The group has received certification from B Lab, a non-profit organisation that serves a global movement of people using business as a force for good.
Assessment criteria for B Corp status includes the measure of a company’s performance in five categories: governance, workers, customers, community and the environment and is one of the only certifications that is not for a product or a service but for the whole business.
Exclusive Collection operates four luxury hotels two country house venues, a golf club, two spas, a cookery school and a pub, including Pennyhill Park, South Lodge, The Manor House and Lainston House.
“We are extremely excited and proud to announce a brand-new chapter in the Exclusive Collection story as a certified B Corporation, joining a global community of businesses measuring our social and environmental impact. As the first hotel chain in the UK, we are excited and driven to make a change,” says the company.
Certified B Corporations are for-profit companies that use the power of business to build a more inclusive and sustainable economy. There are more than 4,000 B Corps in 13 industries in 77 countries.
“One of the things that attracted me to B Corp was the slogan people, planet, profit,” says Danny Pecorelli, managing director at Exclusive Collection.
“B Corp is about continuous improvement and I also think the team member of the future really wants to work for businesses that have a purpose wider than shareholder return.”