• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, November 5, 2021

Havas New York has been awarded certification as a B Corporation.

To achieve that status the agency met rigorous standards in five key areas, including governance, workers, community, environment, and customers. It enacted policies that reduced carbon emissions, provided fair and living wages to its staff, met ethical standards regarding practices in their supply chain and gave back to the community.

The certification process is overseen by non-profit B Lab, which has a global directory on its site listing the 4,000-plus firms around the world that have so far achieved B Corp status.

Havas claims to be the first “major network agency” to make the list.

A quick check of the B Lab directory under the marketing and communications services category shows dozens of agencies, mostly smaller independent firms, have also achieved B Corp certification in the U.S. In the UK, Havas London achieved certification in 2018 and a MullenLowe unit has also made the list there.

Havas Lemz in Amsterdam received certification last year.  

The full list can be accessed here at the B Lab website.

Havas New York began working toward B Corp certification in 2019. In late September, it named its first Chief of Social Impact—Lindsay Stein.

Laura Maness, Havas New York CEO, challenged the industry to pursue the goal, saying: “Becoming a Certified B Corp should be an ambition that every modern leader aspires to achieve.”