Our Clients
Tracklements: The business of balance
Images courtesy of Tracklements
For condiment brand Tracklements, a B Corp certification is part of a much broader philosophy of what it means to do business responsibly.
Tracklements’ Managing Director Guy Tullberg is unequivocal about the company’s promise: “Our mission is to make great sauce,” he says. “That’s it; to be The Life and Soul of the Pantry.” On the side, however, the Tracklements team has also been busy achieving B Corp certification.
In 2021, it joined the ranks of over 700 B Corp companies in the UK — a certification that requires a commitment to rigorous environmental, social and governance standards and to moving beyond a singular focus on shareholder value — B Corps pursue shared value creation for the benefit of all stakeholders.
As well as being an investor in its people, the company generates its own green electricity, treats its own wastewater and supports local communities. For over a decade, Tracklements has partnered with Sherston Primary School to collect crabapples and turn them into jelly, returning 25p from each jar sold. As well as fundraising and producing delicious jelly, the project teaches young people about the provenance of their food and is a neat solution for fruit which might otherwise go to waste.
Good corporate citizenship
Underpinning all of these initiatives is balance and fairness, according to Guy. “Balance and fairness is what we strive for in our personal lives, and the B Corp framework is such a sensible, practical application of that for a business. I always like the idea that we behave like good citizens as a business and as individuals — and we’ve had that in our cultural notes for a long time. If we run that through everything we do, we start to create a positive environment.”
B Corp certification is holistic rather than focusing on a single social or environmental issue and it is this multi-layered approach that has helped build a real culture of sustainability at Tracklements. Guy explains: “You can’t say: ‘If we work really hard on one area, we’ll get loads of points and we’ll achieve certification’. You have to do a little bit of everything, a little bit better. Because the framework is made up of lots of little questions about our environmental and social impact and how we run our company, it’s very accessible — everybody who works with us can find their point of entry.”
“If you were able to scratch beneath the surface of one of our jars, we have to be what you imagine us to be.”
Guy Tullberg, Managing Director, Tracklements
The commercial benefits of being a B Corp are clear, too, thanks to efficiencies related to power generation and waste. “We’re not only using juice, we're generating it, and the most effective use of our own generation is to use it ourselves. That’s really advantageous — especially now, with rising energy costs,” he says.
Although the B Corp certification already resonates with supermarkets, educating consumers — ultimately the key beneficiaries — about its virtues is still a work in progress. “It’s just taking a bit of time,” Guy acknowledges. “We’ve got a small jar of sauce from which we’re trying to communicate and we’re also asking people to spend a bit more money on that jar. There are about 700 of us in the UK, of about 5 million businesses and we need more businesses to be B Corp.”
“Tracklements is a fantastic example of a business that has been prioritising positive social and environmental impact and striving to create shared value for shareholders, people and planet, long before the ESG revolution we’ve seen in recent years. It is a real pleasure working with Guy and the team and we continue to be impressed and inspired by their way of doing things.”
Matthew Hobbs, Senior Associate, Corporate, Charles Russell Speechlys
Alumni • Legal Notices • Accessibility • Privacy Notice • Fraudulent or 'scam' communication • Complaints Procedure • COVID Secure Certification • Pricing Information
© Charles Russell Speechlys 2022. Solicitors Regulation Authority number 420625.