Ma CHer was created in Australia in 1983, and its name is a portmanteau of Martin and Cheryl – Ma Cher – the first names of its founding partners. Ma Cher USA holds a top 1% Platinum EcoVadis rating and is a certified B Corp, which testifies to the company’s high social, environmental, and workplace standards. Ma Cher aims to use its business to help others and drive positive change. We spoke with its President Derek Hydon about his company’s vision, what it means to be a B Corp, and why he recently chose Vaud as the destination for its European headquarters.
Your company helps brands express who they are by designing meaningful products and solutions. Can you tell us a little more about what you do, and how sustainability is a key driver for you?
We work with companies to create branded goods, but in ways that are more sustainable, less wasteful, and more purpose driven. Our idea goes beyond conventional notions of sustainability and gets to the very core of why a product is being made in the first place. That is, what need is the product trying to fill, and how can it meet that need so that customers experience the brand positively from a completely holistic perspective. This is where our data-driven, analytical approach is so important. There are a lot of variables in the equation – and it all has to make business sense, too.
Our clients are mainly in the travel and tourism, beauty and wellness, apparel, and e-commerce industries, typically at the higher end of the market. We believe that by collaborating with larger companies on sustainable design – i.e., showing them where they can remove barriers to sustainability and how that can be a profitable thing to do – we can amplify our impact and be a real conduit for change. I think that Mother Nature has clearly been telling us for some time that climate change is critical for us to take more action, now, both individually and collectively.”
Ma Cher USA became a certified B Corp in 2014. What standards does this certification represent, and what does it mean for your company?
From the time Ma Cher was founded, we’ve always sought to do the right thing for people and the environment. Maybe we didn’t have a name for it back then, but it just seemed like good business sense. Then in 2008, Procter & Gamble asked us to start reporting on sustainability metrics for the products we designed for them. We weren’t really sure how to do that and began looking around for a concrete roadmap. That’s when we learned about the B Corp movement, created by not-for-profit B Lab. We spoke with B Lab and discovered certification centers around the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability. The interests of all stakeholders, not just shareholders, are considered. This business operating system, which focuses on collective action, resonates with us - given our purpose to provide the best workplace, help others and care for our environment.
The whole certification and renewal process has been a great opportunity for us to be measured, scored, rated, and in turn challenged to set goals and improve. Every year since 2015, we’ve published a Progress on Sustainability Report on our website. And we share all the sustainability assessment tools we’ve created, so that we can help other businesses measure their impact too. We will apply these same operating principles in Switzerland and will help others consider B Corp certification.
Why did you choose to set up your European headquarters in Switzerland in general, and in Vaud in particular?
First, the location can’t be beat. From Switzerland we can travel easily to just about anywhere in Europe, including to clients in France, Italy, and Germany. But more importantly, the pool of talent here is incredible. There are a lot of brilliant minds in Vaud looking at how technology can be leveraged to meet crucial climate challenges. Among our travel and tourism clients, almost every one of them has an executive who graduated from EHL. In addition, Vaud has a number of promising sustainability-oriented startups, like Kitro SA to give just one example. Being part of a “brain trust” like this is really exciting and opens up a lot of horizons.
What benefits have you found to setting up a B Corp like yours in Vaud?
Pretty much everyone here has heard about the B Corp movement. That’s a nice surprise – I think the team at B Lab Switzerland are doing an exceptional job. And the feedback we’ve received has been very encouraging. Executives are curious about what we do; sustainability is at the top of their minds; they just aren’t always clear on how to go about it or where to start. Our hope is that we can provide an example for how purpose can be combined with profit. I actually think Swiss businesses in general operate more sustainably than most. There’s real potential here for greater collaboration, where businesses like ours can learn and spur others to do even more.
How has Innovaud helped you get set up in the region, after your initial contact with S-GE and GGBa?
Innovaud pretty much rolled out the red carpet! When we first considered opening up a branch in Switzerland, we were afraid it would be complicated and involve costly lawyers, but during our initial contact with GGBa, they spelled out a clear roadmap for us and explained how it all works. Next, we got in touch with Innovaud, whose team has been remarkable. The level and scope of their guidance has been essential in getting us oriented. I’m a very detail-minded person, and Innovaud replied to my concerns at every step of the way. In the end we found that creating a business in Switzerland can actually be an easy thing to do, if you have the right support and intentions.
What plans do you have for your business in Vaud going forward?
We’ll initially use it as a base for the Swiss market. All the industries I mentioned earlier are well-represented here. We plan to hire a business development manager locally – that’s important to us, for the European mindset as well as the language skills, since most of our markets are currently French, German, and Italian speaking. Within four or five years we will have a small and impactful team up and running. Our intention is to be a Swiss business operating globally, as opposed to a global business operating locally with expats. That will also be important for demonstrating to clients that we’re in Switzerland for the long haul, not just to take advantage of its position at the crossroads of Europe. I think the Innovaud network will be a powerful vector in this regard, for communicating and demonstrating our presence and our mission.