A note from Shannon
In 2025, I’m proud to say that Forge & Spark doubled down on the work that matters most to us: helping purpose-driven teams communicate with clarity and heart—all while strengthening our own practices as a women-led, values-driven B Corp. This report highlights our progress, our partners and community, and the goals we’re setting for 2026.
Highlights at a glance (2025)
B Corp recertification: Our score increased from 87.3 to 100.3 🙌
Community & advocacy: We’ve been active in our local B Corp community and as a member of Coralus and Women Transforming Cities.
SDG focus (4, 5, 8): 2025 highlights include Lara’s Dress for Success Personal Branding workshop; a solid volume of client-selected donations; and growing our Giving Back programme.
Team: We’ve got a 100% women team; a flexible, remote-first culture; continued peer recognition via HeyTaco; introduced DEI training for leadership; and introduced Flexible Wellness Days.
Services: We expanded our suite of Quick-Start strategy sprints (Foundational Brand Messaging, 90-Day Content Plan, Brand Kit, Audit to Action) to help smaller orgs move faster with integrity.
Accessibility: Built internal SOPs and supported clients with practical accessibility recommendations.
Environment: Remote operations; transit-friendly meetups; estimated 1.76 t CO₂e/year for team WFH + offset plan of 2 t.
Pro bono: Quarterly commitments supporting B Corps and nonprofits.
Our B Corp year
We recertified in 2025 with a score of 100.3 (up from 87.3) … not bad!
Our elevated score this year reflects improvements we consciously made in governance, worker practices, and impact management… plus a focus on clearer documentation and new policies (Flexible Wellness Days; accessibility SOPs). We also stayed active in the local B Corp community, learning and sharing across the network, and continuing our involvement with Coralus, SVI, and Women Transforming Cities.
Our B Corp journey began in 2021, and we achieved certification in 2022. Since that time, we’ve made an effort to strengthen our systems, partnerships, and purpose-aligned client work each year.
Our SDG focus (4, 5, 8)
We continue to align our work with three prioritized UN Sustainable Development Goals:
SDG 4 — Quality Education: We prioritize learning through client enablement, workshops, and content, as well as donations chosen via our Giving Back programme, and our work with clients in the education space (University of the Fraser Valley).
SDG 5 — Gender Equality: As a growing, women-led team, we create pathways for leadership, mentorship, and fair, flexible work.
SDG 8 — Decent Work & Economic Growth: We’re committed to fair wages, flexibility, and a culture of care that supports sustainable growth.
2025 Stories & Actions
Workshop: Personal Branding for Career Confidence with Dress for Success Vancouver (Sept 20, 2025), led by our VP of Creative Strategy, Lara Kroeker.
Giving Back Program: Each new client selects a charity aligned to our SDGs; in 2025, these included Vancouver Food Bank, Dress for Success Vancouver, Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre, and Mamas for Mamas. Our Giving Back approach—small, consistent contributions per client/student—keeps impact tangible and participatory.
Volunteer Work: We proudly participated in the Plenty of Plates series supported by A Better Life Foundation (ABLF), a Vancouver charity advancing food security, training, and community programs; and in the Herstory Fundraising Gala for the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre.
Year-end team donations: The team will choose a charity to receive a year-end gift.
Civic engagement: Active membership in Women Transforming Cities.
Our team
We are women-led, fully remote, human-centred.
Team makeup: 100% women; in 2025, we welcomed Christina Tran (partly via a working-youth grant) and Sonam Ram
Flexibility & balance: Remote-first with optional quarterly in-person meetups. One of our PMs, Kelsey Westbrook, takes a sailing-season schedule each summer with our support for flexible hours and coverage.
Recognition & culture: HeyTaco peer appreciation; holiday appreciation notes each December, with each team member sharing what they love and appreciate about their teammates.
Learning & inclusion: Our leadership completed unconscious bias training through the Canadian Diversity Initiative this year. We also offer ongoing Lunch & Learns and supportive mentorship as a part of our culture and tradition.
Team satisfaction: In 2024, 90% of our team reported feeling supported with room to grow; we’ll repeat the survey in Q4 2025.
New policy: Flexible Wellness Days (2025)
We introduced this policy to align with our 2024 goal of improving well-being supports for our team members.
What it is: Every employee may take flexible wellness days to support physical, mental, family, or community wellbeing—no medical note required.
How it works: We encourage our team to pre-book whenever possible, but urgent same-day use is allowed. We ask team members to coordinate with their PMs to ensure client coverage. It’s designed for psychological safety, so there’s no stigma, no over-explaining—just a brief note on availability is required from each team member when needed.
Our work
2025 had us expanding practical, values-aligned services
In 2025, we continued to grow our ‘Quick-Start’ Strategic Sprint service offerings designed for smaller, purpose-led orgs and tight timelines. Our strategic sprints now include:
Foundational Brand Messaging 90-Day Content Plan Brand Kit Audit to Action
These fast, focused services help teams create on-brand, integrity-rooted content—efficiently and sustainably.
Accessibility was a priority focus both internally and with clients in 2025.
Internal: Established an Accessibility SOP (language, structure, alt-text, colour contrast, heading hierarchy, link clarity, motion sensitivity, captions/transcripts).
Client enablement: Delivered accessibility recommendations for several clients, and embedded accessible content checks in our planning and QA workflows.
Policy: Drafted an agency-wide accessibility policy and integrated it into onboarding and creative review.
Purpose-driven clients we supported in 2025
Genus Capital Management, a Vancouver B Corp wealth manager and impact-investing firm. We’ve partnered since 2019 on a living content strategy: persona-led roadmap, long-form thought leadership, social content, templates, reporting, and lead-gen support. Case Study
DigiBC (Creative Technology Association of BC), a non-profit industry association uplifting BC’s video game, animation, VFX, and XR sectors. Following an accelerated branding sprint, we delivered ongoing content: story pillars, monthly blog/newsletter/social, event promotion (Signals), mentorship and talent pipeline stories. Case Study
Puzzle Heads, a Montessori-aligned educational puzzle maker. We combined Audit-to-Action + 90-Day Content Kickstart to build a right-sized content engine: competitors/audience work, messaging pillars, month-by-month plan, refreshed web copy/design, reusable templates, and batched story packages. Case Study
Refined Interiors, a Saskatoon-based full-service interior design & project management studio. We clarified fresh brand messaging via our Foundational Brand Messaging sprint, and developed a 90-Day Content Plan that defined marketing goals and target audiences, as well as providing clear tactical activities for 90 days, including a full website refresh. refinedinteriorsco.com
RunGo, an app providing voice-guided routes and intuitive concierge maps for hotels; helps properties offer verified running/walking routes for guests. We developed foundational brand messaging focused on the hotels program and partner-value narrative. Case Study
ALNA, a brand new wellness business offering contrast therapy, in the form of ice baths, sauna treatments, and breathwork. We developed a Go-To-Market content marketing plan and continue to develop consistent on-brand content to ensure ALNA reaches its business and marketing goals. https://alnaspa.com/
AidKit, a software platform for fast, accessible, fraud-resilient administration of public benefits and cash aid. We set up a pragmatic content-marketing strategy to educate buyers and support revenue-team efforts. aidkit.com
Vancity, a beloved values-based community credit union. We created an SEO-grounded editorial plan and produced a “radically real” blog series blending financial education with human stories to drive engagement and organic performance. Case Study
University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) Continuing Education, a focused program within a much-loved public university. We built and executed the #ContinueYOU recruitment campaign: audits, workshops, personas, creative concept, stories, video, landing page/social—resulting in targeted engagement and inquiries. Case Study
The ABE Project, a new initiative to address major gaps in end-of-life support, education, and accessibility, with a particular focus on inclusivity and digital-first solutions. Together, we set out to create a clear, compassionate, and actionable roadmap to help guide ABE toward an intentional and aligned launch. Case Study
Khôra Architecture + Interiors, a design solutions firm renowned for creating thoughtful, human-centred spaces with a focus on justice, equity, diversity, inclusion (JEDI), and environmental sustainability. We conducted a comprehensive Brand & Worthy Rivals Audit, and we collaboratively developed a 90-day content plan aligned with Khôra’s business goals. Case Study
Environment
In 2025, we aimed for a lean footprint and continuous improvement.
Remote by design: No permanent office; transit-friendly locations for quarterly meetups.
Sustainable choices: Employee handbook guidance for greener vendors and practices.
Estimated emissions (WFH): ~1,755.91 kg CO₂e/year across the team, based on working-from-home assumptions (heating, lighting, workstation).
Heating: 97.32 kg CO₂e
Lighting: 2.36 kg CO₂e
Workstation: 35.39 kg CO₂e
Per-person subtotal 135.07 kg CO₂e × 13 = 1,755.91 kg CO₂e
Offsets: Plan to offset 2 tonnes in 2025 to fully cover the estimate; our team selected the Great Bear Rainforest Project: the first carbon offset project in North America to be implemented on traditional territory with unextinguished Aboriginal rights and Title. The project increases carbon sequestration stocks through conversion to protect forests that were previously available for commercial logging.
Next step: Formal Climate Action Plan in 2026.
Community & giving
Why we do it: We believe that simple, consistent actions, shared with our clients and students, build meaningful collective impact.
Giving Back programme
For every new client or student, we donate to a client-selected charity aligned with our SDGs.
2025 beneficiaries included:
Vancouver Food Bank, Dress for Success Vancouver, Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre, Mamas for Mamas, and Women Transforming Cities.
Year-end team donations
Every year, we donate to a single cause on behalf of our team and clients. This year, our team has voted to direct a donation to the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre, which does extraordinary work to provide a safe, non-judgmental environment for self-identifying women from all walks of life, who live and/or work in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver.
Our goals for 2026
Publish a Climate Action Plan and formalize annual measurement.
Adopt robust JEDI (justice, equity, diversity, inclusion) and Human Rights policies, and integrate them into onboarding and vendor standards.
Expand wellbeing supports (flexible wellness days; mental-health access; sustainable workload norms).
Continue service discounts for B Corps and nonprofits.
Continue our Dress for Success partnership and other SDG-aligned initiatives.
Launch a new ‘sprint’ service offering: AI & Content Ops: a practical operations-focused accelerator to help small teams move from ideas and planning to operational efficiency in producing values-rich, on-brand content, incorporating AI efficiencies (with human guardrails and accessibility baked in).
Thank you!
To our clients, collaborators, and the B Corp community: thank you for the trust and partnership. We’re committed to creating content that earns trust, amplifies purpose, and supports measurable, positive change.
