Government consultancy Tanck discusses B Corp journey

Angus Crowther, the co-founder of government relations consultancy Tanck, has written on the firm’s journey to becoming one of Australia’s approximately 600 certified B Corp companies.
Although it’s not uncommon for lobby-shops to publicly pretend they don’t participate in lobbying, Tanck’s government engagement services are confined to supporting for-purpose organisations to advocate on their own behalf.
As one form of validation for its ethical approach, Tanck became B Corp certified in 2023 after what Crowther describes as a sometimes difficult nine-month process, with the firm’s advisory model further backed by a swag of awards.
Led by Crowther alongside Neil Pharaoh, Tanck was established in 2021 with the aim of disrupting traditional methods of government engagement by working with non-profit and for-purpose organisations to build their own capabilities, equipping clients with the strategic framework and tools so that they can effectively engage directly with the decision-makers themselves.
Since its founding, the advisory has helped its clients secure more than half a billion dollars in state and federal funding, in areas such as cancer research and remote health services, along with potentially hundreds of pieces of legislation and policy changes, driven by the ethos that purpose-driven organisations are those best placed to share their own innovative ideas and solutions.
B Corp certification
Fitting with its own ambitions to foster change, Tanck made the decision in its early days to go through the B Corp certification process, which aims to enshrine a community-minded approach to business within a company’s values and involves a strict, criteria-based independent evaluation of performance as to social and environmental sustainability and various governance standards.
“For us, being a B Corp ensures that no matter how busy we get with the day-to-day business of helping our clients achieve great things, we will always keep one eye on staying true to our values,” Crowther writes on the company's motivation. “It will serve as a benchmark year on year to make sure we are on track as a business with achieving our social and environmental goals.”
Crowther, who recently took home the 2024 Australian Young Entrepreneur of the Year award for Sustainability & Social Responsibility, notes however that achieving certification over the course of nine months wasn’t always easy, due to the rigorous process. Still, rather than just gaining a new badge, the exercise itself helped Tanck to refine its ideals and unlock new ways of working.
“It made us stop, reflect, gather information, consider that information and then set meaningful future objectives, and has given us the space and tools to really think about how we want to measure our successes. Our commitment to being a B Corp can be summed up by the fact that as a business, we have deliberately chosen to prioritise positive impact over profit maximisation.”
He concludes: “Working in the social sector is challenging – it can be difficult and contested, and progress is often hard won. Our clients are incredible, and their drive and passion to make the world a better place for their communities inspires us. Their work is why we want to reshape government engagement in Australia and provide new pathways for fantastic organisations to be heard.”