Enigma Becomes BCorp
Enigma has a long-held commitment to operating in nature and supporting the communities they work with, having started life as one of Peru’s leading trekking specialists, taking guests into the most remote parts of the Andes. So, it was a sequential step for the team to deepen that commitment and become a fully-fledged BCorp member; a purpose-driven organisation which creates benefit for all stakeholders, not just shareholders. Founder Silvia Rico has shared their story of the unwavering and dynamic path they have taken to achieve full BCorp certification this year…
“Enigma has always had a strong understanding of the local communities we work within, not simply just recognising regulations and standards in terms of things like minimum salaries and legal wages, but also making sure that there is a shared respect for the environment and fair treatment when we work together.
Over time, these values grew into a desire to act ‘consciously’ and to actually do good through our operations and in turn, they have formed the central principles of our business sustainability strategy; comprising four pillars: responsible operations, social commitment (focus on women and children, the least supported group in the Andes), environmental respect and the conservation of cultural heritage. Furthermore, in recent years we have forged an ongoing partnership with the Considerate Group to guide us in bettering our business. Cumulatively this laid the foundation for Enigma to find additional routes to go even further with our sustainability vision.
By 2018 we set about finding a reliable and respected certification partner and after exploring several options, we found BCorp. The certification process started in 2019 and due to the pandemic, we finally submitted the documents in March 2021, receiving the certification in Feb 2022. As is required, every corner of our business has been wholly scrutinised and our project lead, who sadly died during the pandemic, was instrumental in starting us on this journey of transformation. We gladly picked up her baton to honour her memory, which we hope will benefit generations to come.
It’s an ongoing journey, but we are sharing our values, practices and stories to inspire our staff and guests alike. We find that an increasing number of guests are asking us about BCorp and what that means. There is nothing more pleasing than the mutual win-win when our guests feel that they’re doing good by booking with Enigma because we have a level of consciousness and respect they can believe in”.