When founder Rory Unsworth first conceived the idea of Simplifire in 2018 his idea was to put businesses back in control of their contracts, and to promote the use of standards.

He believed that the most sustainable way of delivering on this intention was to build a business designed at its core to deliver benefit to society, as well as to create a profit.

So Simplifire, which is based in Switzerland, was created as a “beneficial corporation” with a declared commitment to openness and transparency. The company is now taking a further step by joining the “B Corp” movement.

The path to certification is not a light undertaking. It requires that governance, workers, community, environment and customers be organically at the heart of all decisions.  In larger organisations it can take some time, and even a re-alignment of organisational structures, to meet the requirements. For a start-up like Simplifire there is the advantage of starting with a blank canvas and building the new company around the principles of sustainability and social value.

Simplifire’s fresh approach to managing the Contract Life Cycle aligns nicely with the B Corp movement. Negotiation, and hence agreement, is made easier. Access to standard templates and clause libraries enables smaller organisations to reduce contractual risk whilst minimising legal costs. The platform is accessible to all organisations, large and small – free for the first year for all users, free forever for micro companies.

For Rory, “B Corp is also a community where we can learn about more sustainable ways of doing things. As the company grows and evolves we can regularly check that we are keeping aligned with our underpinning goals.”

As the world hopes to “build back better” following the pandemic, B Corp can be a powerful force, guiding business to create a more inclusive and sustainable world.