B CORP

B CORP

WE ARE A CERTIFIED B CORP!

We were officially certified as a B Corp in September 2023 and are committed to using our business as a force for good, by:

  • delivering insights for our clients which power positive change
  • empowering and nurturing our team
  • supporting our community
  • respecting our environment

WHAT IS A B CORP?

Certified B Corporations, or ‘B Corps’ are companies who are accredited to have achieved high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability.  B Corps are a rapidly growing global community of 6,000+ organisations committed to using their business as a force for good.  The UK is home to upwards of 1,400 of these companies.

The process to becoming a B Corp Certified company is rigorous and requires meeting targets in five areas: Governance, Workers, Community, Environment and Customers.

Businesses must provide evidence of socially and environmentally responsible practices relating to energy supplies, waste and water use, worker compensation, diversity and corporate transparency.

Once B Corp status is reached – certified by B Lab UK for UK businesses – the company must make a legal commitment to maintaining these standards through amendments to its articles of association.  To remain a B Corp, companies need to keep improving and must recertify every 3 years, demonstrating they have made improvements since last being certified.

More information on becoming a B Corp can be found here: https://bcorporation.uk/

APPLICATION PROCESS

Companies applying to be a B Corp are independently assessed to ensure they meet the standards of social and environmental performance required for certification as a B Corp. The certification process is rigorous – taking up to a year to qualify. The assessment is continually updated and made harder, taking into account the way the world is changing.

As part of our application process we formed a working group looking at all areas of our business and operations, proposing changes to how we work, how we manage ourselves and how we engage with suppliers and clients.  The working group is now a focal point for continual improvement in our business and how we measure up to B Corp’s standards, looking forward to our recertification in a few years’ time.

OUR SCORE

We are very proud to have achieved an overall impact score of 125.6, well above the minimum score of 80 required to become a B Corp.

For more details about our score and how it is built up, please visit our page on the B Corp directory: https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us/find-a-b-corp/company/mm-eye-ltd/

WHAT B CORP MEANS TO US

Our B Corp certification is important to us as it underlines to our staff, our clients, our suppliers and our wider stakeholders our moral and legal commitment to balance environmental and social considerations alongside making a fair profit, in all the decisions we make as a business.  Our B Corp certification reinforces our company values of acting with Integrity, being Supporting and being Empowered.

B Corp has given us a framework to bring together all the work we do around our agenda for positive change and has given us some practical tools and ideas for further improvements.

We are also delighted and proud to be recognised members of this growing global supportive community of like-minded, value-driven businesses.

POWERING ALTERNATIVE FUEL VEHICLE DEVELOPMENT

POWERING ALTERNATIVE FUEL VEHICLE DEVELOPMENT

POWERING ALTERNATIVE FUEL VEHICLE DEVELOPMENT

We have worked on a number of projects to help our automotive clients address the many challenges and opportunities presented by the transition to electric vehicle ownership.

CHALLENGE

For many years the automotive industry has been making a slow, steady transition away from traditional petrol and diesel vehicles and towards alternative, renewable energy options.  The mainstream move to change kicked off as far back as 1997, when the Toyota Prius became the first mass produced hybrid engine car.

Our client came to us in 2016, knowing that the pace of change was speeding up, but still not certain as to where the market might end up or how it was going to get there.  Would full electric lead the way? Would there be a breakthrough in hydrogen technology? How and when might consumer choice influence the direction of travel?  What would be the main catalysts for change, the barriers to overcome and motivations that could encourage customer demand?

Customer research was needed to inform the pace and nature of change that the business needed to make, ensuring that that change could be closely aligned to customer needs and expectations and stimulate the demand needed to deliver commercial success.

ACTION

In partnership with our client we designed a tracking study that would stand the test of time, providing flexibility in terms of both survey content and analysis opportunities.  Just as well as it’s now been delivering insight to their business for 6 years!

Initially covering 8 markets and 13 passenger vehicle segments the project recently expanded to include compact, medium and heavy duty commercial vehicles in 5 of those markets.

A combination of traditional awareness, knowledge, interest and consideration questions, combined with our Thoughtscape approach, enables us to measure standard metrics and at the same time assess what drives buyer behaviour at a more spontaneous, emotional level.

OUTCOME

Our research has guided our client’s business strategy for alternative fuel vehicle development, helping them to understand consumer barriers and motivations. They have developed communications strategies that inform and guide consumer choice, initiated product development work to ensure vehicles that are fit for an ‘ICE-free’ future and are able to understand and address the non-vehicle related issues that consumers face when moving to alternative fuels, particularly plug-in vehicles.

EVOLUTION MONEY: EVIDENCING POSITIVE IMPACT

EVOLUTION MONEY:  EVIDENCING POSITIVE IMPACT

EVOLUTION MONEY:  EVIDENCING POSITIVE IMPACT

CHALLENGE

Evolution Money was established to provide credit and improve the quality of life for homeowners who, due to imperfect credit history, were being refused finance in a time of need.

They now needed evidence to further inform the Board how far they had progressed against delivering this business purpose and to seek opportunities to improve upon their offering.

ACTION

From the outset we built our research design to measure Evolution’s progress against their core business purpose – Does an Evolution loan have a positive impact on their customers’ quality of life?

Evolution themselves were going through the process of becoming a certified B Corp company and were new to conducting market research. As such, the programme had to be focused, with clear objectives and deliver actionable recommendations for further improvement.

Initially, we spoke to around 200 customers in a quantitative survey to build an understanding of the Evolution customer journey – covering both the highs and the lows – and evidencing the financial impact their loan had on their everyday lives. We then followed this up with in-depth interviews to uncover the personal stories and experiences of customers. What had bought them to Evolution? Had the loan had a positive impact on their personal lives? Had it changed their spending habits?

OUTCOME

Combining the evidence gathered from the quantitative stage with the depth of understanding uncovered in the in-depth interviews we developed positive impact stories which could be shared to evidence their business purpose.

The research delivered facts and stories which will be used to demonstrate the positive change that Evolution has to their customers’ lives, along with areas for further improvement where they can continue to evolve.

TESTIMONIAL

“MM-Eye helped us to evidence the positive impact we believed we had on our customers. We knew that our loans helped our customers when they had nowhere else to turn, but we lacked the data to prove this. The insight they provided not only gave us this evidence but painted real-life pictures of our customers – the financial situations they had found themselves in and the positive impact our loan had on their everyday lives. This research will be invaluable in helping us achieve our goal to become B Corp accredited and has given us clear, tangible recommendations on how to continue delivering against our business purpose.”

Susan Harrison, Head of ESG

Evolution Money

 

CASUAL DINING SECTOR: DEMAND FOR SUSTAINABILITY?

CASUAL DINING SECTOR: DEMAND FOR SUSTAINABILITY?

CASUAL DINING SECTOR: DEMAND FOR SUSTAINABILITY?

CHALLENGE

In a crowded marketplace, our client identified the need for a foundational understanding of the casual dining market, with a specific focus on sustainability, in order to stand out and attract new customers (whilst not alienating a loyal customer base).

A core objective of the research was to understand whether there was a consumer demand for sustainable dining and, if so, how this should be communicated to diners. Does sustainability impact diners’ decisions on where to eat on a rational or emotional level? Are diners willing to pay more for a sustainable dining experience?

There was a clear need for further evidence before any commercial decisions or changes were made.

ACTION

We built a research programme focusing on the stakeholders which mattered most to our client and where there was the greatest potential for a positive change – their customers.

A large, robust study was conducted to profile the casual dining market and understand the emotional and rational motivations and drivers of dining decisions. Did this include sustainability?

Alongside this, we conducted a number of qualitative, face to face interviews with diners at our client’s restaurants to understand the ‘why’ behind these motivations.

OUTCOME

With the client’s objective to understand the impact of sustainability on dining decisions, we delivered insight on where sustainability sat alongside other emotional and rational drivers.

We provided clear, tangible direction and prioritised ideas on how our client could incorporate sustainability into their future operations and strategy, giving them a point of differentiation from competitors, without distracting from their core offer.

THE SAY DO SUSTAINABILITY STUDY

THE SAY DO SUSTAINABILITY STUDY

THE SAY DO SUSTAINABILITY STUDY

CHALLENGE

Business leaders face ever-increasing pressure to reduce the environmental impact of their activities, but many brands are failing to incorporate sustainability as a pillar of their customer proposition.  This might be due to:

  • Lack of evidence for the business benefit reinforced by outdated views as to the importance of sustainability
  • Conflicting signals around the level of consumer demand for sustainability. Depending on who you listen to sustainability is either the most important criteria for consumers nowadays or a “nice to have”, easily cast aside in favour of a cheaper price or more convenient offer
  • BAU/other business priorities get in the way – there is a perceived conflict between what we want to achieve with our business/brand and what we have to do in order to be sustainable

A key factor that can help motivate change towards more sustainable business decisions is evidence – robust, relevant and actionable insight.

ACTION

We partnered with our sister company, Say Do, to conduct The Say Do Sustainability Study (SDSS).

SDSS was an online, quantitative survey amongst 5000 ABC consumers in the UK.

It covered individual consumer perceptions of, attitudes towards and actions around sustainability, with specific drill downs into casual dining, tourism, personal mobility, home energy and outdoor clothing.

We followed up the quantitative research with online qualitative zoom interviews, talking to a mix of consumers about their personal stories when it comes to leading a more sustainable life.

OUTCOME

The research provides the evidence base that proves there is an opportunity to make sustainability a pillar of a business’ customer proposition and that there is a commercial advantage in doing so. In addition, it acts as a tool to inspire and guide action for more positive and responsible decision making.

Almost all of this target audience believe that they can and should be doing more to lead a more sustainable lifestyle.

We identified 5 customer segments, based on sustainability attitudes and behaviour.  Brands that tap into and target these segments stand to benefit from unlocking the latent demand for more sustainable products and services.

The research identifies clear barriers across each of the segments and how companies can motivate consumers to value and prioritise sustainability, optimising the commercial opportunity and gaining competitive advantage.

Video edits from the qualitative element help bring the customers to life and we can hear how they face the sustainability challenges in their own words.

Listen to a Well Informed Enthusiast.

Find out more about the everyday challenges that get in the way of being more sustainable.

 

PEOPLE

PEOPLE

We work with our clients to understand all stakeholder groups, enabling change that results in responsible business practice

We know that to make a business truly sustainable, our research must include and benefit all key stakeholder groups and the wider community. This is why we talk to everyone, from the people that make up your supply chain to your customers and prospects. Whether it’s deep dive internal management interviews or global online customer surveys, we make every contact point count.

PLANET

PLANET

All our research supports sustainability strategies, whatever the brief

We know that market research has little long-term value for our clients without sustainability at its centre. We review each brief to assess how the research can be designed and executed to deliver to the project objectives and simultaneously have a positive social or environmental impact. Understanding your sustainability targets will enable us to ensure your project is aligned with them and accelerate your progress towards them.

PROFIT

PROFIT

Our insights unlock the value in synergy between profit and planet

To be a force for good, businesses must be commercially, as well as environmentally, sustainable: they need to strive for competitive advantage and growth at the same time as benefitting people and planet.

Our research proves that stakeholders across the board are becoming more environmentally savvy and socially responsible and that businesses have an opportunity to leverage this heightened awareness for both commercial gain and planet positive change. We aim for the sweet spot that identifies insights that support the alignment of environmental, ethical and commercial targets.

PARTNERSHIP

PARTNERSHIP

Our collaborative approach ensures clients get the most out of our research

We will work in partnership with you, rather than for you, so that we get to know your business from inside out and earn your trust. We pride ourselves on building enduring relationships with our clients based on honesty, transparency and integrity. This approach not only ensures our research is rigorously tailored to your specific needs and stakeholder types but also gives everyone in the partnership peace of mind.

We believe passionately that the benefits of market research should not be limited to commercial organisations. This is why we are partnering with Pilotlight (https://www.pilotlight.org.uk/ ) to make our expertise available to UK charities who might otherwise not be able to afford it.