WeTransfer shares B Corp announcement
Amsterdam-based company, which intends to reduce its carbon emissions by 30 per cent by 2025, has vowed to encourage other technology companies to operate more sustainability.
File sharing platform WeTransfer has been awarded B Corp status, joining more than 3,300 companies worldwide in being recognised for its ethical and environmental standards.
The Amsterdam-based firm confirmed the achievement today, highlighting how a "wide spectrum" of initiatives, past and present, had helped it meet the standards set out by the B Corp scheme.
The company is now aiming for carbon neutrality by the end of this year and plans to reduce its carbon emissions by 30 per cent by 2025, it added.
At the same time, it is working with responsible technology thinktank DotEveryone to identify "what responsible growth means" and to ensure the platform supports a fair, inclusive and sustainable society.
"This announcement marks our continued efforts and commitment toward promoting responsible technology and business," said chief executive Gordon Willoughby. "We believe in accountability for the products and technology we put into the world, and we will strive to push our peers to transform our industry into a more responsible and sustainable one."
WeTransfer claims to have donated more than $300m in advertising inventory to raise awareness of social causes, such as gun control and net neutrality, since its founding in 2009. And last year, it helped abolish $35m in medical debt for low-income residents of Los Angeles last year, it added.
The firm, which already donates 30 per cent of its advertising space to support artists and social causes, said it would now offer reduced advertising rates to B Corp-certified companies in order to encourage other brands to pursue the certification.
The company also announced today it had appointed Lastminute.com cofounder Baroness Martha Lane Fox as chairman of its board.
Lane Fox, who set up DotEveryone, said: "WeTransfer is one of the few examples of a company that believes stakeholders, users, employees and society are linked together and that by growing in a responsible way, the company will be more successful."
B Corps launched in the US in 2007 and in the UK eight years later. Other companies in the fast-expanding B Corp stable include smoothie maker Innocent, and outdoor wear company Patagonia, investment fund The Craftory, the Guardian Media Group and bamboo tissue brand Cheeky Panda.
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