Why Sharesies is a B CorpWhy Sharesies is a B Corp

At Sharesies, our purpose is to create financial empowerment for everyone. To do that, we have to be a sustainable business to ensure we’re going to be around for our investors for the long haul. That’s why we’ve been an accredited B Corp since 2019. 

What’s a B Corp?

B Corps are businesses that balance profit and purpose. To get certified as a B Corp, businesses need to achieve a verified score on the B Impact Assessment—a rigorous assessment of the business’ impact on its workers, customers, community, and environment. You may have heard of other B Corps such as Patagonia, T2, and Who Gives a Crap.

Why is Sharesies a B Corp? 

Becoming a certified B Corp was a no-brainer. As a platform empowering people to develop their wealth, our goals and values as a company align with what B Corps are all about—being committed to using business as a force for good.

A big part of this is building strong relationships and having a positive impact on our wider communities and stakeholders—including our team. In 2019, we were recognised in the Best for the World B Corp awards for how we treat our staff. 

Being a B Corp also keeps us accountable. As an investor using Sharesies, we want you to know that you’re using a platform that’s backed by a team that believes in taking action to help reduce inequality, create a healthier environment, and build stronger communities. 

What does being a B Corp mean in practice?

Some of the projects that we’ve been working on since our last B Corp assessment include: 

Carbon neutrality

We became carbon neutral accredited through Ekos, meaning we measured our carbon impact and fully offset that impact by purchasing carbon credits in forestry projects in Australia. We also prioritise the use of other B Corp suppliers where possible, or look for carbon neutral, fair trade, and ethical companies first. We love to work with businesses that share our values and collectively uplift each other.

Volunteer leave

We introduced one day of volunteer leave per year for all staff at Sharesies. This works in the same way as any other type of leave, like annual leave or sick leave. Now, every year, staff at Sharesies get to spend a day volunteering for a cause that they care about. It’s a great reason to get whole teams out of the office (or our houses!) and together in our local communities. 

Donations policy

While we’d always donated to causes, we didn’t have a specific policy or process in place for how staff could go about asking for support for a cause they felt strongly about. We’re now set up so that anyone in the business can put forward a donation recommendation. 

Sustainable investing

We believe that financial empowerment is about empowering people with choice—and providing people with the information they need to make those choices.

We offer the ability to search for responsible investments on Sharesies (go to Explore > Search > Filter > Responsible), and we’re always exploring ways to help our investors understand these options. 

Keep in mind that filtering by responsible investments isn’t financial advice and may not align to your own financial goals or standards for responsible investment. Always do your own due diligence before buying an investment.

Wrapping up

At Sharesies, we’re committed to building a purposeful, sustainable business. We’re currently in the process of B Corp reaccreditation, and will be looking to improve on our initial accreditation score. Thanks for being part of our journey! We look forward to sharing more updates about being a B Corp with you soon. 

Check out The B Corp™ website to read our B Impact Report