Being one of the few lighting design brands to achieve the B Corp standards of verified social and environmental impact, Astep joins a global community of companies seeking to use their business as a force for good.
B Corp is considered one of the most demanding certifications evaluating a company’s social and environmental performance. It is the only certification that assesses a brand’s entire positive impact and covers areas of governance, workers, communities, customers, and the environment. The B Corp certification further commits brands to a continuous improvement process.
“We are very proud today. By becoming a B Corporation we solidify the very core values that built Astep and reinforce our commitment to bring good to people and doing our best to do good to the planet,“ says founder of Astep, Alessandro Sarfatti, and highlights his long-term inspiration:
“Olivetti, the Italian visionary 20th century entrepreneur and inventor of the first personal computer, was a pioneer ahead of his time. He once said of running his business, that it should distribute wealth, culture, services, democracy. Beyond profit. This idea stayed with me. To redesign business for better and take actions towards positive environmental and social impact, beyond the product itself. In today’s world companies have the agency to mediate change together. To do more and be more together. The B Corp certification is a powerful and inspiring step towards continuous social and environmental engagement.”
Apart from engaging the most forward-thinking designers of today, Astep’s catalogue of timeless inventions includes the Sarfatti Collection with the iconic 20th century masterpieces by designer Gino Sarfatti. An important step of becoming B Corp has been to assess and redesign each piece to meet higher standards of environmental impact:
“We are committed to circular design, to continuously seeking new ways of improving and being more sustainable to cause minimal residual impact. Like all progress, I believe it is an ongoing process of making conscious choices every single day to add social and environmental good to profit. Following an extensive process to redesign each piece, today all our lamps have been reissued and reengineered so they are repairable, “ explains Alessandro Sarfatti.
Astep took an ambitious path some years ago using resource conservation materials. From environmental packaging to product design using as few virgin materials as possible. By optimizing the use of cardboard for example, the company have eliminated more than 90% of plastics in their packaging.
Besides accelerating the use of lower-impact materials, all lamps are produced in Italy, supporting craftmanship and high-quality production. The company further promotes diversity and has since its founding in 2014 cultivated long term partnerships with suppliers that equally commit to do good.
For further information, please contact rebecca@astep.design
