Impact as Intrepid’s Business Model: Evidencing
and Growing a Company-Wide Focus on Purpose
The Challenge
As a purpose-led experiential travel B-Corp, Intrepid has had purpose at the heart of not only its culture but also its business model since its founding in 1989. As a result, investments in positive impact were already underway throughout the company when Intrepid joined B4SI in 2021.
What was missing was a clear framework to bring these efforts together and a consistent way to measure their investments. While the not-for-profit Intrepid Foundation remained the central pillar of this work, other parts of the business that also generated social impact were not fully recognised.
The Solution
The B4SI framework, with its clear metrics and distinction between inputs, outputs, and impact, enabled Intrepid to take a more holistic view of its social investments. It provided credible, recognised measurement to show both the company’s current position and its progress over time.
Since adopting the framework, Intrepid’s investments and outputs have followed a consistent upward trajectory. Importantly, B4SI also expanded the perspective on social impact beyond the Foundation’s activities, including additional drivers such as employee volunteering and sponsorships.
This expanded view allows Intrepid to track its objective of growing social impact year on year alongside the company’s growth and set and assess more ambitious targets for employee engagement that further embed purpose within its culture.
The Impact
Since adopting the B4SI framework, Intrepid has strengthened its commitment to its Foundation while also embedding social investment measurement across the wider business. By giving internal visibility to wider initiatives and its evolving approach, the company has fostered a culture of purpose throughout the organisation.
Externally, Intrepid can tell a more cohesive, collective story in its integrated reporting, linking financial performance with social impact. Using a globally recognised standard has also supported its B-Corp certification, as external frameworks are gaining weight in the assessment of social impact.
While much progress has been made, Intrepid sees this as only the beginning. The company is committed to expanding its approach, exploring new areas to create impact for both communities and the business, and finding more ways of measuring impact, empowered by B4SI’s framework and tools.
“We proudly reflect on where our Social Impact journey over the last few years with B4SI. From beginning to structure our measurement to now having evidence for how social impact is rooted in the whole organisation’s DNA is a truly rewarding achievement and motivates us to excel our approach in the future.”
KEY TAKEAWAYS
EXPANDING THE VIEW ON SOCIAL IMPACT:
Started from the basics by looking at the Foundation’s activities and gradually increased the scope and understanding of investment areas.
ACTIVATE THE ORGANISATION FOR GOOD:
Track, steer, communicate and motivate employees fostering a culture of purpose.
GAINING EXTERNAL RECOGNITION:
Used the framework with its clear metrics for external reporting and strengthening the B-Corp certification assessment.