Pinstone’s journey to better business during B Corp Month

Discover how the Pinstone team has been moving business forward this month

Becky George

In celebration of our first B Corp Month since becoming certified, the Pinstone team has had a busy few weeks. We have moved our business forward in line with this year’s campaign theme.

We constantly strive to make a positive impact in our sector by responding to the issues that matter to us. In this blog, we share some highlights from this month’s journey to being better, bolder, brighter and being the #BeesKnees.

Bee brilliant – celebrating awards shortlist

The office buzzed with excitement after we heard Pinstone is a finalist for three industry awards! These include:

Boutique Agency of the Year: PR Moments (North)
Independent Agency of the Year: PR Moments (North)
Business of the Year: National Women in Agriculture Awards

This recognition is a testament to our agency values, brilliant team and meaningful services we consistently deliver for clients.

Bee bodacious – team success at the VMA Awards

On 15^th March, six team members attended the VMA Awards in London.

Hannah Lloyd has been a VMA Committee member for two years, giving her time voluntarily as part of Pinstone’s commitment to supporting causes aligned with our values.

Hot on the heels of last year’s success, we received the newly established Sustainability Award for our work with VetPartners. Additionally, we had two highly commended nominations and four other finalist submissions.

These awards remind us of the importance of showcasing PR theory in action through strategic approaches that demonstrate great outcomes, outtakes and impact.

Bee bountiful – Pinstone hits the podcast airwaves

March saw the re-launch of the latest iteration of the Pinstone podcast. To better reflect our focus on telling authentic sustainable stories, the new-look ‘Bees’ Knees Comms-Cast’ shines a spotlight on people, brands and businesses that share our passion for being a force for good.

In the first episode of the new season, Catherine interviews Harry Mayhew, co-founder of Ember Snacks who founded the business with his brother Jack. As a fellow B-Corp business, it was fascinating to hear about Ember’s mission to do meat snacks right and change the narrative on farming practices that support the conventional market for products such as biltong and jerky.

You can listen to the latest episodes here.

Bee brighter – Catherine and Kate head back to school

Following their conservation trip to Kenya to support the work of South Rift Land Owners Association, Catherine and Kate shared their experiences with 400 local primary children at Holmer CofE Academy in Hereford. This was part of our focus to engage kids in food and farming from a young age.

Based on the theme ‘Small animal. Big impact,’ the morning assembly highlighted how bee hives protect farmers’ crops from being devastated by elephants.

Catherine and Kate also met with the school’s pupils who are part of their eco and social justice committees to answer questions about their African adventure.

“It was great fun talking to the children and, in a small way, opening their eyes to lives that are very different from their own and the challenges people and wildlife face in living side-by-side,” said Catherine.

Thanks to everyone at Holmer School for inviting Pinstone to take part in the assembly.

Bee bolder – Local MP to visit the Pinstone orchard

Having previously met local MP, Sir Bill Wiggins at Westminster while supporting the Better Business Act in April 2022, Catherine and Robin have extended an invitation for Bill to visit our orchard.

Here we can demonstrate Pinstone’s B Corp credentials and the environmental work we undertake through our beehives, wildflower meadow and tree planting.

We’ve made a big commitment to doing business better and our B Corp promises are fundamental to this. You can find out more in our latest Impact Report.

Expect to hear more from Catherine after the MP’s visit.

Bee better – Bokashi bin opens for business

And last but not least, our very own sustainability queen, Nina, has introduced the team to the joys of bokashi composting. This method re-uses our office food waste and, importantly, make good use of all the coffee granules we get through!

The system turns our food scraps, including meat, bones, fish and dairy, into nutrient rich compost. Green-fingered team members will use this compost to feed their home-grown veggies.

Keep an eye on our social channels for more bokashi bin updates.