When Cambridge-based tyre recycling company Treadlite set out to become B Corp certified, it wasn’t just about earning a globally recognised badge. It was about fundamentally strengthening the way the business operates - for its people, its community, and the environment.

For Katie Hanna, Treadlite’s Health Safety and Environmental and Human Resources Manager, the journey was both a professional challenge and a personal mission.

“B Corp was my baby,” she says. “It took us 10 months to get there - it’s a very difficult process - but it was such a big, big deal for our business.”

Founded just over six years ago, Treadlite has grown rapidly, now employing close to 50 people and operating sites across New Zealand. At its core, the business tackles a significant environmental problem: end-of-life tyres.

“We collect end-of-life tyres from across the central North Island, bring them back to our recycling plant, and turn them into three different products,” Katie explains.

Those products - including materials for horse arenas, playground surfaces, and tyre-derived fuel - give new life to waste that would otherwise end up in landfill. With a target of processing close to three million tyres annually, the scale of impact is significant.

But for Treadlite, environmental impact was only part of the story.

Despite already operating in a sustainability-focused industry, the team saw B Corp certification as an opportunity to go further.

“It’s worldwide recognised, and it really incorporates the social side as well as the environmental side,” says Katie.

Unlike other certifications, B Corp measures performance across five key areas: governance, workers, customers, community, and environment. For Treadlite, this meant taking a deeper look at how the business supported its people and stakeholders - not just its environmental footprint.

“There were about 300 questions we had to answer,” Katie says. “We wanted to make sure we were doing the best we possibly could for our staff, our community, and our customers.”

The certification process didn’t just validate what Treadlite was already doing - it drove meaningful change.

On the people side, the company introduced a range of new initiatives to support employee wellbeing. These included an Employee Assistance Programme, access to financial wellbeing services, and ensuring all staff are paid a living wage.

“It really hones in on workers and your social impact,” Katie explains. “So we had to incorporate some extra things into our business.”

Operationally, Treadlite also accelerated its sustainability efforts. The company has invested heavily in electrification, with a growing fleet of electric vehicles and infrastructure to support them - including installing EV chargers in employees’ homes.

The business has also refined its logistics model to reduce fuel consumption, introduced recycling systems across sites, and is progressing towards solar-powered operations and fully electrified machinery.

While the journey was intensive, Treadlite didn’t do it alone. Treadlite received funding through the Regional Business Partner Network to work with Grow Good who helped Katie navigate the B Corp Certification process.

From interpreting requirements to implementing the right policies, that expert guidance helped streamline what could otherwise have been an overwhelming process.

Beyond B Corp, Treadlite has also accessed additional training through the Regional Business Partner Network to support staff development.

“For a small business, it’s made a big impact,” Katie says. “We promote a lot of our staff internally, so having access to training as they move into management roles is huge.”

Achieving B Corp certification in November marked a major milestone - one that coincided with the opening of Treadlite’s new Cambridge facility.

But beyond the milestone itself, the real value lies in the lasting changes the process has embedded into the business.

“It’s made a very positive impact on our team,” she says.

“We’ve improved communication, introduced staff surveys and strengthened our systems.”

The certification has also strengthened relationships with customers and suppliers, providing assurance that Treadlite operates to high ethical and environmental standards.

For Treadlite, B Corp certification isn’t the end of the journey - it’s a foundation for continuous improvement. Plans are already underway to further electrify operations, expand solar energy use, and continue reducing the company’s carbon footprint.

Reflecting on the experience, Katie is clear about the broader significance.

“We learned so much through going through the accreditation,” she says.

“It’s been amazing.”

And perhaps most importantly, it’s reinforced the company’s commitment to doing business differently - proving that commercial success and positive impact can go hand in hand.

As Katie puts it: “Being able to prove that you meet your social and environmental responsibilities as a business - it’s very cool.”

Find out if your business is eligible for Regional Business Partner funding.