"Better Every Day" – Jervis Bay Become A B Corp

When you live somewhere beautiful, you want it to stay that way. In picturesque Huskisson, a few hours south of Sydney, the founders of Jervis Bay Brewing Co have held one core value since before they opened: “Make our corner of the world a better place.”

Now, after five years of brewing, they’ve received recognition for what they do in the form of B Corp certification.

“We were stoked. It’s a big deal,” is how Paul Walker, who founded Jervis Bay Brewing Co alongside Oisín Sweeney, Ben Hutchings and Christian Wood, puts it.

“We identified that we wanted to be a B Corp before we brewed our first beer. It’s taken us almost five years to get there, but we’ve done it.”

B Lab is a highly-regarded organisation that audits businesses using their resources to benefit the world and people around them. According to the website: “Certified B Corporations, or B Corps, envision a better economic system where businesses can benefit people, communities, and the planet. They choose long-term investments over quick wins, and measure their success based on the positive impact they create.”

They are now seven breweries in Australia that qualify for B Corp Certification: Stone & Wood and 4 Pines, who were leaders in this space, Capital, Brick Lane, Young Henrys and Heaps Normal were the first six.

On becoming the seventh, Paul says: “And I would argue that we’re probably the smallest one to get it as well.”

"We’re known as an organisation in the community that looks after locals," says Jervis Bay Brewing co-founder Paul Walker.

To become a B Corp, a company has to go through a rigorous certification process whereby they tick boxes in all different aspects of business, demonstrating care for the wellbeing of the environment, their staff, and their broader community. For each area, they’re given a certain point score.

“Sustainability is a big bucket of points, looking after employees is a big bucket of points. We thought we’d get through on just sustainability – our solar, our water – but the big thing that got us over the line was our community, and working with local suppliers, and being a local community business.”

These tenets have been ingrained into the way the company operates since day one. When the four founders originally sat down to plan the brewery, Oisín – with a doctorate in ecology under his belt – told the others about B Corp certification, and it resonated with them immediately.

“One of our core values was always to look after the place we live,” Paul says. “A lot of businesses know what they do, and how they do it, but not many businesses know why they do it. Before we brewed our first beer, we really focused on the why.”

Paul says that, in many ways, striving for certification didn’t change what they did; they’d already had a focus on looking after the environment, their employees, and the people in their local community. But B Corp gave them concrete goals, and a way to measure and prove those aspects of their brewery.

“As we went along on the journey, it helped us become a better business.”

For the most part, Paul means “better” in the sense of doing good. But he admits that most of these facets also end up being good for business in one way or another.

Being a B Corp isn't just about benefiting the shareholders, but everyone who comes into contact with a business.

Their environmental sustainability efforts include crowding their roofs with solar panels to power both of their brewery sites during the day, using solar hot water systems to reduce reliance on gas, and rainwater collection and low water usage. And this all generally saves them money.

“We over-invested in technology to make sure were sustainable. It is expensive, but you save in the long run as you reduce energy and gas use.”

They reward staff with shares in the company after they’ve worked there for three years, and additional shares each year after that.

“If employees own the business," Paul says, "they have more sense of ownership and care. And more incentive to stay on.”

Their Charity of the Month program raises money to support organisations from the local soccer club and the Australian Marine Conservation Society to a suicide prevention charity. And their community loves them for it.

“A lot of the time we lose money to do it when we hold an event, but in the long term, we’re known as an organisation in the community that looks after locals.”

Having said all this, Paul says making money is not the driving focus for Jervis Bay. The owners talk about balancing purpose and profit – that is, placing equal emphasis on parts of their business that contribute to the world in ways that aren’t just financial. As a result, many of the decisions have made them less money, not more.

“We’ve done so many things as a business that are more expensive, but it was the right thing to do from a sustainability and social perspective," he explains.

“It’s obviously important that we make money, but there’s also other ways you can create value. And the ways you can do that is providing a difference to peoples lives – customers, employees – all while making a minimal impact on the environment.”

Oisín Sweeney - JBBCo co-founder and head brewer - led the charge to get JBBCo certified as a B Corp. — Oisín Sweeney – JBBCo co-founder and head brewer – led the charge to get JBBCo certified as a B Corp.

While the brewery has achieved a goal they’ve been working towards for five years, Paul says it’s just the beginning.

“With B Corp you get re-certified every three years. It’s not like you get certification, then pens down. It’s a continual journey of improvement.

“Improving doesn’t necessarily mean getting bigger or making more money. But one of our core values is: get better every day.”

One of their plans for improvement is to finish construction on their innovative “floating wetlands” project: two large ponds beside their production brewery, where floating vegetation will remove nitrogen and phosphorus from treated brewery wastewater. The water will then be suitable to be re-used for cleaning in the brewery before it’s safely discharged.

To mark the milestone of B Corp certification, Jervis Bay are releasing Trident IPA Hazy IPA, named for the “three-pronged approach” of valuing environmental sustainability, the wellbeing of their employees, and looking after their community.

But while making good beer is central to what they do at Jervis Bay, they still look elsewhere for the why.

“Some of the best days at the venue are when we’ve helped out people,” Paul says. “It’s not just about winning gold medals for beers. It’s seeing the difference we make.”

For more on what it's like to become a B Corp, take a read of this article we wrote on Capital Brewing as they were still working through the accreditation.

About Mick

Mick Wüst is the author of the book Beer Drinker's Toolkit, a fun and approachable guide to beer. He's also a freelance copywriter for the beer industry. You can find him on Instagram as Schoonerversity.