Challenger bank Griffin certified as B Corporation following “rigorous verification process”
Newly-licenced UK digital challenger Griffin is now a certified B Corporation following a “rigorous verification process” of its governance, worker, customer, environment and community standards by non-profit accreditor B Lab.
Griffin becomes certified B Corp
Led by co-founder and CEO David Jarvis, Griffin claims to have satisfied the B Impact Assessment with a score of 91.5 out of 200, surpassing the 80-point threshold for certification and obtained less than five months after the initial submission.
The challenger attributes the speed of its accreditation to “the early focus on sustainability and significant foundational work that Griffin has been carrying out since its inception” in 2017.
This development comes after it secured a full UK banking licence from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) in March, which coincided with a $24 million funding round co-led by MassMutual Ventures and EU Article 8 funds NordicNinja and Breega.
Going forward, Griffin’s focus will now pertain to “implementing its 2024 sustainability strategy to achieve its ESG goals and commitments for the year”, according to a statement.
To support this endeavour, the challenger has publicised its sustainability policy – a historically internal document – to enable key stakeholders to “understand the bank’s approach in detail”, while also sourcing “industry collaborations that align with its ethical, environmental and social impact values”.
This latter initiative has most recently been evidenced through its newfound membership of the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF) and the Payments Association’s ESG working group.
“We’ve aspired to join the B Corp community since as far back as 2019, so this is the realisation of a long-held dream,” comments Jarvis. “We’re thrilled to officially join a global community of like-minded businesses in working to be a force for good and playing a leading role in positively impacting and transforming the global economy.”
