact reports and strategies of the 30 major players in a certain segment on a global scale. What you’ll see is a lot of materiality assessments, (bronze, silver, gold) labels, SDG icons and 2030 or 2050 promises (I wonder what happened to all those 2020 goals?). Don’t get me wrong, all of these are necessary but let’s be honest: if you compare the impact reports and strategies of all 30 organizations, how many of them truly stand out?

In so many industries, the potential to use sustainability as a key differentiator is still huge. As impact consultants, you cannot attain that level with a classic copy-paste approach. You need to dig deep and analyze the market before you can come up with a unique, ambitious story that differentiates your customer from all others and pushes your customers’ image and profits to new heights.

 

3/ Make yourself and your surroundings proud

At the end of the day, I can say I’m very proud of the work we’re doing with Quest. Every day, we do our best to create positive change together with our amazing change-making customers. We continuously challenge ourselves and our customers and when something doesn’t feel right, we stop doing it. Because the main KPI for all team members is very clear: positive impact.

You don’t get to this level of pride by only saying yes. You need to make choices. Whenever I have to make a hard decision the ultimate question I always ask myself is: will this offer my daughters a better or a worse world to live in? That tends to put things into perspective and make decisions easier.

I wish you an equal amount of amazing change-making customers and an equal sense of pride about the work you’re doing. Because that can only mean you’re enjoying driving positive change. And in that case, we should probably talk soon to discuss a long-term collaboration.

 

What do you think?

1. How is B Corp certification different?

Sustainability certifications, frameworks, guides, etc. have been trending in the last decade, and more will be in the future. It seems that all companies are looking for the next “best” certification to stick onto their branding and websites. While this proliferation of terms and labels certainly justifies the fear of increasing greenwashing, it is also a great example of the changing times. 

B Corp certification differs from others because it is an all-encompassing assessment that evaluates how every business decision impacts people, planet, and profit. Compared to other evaluations, the B Impact Assessment is not a reporting system but a comprehensive approach that builds on standards such as GRI and IRIS, amongst others. Want to compare different sustainability assessments? Check out the new Impact management project.

2. What does a holistic approach mean?

When you hear B Corp Certification, you tend to get responses like: 

  • It is a Holistic Approach
  • It is a Movement

While other certifications assess your business and simply give a stamp of approval, B Corp certification goes beyond mere commitments to sustainability, impact, net-zero and leads to a collaborative movement of action and systems change.

Becoming a B Corp means joining an all-encompassing community of companies committed to the same vision and goals that support your impact goals, advance your performance, and guide you through crucial business decisions.

As a certified B Corp, Quest Studio team has the privilege of knowing the community from the inside and has experienced the credibility and the power this collective movement is making across the globe. We strongly believe that this is only the beginning of the endless ripples of change to come. That is why Quest Studio is part of B Corp Way, a platform that enables businesses to find B Corp consultancies to help them address impact challenges. As B Lab’s selected partner in Belgium, we offer mentorship focused on scaling impact.

Quest Impact Design Studio

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3. Is it possible to be profitable and sustainable?

One of the biggest misconceptions about B Corps is that sustainability hinders business growth. On the contrary, one of the main purposes of this movement is to help build a sustainable economy, which includes economic stability for businesses, people, communities, and the global economy. 
Therefore, all the benefits of B Corp certification, such as engaged employees, committed consumers, strategic partnerships, and marketing reinforcement help scale businesses. B Lab itself highlights how you can market the certification to help you increase your profit margins. Ultimately, certified companies need to make a profit if they are to continue to drive the movement forward and reinvest their profits to uphold their commitment to the planet and people.

4. Is my company size fit to be a B Corp?

The answer is: B Corp Certification is for every for-profit business of any size. The only two current requirements are the following:

  • You are a for-profit business
  • You have been operating for a year 

In addition, B Lab also clearly states that companies involved in coal mining and oil sands extraction, anti-climate lobbying, or that have compensation and performance incentives linked to fossil fuels, are ineligible for certifying. 

Large Enterprises

 

For larger corporations, the process of becoming a B Corp can be more complex, but it can be a great way to monitor the impact each business unit is causing. Take the case of Intrepid Travel: it had its 20 subsidiaries complete the assessment to certify the entire organization. Now, when a subsidiary makes changes that impact its individual BIA score, the parent company can directly see the impact it has on the company-wide score, making the process easier to manage.

Small to medium businesses

 

For smaller organizations, B Corp Certification can primarily be a  framework to formalize standards and guidelines. At Quest Studio, we used it as a frame of reference to build a strong foundation for our future. We were only four people when we certified, and now as we continue to grow, our building blocks support us and guide us to make better and smarter decisions for our team and community. 

For small businesses and startups, there is also the Pending B Corp status, which is designed to give these types of companies time to prepare for the rigorous process of full B Corp Certification. Becoming a Pending B Corp is not the same as becoming a Certified B Corp. After a definite period of time determined by the regional B Lab or Sistema B organization, they must go through the full verification process.

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5. Is it hard to certify as a B Corp?

The certification process is definitely not easy, nor should it be. The numbers show that only one out of every three companies gets certified. Ultimately, the process is intended to be a pulse check of how your business decisions impact society and an in-depth review of your action plan.

We advised all companies seeking to certify to use and trust the framework. Not getting to 80? The B Corp Assessment provides you with the recommendations you need to reach that goal. The steps are paved out for you to take – it’s just about taking them. We know this is all easier said than done and if we have learned anything from the Paris Agreement or even COP27, it’s that good intention is worthless without tangible action…. But isn’t it time we acted?

6. Why should you take part in the B Corp movement?

No business, sustainable or otherwise, is perfect, nor is any sustainability certification. 

Becoming B Corp certified means that you are committing to continuously pushing the boundaries to help shift the paradigm to a more inclusive and sustainable economy. It is a marathon, not a sprint: becoming a certified B Corp is just the beginning of the journey, not the end goal. That is why B Corps have to go through a recertification process every three years to verify if the company is acting on its goals and commitments and is improving its impact. 

One of the movement’s foundational principles is continuous improvement. That is why, just like its certified companies, and third-party assessor, the B Impact Assessment also updates every three years to adapt to the global feedback, other standards organizations, and regulations from government bodies globally. 

In September 2022, B Lab introduced the latest standards for B Corp Certification, which will be moving away from the 80-point score to one where all B Corps must meet requirements on ten specific topics that define leadership on social, governance, and environmental business impact.

Ultimately, the Movement and certification are part of a learning journey that is constantly adapting to push systems to be more inclusive and sustainable for all. We’re glad to be on this transparent journey and hope to guide you through it too.

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