Company is first NI contractor recognised as a ‘force for good’ in construction
Ballymena-based Clarke has become the first specialist contractor in the construction sector in Northern Ireland to achieve the highly regarded B Corp Certification for responsible business.
B Corporations, or B Corps, are companies verified by nonprofit network B Lab as meeting the highest standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. To become certified, companies must go through a rigorous assessment process, which assesses not only a company’s sustainability strategy, but also its approach to governance, workforce, customers and community.
There are currently over 9,500 B Corps globally, but there are only 67 Certified B Corps from Ireland and 16 in Northern Ireland. Clarke is the only UK façade specialist contractor to hold the accreditation.
Founded in 1996, Clarke specialises in innovative design-led façade projects, providing an end-to-end service from pre-construction to project handover to blue-chip construction industry clients. With a reputation for producing a high quality, sustainable product and cutting-edge designs for high-rise commercial and residential buildings, the company provides bespoke offsite architectural services, rain-screen cladding, external envelope, unitised façade, glazing and lightweight steel framing.
Eugene Clarke, CEO of Clarke, said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to become the first specialist contractor in Northern Ireland’s construction industry to be B Corp Certified. It’s a reflection of how we do business and validation of our company values, confirming that Clarke is not just saying we care about sustainability, ethics, and social impact — we’re proving it through an independent, globally recognised assessment.
“Clarke has always strived to be a responsible business that takes governance seriously, that invests in environmental management and waste monitoring on our sites, working with local supply chains to deliver positive community impact. As a B Corp, we’re now counted among the businesses that are leading a global movement for an inclusive, equitable, and regenerative economy.”
Tony Convery, Sustainability Director at Clarke, said: “The B Corp movement is a global movement of people using business as a force for good. Very few construction businesses have achieved B Corp certification, it is rare in our industry, which makes Clarke a standout in our field and positions us ahead of the curve in meeting the ESG expectations of our clients, partners, and investors.
“That matters to our employees, who want to work for a purpose-led company, to our clients, who want to know that were meeting highest standards of ethics and transparency, and it shows the communities we work in, that we are a responsible contractor that actively contributes to society.”
BGF, the UK and Ireland’s most active and dynamic investor of equity capital in growth economy companies, has been a minority investor in Clarke since 2022.
Chris Nixon, Investor at BGF, said: “We are incredibly proud to see Clarke achieving B Corp status, which is only achieved by businesses who can reach a very high bar for responsible business practices. Joining this exclusive club is a brilliant endorsement of the way Eugene and his team go about their business and the high standards they have set themselves for the way they treat their people and their customers.”
B Corps step into a framework for continuous improvement. To maintain certification, companies must undertake the assessment and verification process every three years, demonstrating they are still meeting B Lab’s standards — which are themselves always improving, with continual input from expert stakeholders.
Clarke was advised in its BCorp application by Graham and Heather Gillen from Eccountinc Business Advice and Accountancy Services.
