Academy Named One of the Top 5% in the World for Exceptional Customer Impact According to the B Lab Network

Sep 15, 2022 | Business

 The UK based tech training B Corp Academy has been named a 2022 Best for the World™ B Corp™ in recognition of its exceptional positive impact on the customers’ impact area. In its B-Corp certification, Academy reached a score of 116 points in the overall B Impact scorecard Assessment with the average ordinary business score being 50.9.

“Best for the World” is a distinction granted by B Lab to Certified B Corporations (B Corps) whose verified B Impact Scores in the five impact areas evaluated in the B Impact Assessment — community, customers, environment, governance, and workers — rank in the top 5% of all B Corps in their corresponding size group.

Academy earned this honor because of initiatives such as leading on diversity and inclusion for individuals who may not otherwise have been a part of the global tech ecosystem. Over the past two years, Academy has been helping diverse individuals reach their full potential by upskilling recent non-tech graduates through a grant-supported, four-month intensive tech training program.

Head of Leadership Natalya Sverjensky at Academy said, “Although the award goes to Academy in name, in reality this is a shared achievement with our brilliant employer partners, like Faculty, Tracsis, Capital on Tap and Soho House.”

Examples of Scholar Proficiency within Academy

Helping bolster Academy’s credentials in its top 5% B Corp ranking for customer impact, several criteria stand out:

Industry-leading diversity – producing tech talent who are 50%+ female, 60%+ from minority ethic groups and 25%+ black.

Merit over means – Academy removes economic barriers to tech through a £3.7k training grant paid to every person we train into tech, with zero tuition fees.

Over 100+ technologists trained with the skills needed to build the future, for roles in software engineering, machine learning and data

Over 30+ companies powered by Academy talent globally, in cities like Berlin, New York and Oslo.

“This award reflects continued recognition of Academy’s core commitment towards providing equal opportunity and unhampered access to a career in tech. We are completely committed to creating positive and long-lasting change within the tech industry.” -Peter Tratalos Co-Founder of Academy

The award, administered by not-for-profit network B Lab, certifies and mobilises B corps that have high standards, through the rating of positive social and environmental performance as well as accountability and transparency.

Having this B-Corp certification has allowed Academy to share its knowledge, learnings and best practices with the B Corp community towards continuing to lead the charge on innovation and transformation across the tech industry.

Although Academy was formed just over two years ago, its scholars are already creating positive change within big players like the NHS and Sainsbury’s Digital as well as dynamic, global startups and scale-ups like Capital on Tap and Sourceful.

“Each Best for the World edition is an opportunity to raise the bar for how businesses can and should operate to create real and lasting positive impact for their workers, customers, communities, and the environment,” said Dan Osusky, Head of Standards and Insights at B Lab Global. “[Academy is an] inspiration on what true leadership in business can look like to make progress on addressing our current global challenges.”

See more at www.academy.tech

About Academy

Academy is an EdTech startup that radically expands who gets into tech and how quickly they can progress in the industry. The company identifies the top 0.5% of underserved and overlooked talent, then fast-tracks them into tech roles and leadership trajectories through a grant-funded four month intensive tech training programme, placement in a tech role at a high-growth company, and an additional 2 years of on-the-job leadership development.

Academy was founded by Ashley Ramrachia, former Chief People Officer at THG (The Hut Group), as a solution to the tech skills shortage, diversity deficit and leadership gap. Academy outperforms society on diversity by paying people to learn – achieving a community that is 50% female, 30% Black, 60% minority ethnic and 25% from socioeconomic disadvantage.

Academy Press Contact: pr@academy.tech

About B Lab: B Lab is transforming the global economy to benefit all people, communities, and the planet. A leader in economic systems change, our global network creates standards, policies, tools, and programs for business, and we certify companies — known as B Corps — who are leading the way.

To date, our community includes 400,000 workers in over 5,000 B Corps across 80 countries and 155 industries, and more than 200,000 companies manage their impact with the B Impact Assessment and the SDG Action Manager.

B Lab has created and led efforts to pass over 50 corporate statutes globally that enable stakeholder governance, with over 10,000 companies using the legal framework. To learn more and join the movement, visit www.bcorporation.net.

B Lab Contact: press@bcorporation.net