Translation company AJT certifies as B Corporation

Newquay-based translation and localisation specialist AJT has announced today its certification as a B Corporation (or B Corp), joining a growing group of companies reinventing business by pursuing purpose as well as profit. AJT has been certified by B Lab, the not-for-profit behind the B Corp movement, as having met rigorous social and environmental standards which represent its commitment to goals outside of shareholder profit.

“We are delighted to welcome AJT to the B Corp community,” says Chris Turner, Executive Director of B Lab UK. This is a movement of companies who are committed to changing how business operates and believe business really can be a force for good. We know that AJT are going to be a fantastic addition to the community and will continue driving the conversation forward.”

At its core, attaining B Corporation certification is all about moving away from profit as the main yardstick for business success, and moving towards a more sustainable business model. A business model that gives equal importance to how companies make their money, how they look after their people and how they look after the planet. The B Corp accreditation verifies that a company meets high standards of social and environmental impact, and is committed to accountability, transparency and continuous improvement.

“We’ve been eagerly following the journey of forward-thinking Cornish B Corporations like Finisterre, Green & Blue and Leap, and decided that we really wanted to be part of this community of people who challenge themselves and each other to be better businesses that aren’t driven purely by profit,” says Anja Jones, Managing Director of AJT.

Translation service provision is a consistently competitive marketplace and has always been price sensitive. The whole industry is constantly under pressure to lower rates, a trend that’s been further accelerated with the advancement of machine translation and AI. What’s not always clear to translation buyers is what happens behind the scenes of translation companies.

The commoditisation of translation services and the race to the bottom in pricing puts huge pressure on professional linguists to work for lower rates and increase their workloads to make up the shortfall. This can have a devastating effect on earnings, as well as on work-life balance and mental health. And it ultimately also affects translation quality, which should be a real concern to translation buyers.

“There is no Code of Ethics or Code of Conduct for the translation industry. We have a lot of good players in our industry, but also a fair few bad ones who are engaging in unfair and unsustainable practices. Working towards an external accreditation like B Corp is our way of proving our ethical credentials to both our clients and our community of linguists,” says Jones.

“Certifying as a B Corporation is just the beginning for us,” adds Jones. “We want to further improve our company. We want to drive positive change in the translation industry. And of course, we want to work with and help ethical and sustainable businesses enter and thrive in the European marketplace, while upholding high standards of social and environmental performance. Being certified as a B Corporation will give us the credibility and the opportunities to achieve these goals.”