Gin producer Elephant Gin has achieved B Corp status.
The company received 90 points from non-profit organisation B Lab which accredits companies with B Corp certification after they meet or exceed the B Impact Assessment criteria. B Corp scoring ranges from 80 to 200.
As a newly certified B Corp in the spirits industry, Elephant Gin joins the ranks of fellow gin makers Sipsmith and Warner’s Distillery who have also achieved B Corp status. Sipsmith received its award in 2021 and Warner’s Distillery in autumn 2022.
The B Corp certification addresses the entirety of a business's operations and covers five key areas including the company’s governance, how diverse its workforce is (particularly in relation to management positions), and how the company monitors its waste production. As part of the process, Elephant Gin signed a legally binding agreement confirming that it will make decisions that put people and the planet before profit.
Elephant Gin aims to put environmental sustainability at the core of its operations since Tessa and Robin Gerlach started the company in 2013.
Since inception they have donated 15% of bottle profits to elephant conservation projects and recently announced they had donated over €1,000,000 to protect the African elephant and give back to what inspired them in the first place.
Based in Germany but distributed internationally, the distillery produces gin products in recyclable plastic-free glass bottles. It also donates 15% of the bottle profits to the endangered African elephant.
Elephant Gin co-founder Robin Gerlach said: “We set up Elephant Gin to try and make a difference. We are used to certifications, but this was a truly rigorous process that delves deep into every area of the business. I have always admired the B Corp movement of using business as a force for good so to join this community of likeminded businesses and to have scored 90 points in doing so is great.”