There are moments in the life of an organization that are more than milestones in a strategic plan or another checkbox in an annual report. Moments that make you pause, look back, and say:
“Yes. All the difficult conversations, all the uncomfortable questions, all those nights when we wondered whether we were doing enough — they mattered.”
This is one of those moments for us.
We are genuinely excited — and, honestly, a little emotional — to share that Atelierul de Idei (AdI) has officially become a Certified B Corporation™, becoming the first social enterprise in Romania to achieve B Corp certification.
Following the B Impact Assessment process, we earned an overall score of 89.3, above the 80-point threshold required for certification, in a context where the median score for companies completing the assessment is currently 50.9.
But the truth is, for us, this announcement is less about the score and more about the journey that brought us here.
If you have heard the term “B Corp” and wondered whether it is just another corporate label, we had the same question at first. B Corp is not a branding badge or an image award to showcase on a website. It is one of the most rigorous international certifications assessing how a company actually operates: how decisions are made, how people are treated, how the organization contributes to its community, how transparency and ethics are managed, how environmental responsibility is approached, and how relationships with beneficiaries, customers, and stakeholders are built.
In short:
B Corp evaluates not only what you say you do — but how you truly operate.
And there is something important we want to make clear:
B Corp does not certify a product. It certifies a company and the way it conducts its business.
It is not about perfection. It is about accountability, measurement, and continuous improvement.
In many ways, it feels like this certification chose us before we consciously chose it. Founded in Iași, Romania, in 2019, Atelierul de Idei was never meant to be a company focused solely on economic growth. From the very beginning, we built the organization around one constant question:
How can we create technologies, organizations, and innovation ecosystems that remain deeply human?
We work at the intersection of: AI ethics, psychological safety, diversity, equity, and inclusion, agile organizational culture, wellbeing, human-centered digital transformation.
Through Good Tech Living Lab, we collaborate with startups, SMEs, public institutions, and innovation ecosystems to build accessible and responsible technologies.Recently, Good Tech Living Lab became part of the international DEEPSEA by DEEP Ecosystems program, another important step that helps us strengthen how we build and validate innovation in real-life settings. For us, this means access to mentorship and an international network — but also greater responsibility to design ethical, inclusive innovation processes rooted in the real needs of the communities and organizations we work with.
At the same time, we are also a certified social enterprise, meaning that we reinvest a minimum of 90% of our profits into social objectives.
For us, the question has never been:
“How can we appear responsible?”
But rather:
“How can we become more responsible?”
And B Corp became the framework through which we decided to test that belief.
If we had to summarize the experience in one sentence, it would be this: B Corp forces you to be radically honest with yourself.
The process involves documents, policies, procedures, proof, explanations, conversations — and a lot of questions.
Questions like:
And perhaps the most important question of all:
How do you prove it?
There were moments when we felt reassured because many practices were already in place. And there were moments when we realized some things needed to be formalized, improved, or documented more clearly.
But this is exactly where the value of the process lies.
It is not just an assessment.
It is also a deep exercise in organizational reflection.
One thing that makes us particularly happy is that the results genuinely reflect the areas we have invested in the most.
One of our strongest scores came from the Workers category (35.8) — something that, for us, says a lot about the emphasis we place on: psychological safety; wellbeing; professional development; engagement; inclusive and healthy workplace cultures.
This is not accidental. For years, we have worked precisely in this space, because we deeply believe that healthier organizations create better impact, better innovation, and better relationships.
In the Community category (15.4), the assessment reflected our commitment to diversity, inclusion, and social impact.
Our Governance score (11.8) validated something equally important: our mission is not a side project or a CSR campaign — it is embedded in how the organization functions.
We are especially proud of the Education component, reflected in our Customers score (16.9). A large part of what we do revolves around education, facilitation, learning, and helping organizations navigate digital transformation and AI responsibly.
And yes — there are still areas where we know we need to improve. For example, the environmental component clearly shows us that there is more work to do. And we want to say that openly. Because B Corp is not about pretending you have solved everything. It is about understanding where you are — and where you still need to grow.
The full B Impact Assessment profile is available here.
Perhaps one of the most important things we want this announcement to communicate is this:
Yes, there are some very well-known companies in the global network. But there are also small organizations.
Teams of just a few people. Social enterprises. Startups. Small consulting firms. Innovation labs. Local organizations.
We are living proof of that.
We are a relatively small team from Romania working in a highly specific niche — ethical AI, wellbeing, psychological safety, and responsible innovation — and yet we successfully completed this process.
Not because we had unlimited resources. Not because we were perfect.
But because we made a conscious choice to look seriously at how we operate and to build systems that support long-term impact.
So, if you are a small organization reading this, maybe the question is not:
“Are we big enough for B Corp?”
Maybe the real question is:
“Are we committed enough to measure our impact honestly?”
Achieving certification is not the end of the story.
If anything, it feels like the beginning of a new chapter — one that comes with even greater responsibility.
We will continue working toward:
And we will continue learning.
Because if there is one thing this process taught us, it is this: Impact is not something you declare. It is something you build, measure, and continuously improve.
Today, we are grateful to do this as part of the global B Corp community.
To everyone who has been part of this journey — colleagues, collaborators, partners, clients, facilitators, and the people who trusted us and built alongside us: Thank you.
We move forward with greater responsibility, more clarity, and the same conviction we started with:
Technology and organizations should serve people — not the other way around.
#bcorp #certifiedbcorp #businessforgood #socialenterprise #futureofwork #humanintheloop #adi
