Some news we are rather chuffed about. On Tuesday 29 September 2026 the Good Business Charter confirmed that Phoenix Media Marketing Ltd is officially accredited. It arrived five days after we won the Shooting Star award at the BHBiz26 Business Awards, so it has been quite a week in the office in Haywards Heath.
What the Good Business Charter is
The Good Business Charter is the UK’s benchmark for responsible business. It was founded by Julian Richer, the man behind Richer Sounds, and developed with the Confederation of British Industry, the Trades Union Congress and the Federation of Small Businesses. Accreditation is free and open to any organisation, from a sole trader to a FTSE company, but it is not automatic. To be accredited, a business has to commit publicly to all ten of the Charter’s components, and the Charter can take the accreditation away from any organisation that stops living up to them.
Those ten components are the real Living Wage, fairer hours and contracts, employee wellbeing, employee representation, equality, diversity and inclusion, environmental responsibility, fair tax, a published commitment to customers, ethical sourcing and prompt payment of suppliers. With 97 per cent of the public saying they want businesses to act responsibly, the GBC stamp is a simple, credible way for people to tell which ones actually do.
Why we applied
Marketing does not always have the best reputation. Big promises, small print and results that never quite arrive are common enough that many of the business owners who come to us have been burned before. We have always wanted Phoenix to be the opposite of that, and most of our clients would tell you that we are. What accreditation does is give that a shape anyone can check.
None of the ten commitments were new to us. Paying people properly, paying suppliers on time, being honest with clients about what will and will not work, and looking after the team are simply how we think an agency should behave. But committing to them publicly is different from doing them quietly. It means our clients, our team and our suppliers can hold us to them, and we welcome that.
What it means for our clients
If you work with Phoenix, or you are thinking about it, accreditation tells you three things. The people looking after your marketing are paid properly, have secure contracts and are looked after, which is why the same faces tend to look after your account year after year. Our commitment to you is written down and public; you can read our commitment to clients on this website. And the agency behind your account is run fairly and openly, from how we pay our suppliers to how we pay our tax. It has no effect on our fees, and it changes nothing about how we work with you day to day. It simply puts on record the way we already run things.
What it means for our team
For the people who work here, the Charter is a promise about the kind of place Phoenix will keep being. Fair pay, proper contracts, real support for wellbeing and a say in how the agency is run are not perks we can withdraw when a month is tight. They are commitments we have made in public, and our team can hold us to them.
Could your business be accredited too?
Very possibly, yes. Accreditation is free, it is open to businesses, charities and public sector organisations of any size, and for a small business that is already doing the right things it takes about an afternoon. As part of our own accreditation we have committed to talking about the Charter with the businesses we work with across Sussex and the South East, so if you would like to know what is involved, ask us. We are very happy to help.
You can read more about what the accreditation means for Phoenix on our Good Business Charter page, and about the Charter itself on the Good Business Charter website.
Thank you to our brilliant team, and to our clients for trusting us with their marketing. We are grateful to be doing this work with people like you.
