CSS Assure achieves B-Corp status.

Organisations with certified B-Corporation status are legally required to consider the impact of business decisions on their people, customers, suppliers, communities and the environment, ensuring a balance between purpose, people and profit.

The benchmarks in order to achieve accreditation are incredibly high and the auditing process is rigorous, with non-profit B-Lab independently scoring companies across governance, workers, community, environment and customers to determine the business’ social and environmental performance.

CSS Assure helps businesses become ‘hard to hack’ by offering a full cyber and data protection service, including network and system protection, building team resilience, and helping with regulatory compliance.

Director of strategy and policy Mike Wills said: “We’re hugely proud to be named a B-Corporation. This is the result of collaboration across our group and the drive to do business for good, ensuring we take care of our people, communities, clients and planet.”

As well as CSS Assure, Ampa also includes brands Shakespeare Martineau, Lime Solicitors, Marrons, Mayo Wynne Baxter, and Corclaim, employing more than 1,300 people over 18 hubs across the UK.

Helen Hay, group head of culture and sustainability at Ampa, said: “This is a huge achievement for us and demonstrates our commitment as a group to use business as a force for good for our people, planet, communities and clients.

“We’re really proud to have achieved our highest score for how we treat our people, including our approach to pay and reward, our wellbeing initiatives and benefits and embedding professional development support and opportunities across the group of brands.

“We keep ourselves accountable through our responsible business ambitions that are constantly tracked and analysed, pushing us to do better and achieve more. So far, we have achieved a number of our ambitions across diversity and inclusion, reducing landfill waste and carbon emissions, as well as supporting young people in our local communities.”

Among other ambitions, in 2022 the group increased racial diversity at a membership (equity stakeholder) level by more than 3%, against a target of 2%, supported more than 400 young people through a variety of career development events, and significantly reduced its paper use. Within the rigorous audit Ampa achieved its top score for commitment to employees and full marks for its intern programme.