The certification is part of an ongoing commitment to become a more purposeful business across all its operations.

GMG is also today committing to a new goal to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2030.

The goal is announced in a new environmental pledge to Guardian readers, which also outlines how the Guardian will deepen and expand coverage on the environment, giving greater prominence to the climate emergency and acknowledging the importance of the language when reporting on the climate.

B Corps are businesses that use profits and growth for a greater good and have a positive impact for their employees, communities and the environment.

Businesses are externally assessed across a range of criteria and must meet a certain overall score to qualify. Criteria include governance and transparency; working standards; community impact; environmental impact and customer impact. By becoming a B Corp, GMG is committing to greater transparency, accountability and ambitions across these areas.

David Pemsel, chief executive officer, Guardian Media Group, said:

“The Guardian is one of the most trusted and recognised news organisations in the world, and our audiences rightly expect high standards in everything we do. Becoming a B Corp is an important step for GMG in making ourselves more accountable.”

Katharine Viner, editor-in-chief, Guardian News & Media, said:

“At the Guardian we believe that the climate crisis is the most urgent issue of our times.

“As an organisation we will take steps to address the Guardian’s own impact on the environment. Today we commit to achieving net zero emissions by 2030, and we are currently undertaking a full audit of our emissions to assess how we will achieve this challenging goal.”

Anna Bateson, chief customer officer, Guardian News & Media, said:

“We have a deep responsibility to our readers to live up to the values they expect of us and to have a positive impact on the world across our whole organisation. Businesses around the world are increasingly realising that aiming for a positive impact is an essential part of any long-term strategy.”

Chris Turner, executive director of B Corp UK, said:

“We are thrilled to welcome Guardian Media Group to the B Corp movement as the first major news organisation. This is a strong global brand with a proud tradition as an independent news organisation. GMG is a perfect fit for our movement of businesses working as a force for good, and their certification is a testament to the standard of their current practises and their ongoing commitment to creating a positive impact across the whole of their business.”

There are currently over 3,000 B Corp certified organisations worldwide.

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For more information please contact:

media.enquiries@theguardian.com or 020 3353 3696

Notes to editors

About Guardian News & Media

Guardian News & Media (GNM) publishes theguardian.com, one of the world’s leading English-language newspaper websites. Traffic from outside of the UK now represents around two-thirds of the Guardian’s total digital audience. In the UK, GNM publishes the Guardian newspaper six days a week, first published in 1821, and the world’s oldest Sunday newspaper, The Observer.

The Guardian is renowned for its agenda-setting journalism including, most recently, the Paradise and Panama Papers investigations as well as the Pulitzer Prize and Emmy-winning NSA revelations.