In an era where greenwashing threatens consumer trust and climate challenges demand authentic action, the retail industry stands at a crossroads. This B Corp Month, as we reflect on the movement’s growing influence, it’s clear that the future belongs to businesses willing to transform how they measure success. At arken, our 77-year heritage in retail display manufacturing has taught us that true industry leadership means championing change beyond our own operations — it means inviting our entire sector to join us in redefining business success.
With deep roots in the retail display industry, arken has consistently evolved to meet changing market demands while remaining committed to our founding values of integrity, respect, and fairness. Throughout our journey, we’ve demonstrated that award-winning retail displays can be produced without compromising our responsibility to people and planet — and we believe our entire industry can and must do the same.
As one of the UK’s most experienced retail display manufacturers, our mission goes beyond creating innovative, eye-catching solutions that enhance brand visibility and drive sales. We’ve embraced the challenge of balancing commercial objectives with environmental responsibility, a balance that was formally recognised when we achieved B Corp certification. Now, we’re calling on our industry peers to follow a similar path to ‘better’. At arken, we firmly believe that as more companies in our sector pursue B Corp or, at the very least, adopt its principles, there will be undoubted compound benefits for the industry — a rising tide that lifts all boats.
For arken, this certification represents more than just a badge. It validates our longstanding belief that business success should be driven through purpose, not just profit. It provides external verification of our commitment to responsible practices and unifies our approach to environmental, social, and community initiatives under a cohesive strategy. Most importantly, it embodies our pledge to continuous improvement — a pledge we believe should become standard across our industry.
Despite some recent criticism suggesting B Corp certification has become too accessible or its standards diluted, our experience proves otherwise. The journey was deliberately challenging and forced us to examine every aspect of our business. Our greatest hurdle wasn’t meeting specific criteria but shifting our mindset to accept that being truly responsible means there is no finish line. It’s a continuous journey of improvement.
This required us to embrace the reality that responsible work never ends. Yet this challenge ultimately became one of the most valuable aspects of certification, helping us take stock of existing good practices while identifying opportunities for improvement. We’re convinced that if more retail display manufacturers embarked on this journey, the collective impact would transform our industry for the better.
Over the years, we’ve developed significant expertise in the beauty sector and have witnessed increasing demand for displays that convey premium quality while meeting stringent sustainability requirements. Our ability to navigate these, sometimes-competing, priorities has made us a trusted partner for brands looking to make a statement in-store without compromising their environmental credentials. Many major brands we work with—including Benefit Cosmetics and e.l.f cosmetics — value this balanced approach, and we believe this approach should become the industry standard.
While we didn’t pursue B Corp primarily as a marketing tool, we’ve observed its positive impact on retailer relationships. The certification serves as a differentiator in a competitive marketplace, providing trusted, third-party validation of our sustainability credentials.
Beyond certification, our sustainability strategy encompasses numerous specific initiatives that we openly share with industry partners to encourage wider adoption. Our ISO 14001:2015 environmental management system and Zero Waste to Landfill commitment have dramatically reduced operational waste. We’ve implemented the arken Sustainable Design Matrix and increased our usage of the POPAI Sustain tool by 141%, helping design teams make better environmental decisions from brief to display end-of-life.
Carbon reduction remains a key focus area where industry-wide collaboration could yield tremendous results. We’ve expanded tracking to include Scope 3 emissions, implemented energy-efficiency measures in our factory, and even established a wildflower garden and insect hotel to support biodiversity — small steps that, if adopted by more businesses across our industry, would create significant positive impact.
Looking beyond 2025, we’re setting ambitious goals to further reduce our carbon footprint through comprehensive energy usage reviews and continued evolution of manufacturing processes. As a business, we aim to improve our B Corp score when we renew certification in 2026, and we challenge our industry peers to join us in this commitment.
We’ll continue leveraging our sustainable design expertise to help clients and industry partners meet their environmental objectives through comprehensive training and dedicated sustainability workshops. This commitment to championing sustainable innovation across our sector will not only reduce our collective environmental footprint but also create competitive advantages in a market increasingly focused on responsible business practices.
As consumers increasingly vote with their wallets for brands that align with their values, the B Corp movement will continue to gain momentum in the retail sector. Through collaborative effort, we can demonstrate that commercial success and environmental responsibility aren’t competing priorities — they’re complementary forces driving sustainable growth and innovation across our entire industry.
Tracy Scutt, Managing Director of arken POP International
