(Freely included as part of our service!)
One of the great pleasures in working on EOTs is taking part in the discussions around the values of the business, as seen through the lens of the current leadership. It’s not uncommon for me to find that there is a strong desire to preserve or enhance values that may not have been clearly expressed in the recent history of the company.
The change to an EOT is a great time to plant these values deep within the DNA of the business.
Sometimes these may relate to something very specific within the Company, as when Aardman Animations (www.aardman.com) etched deep within their articles, that the animated character ‘Morph’ (whose antics brightened my after-school tv schedule as a child) could not leave the business without the very highest level of approval. (see Article 4.1.8 (c) of the articles filed in 2018 https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/02672880/filing-history).
Protecting a company’s values and its interactions with the wider world is often a key legacy for founders
Sometimes, these values are made transparent in the audited accounts of all places. For a great example (if you like reading audited reports!) see Richer Sounds’ (www.richersounds.com) accounts, which spell out their clear focus on client service, happy employees and specific measures taken on carbon reduction commitments (see accounts filed 2022 https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/01402643/filing-history).
Many companies are now considering, or have commenced, a B Corp application (https://bcorporation.uk) to demonstrate their commitment to making their company a better organisation for the future of their community, employees and the planet. This sits very well with employee owned companies, which tend to focus on making a success of the business with more than just profit as the key driver (see https://employeeownership.co.uk/news/why-theres-a-growing-trend-of-employee-owned-businesses-wanting-to-become-b-corps-eoa-big-read/).
As part of a B Corp application, the articles of the company need to be amended to include broader commitments, including the obligation to ‘… have a material positive impact on (a) society and (b) the environment…’. I have worked with many EO companies that would quite happily include that article regardless of whether or not they were intent on becoming a B Corp.
Inclusion of B Corp Articles as part of our service
As part of an EOT transition, we change the articles of the company to align with the EOT structure. As part of our support, we can include the B Corp articles to the new company documents (with no extra cost). So whether you are already on the B Corp journey or simply view the principles as good business, we’ll write them in.
Or perhaps you prefer the commitment to 1% for the Planet (https://onepercentfortheplanet.org) or the Good Business Charter (https://www.goodbusinesscharter.com), well they can be included as an alternative.
Protecting a company’s values and its interactions with the wider world is often a key legacy for founders, so putting those values deep into the documents is quite understandable and very reassuring.
In the words of Aardman: ‘Morph was one of the first characters created by Aardman, and he embodies a lot of the studio’s values. Art and creativity are part of his DNA.’
And thanks to the articles of the company, Morph is very much part of the Aardman DNA.So let’s Take Hart – the dusty legal documents of companies can do so much more than govern a meeting…
