Comvita achieve B Corp certification

18 August 2023
Comvita achieve B Corp certification
Comvita Limited (NZX:CVT) today announced that they have achieved B Corp Certification marking a
significant milestone in their commitment to responsible and sustainable business practices and joining
a global community where business is a force for good. B Corp Certification is an internationally
recognised designation that a business is meeting high standards of verified performance,
accountability, and transparency on a broad number of ESG (Environment, Social and Governance)
factors. Comvita undertook this comprehensive exercise for their NZ and international operations and
have now received their certification status.
This achievement reflects Comvita’s determination to leave the world in a better place as captured in its
market leading Harmony Plan. Certified B Corporations are leaders in the global movement for an
inclusive, equitable, and regenerative economy. Comvita joins a growing global community of like-minded
companies that strive to balance profit with purpose, seeking to use business as a force for good. Comvita
became the first listed company in NZ to change its constitution reflecting its commitment to consider all
stakeholders in its decision making when its shareholders voted overwhelmingly in favour of the
resolution at its FY22 Annual Shareholder Meeting (ASM).

Comvita CEO, David Banfield, said “I am so proud to announce that we are now B Corp certified and want
to thank all the team for their hard work to achieve this prestigious recognition. High quality retailers
globally are demanding evidence of brand integrity, especially around ESG performance claims and B Corp
provides that evidence and will open up new distribution opportunities globally. Achieving this
certification has been a personal ambition since I first read about it back in 2007 and we believe B Corp
aligns perfectly with Comvita’s founding philosophy and is aligned to our purpose, to work in harmony
with bees and nature to heal and protect the world.”

Ends.



For further information contact:
Kelly Bennett, One Plus One Communications
Mobile: +64 21 380 035
Email: kelly.bennett@oneplusonegroup.co.nz

Background information Comvita
Comvita (NZX:CVT) was founded in 1974, with a purpose to heal and protect the world through the natural
power of the hive.  With a team of 600+ people globally, united with more than 1.6 billion bees, we are the
global market leader in Mānuka honey and bee consumer goods. Seeking to understand, but never to alter,
we test and verify all our bee-product ingredients are of the highest quality in our own government-
recognised and accredited laboratory.  We are growing industry scientific knowledge on bee welfare,
Mānuka trees and the many benefits of Mānuka honey and propolis.  We have pledged to be carbon neutral
by 2025 and carbon positive by 2030, and we are planting 1-2million native trees every year. Comvita has
operations in Australia, China, North America, South East Asia, and Europe – and of course, Aotearoa New
Zealand, where our bees are thriving.

Background Information on B Corp™:
We began in 2006 with the idea that a different kind of economy was not only possible, but necessary —
and that business could lead the way towards a new, stakeholder-driven model. B Lab became known for
certifying B Corporations, which are companies that meet high standards of social and environmental
performance, accountability, and transparency. But we do much more than that. We’re building the B Corp
movement to change our economic system — and to do so, we must change the rules of the game. B Lab
creates standards, policies, tools, and programs that shift the behavior, culture, and structural
underpinnings of capitalism. We mobilize the B Corp community towards collective action to address
society’s most critical challenges. By harnessing the power of business, B Lab positively impacts companies
around the world, helping them balance profit with purpose. Together, we are shifting our global economy
from a system that profits few to one that benefits all: advancing a new model that moves from
concentrating wealth and power to ensuring equity, from extraction to generation, and from prioritizing
individualism to embracing interdependence.