Bosena, Producer of Rose of Nevada, Awarded B Corp Certification

Most film production companies are not exactly known for their environmental credentials. Bosena, the Cornish outfit behind the current box office hit Rose of Nevada, is trying to change that, and it has the paperwork to prove it.

The Newlyn-based company has announced it has become a certified B Corporation, placing it among only a handful of feature film producers worldwide to achieve the certification.

A Cornish Powerhouse

Bosena is the production company behind Mark Jenkin’s Rose of Nevada, starring George Mackay and Callum Turner. The film, which Screen International recently used to describe Bosena as a “Cornish powerhouse”, sits at number seven in the UK box office after its first week and is currently showing in hundreds of cinemas across the UK and Ireland.

Founded and led by Denzil Monk, Bosena operates with what the company describes as an ecosophical mission for a better Cornwall, focused on making films that follow “stepping lightly” regenerative principles of production from its Cornish base.

What B Corp Certification Means

B Corp status is verified by B Lab, the not-for-profit behind the movement. To achieve it, companies must meet standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability, and legally commit to goals beyond shareholder value in their company articles.

The UK B Corp community is the largest and fastest-growing in the world, with over 2,600 companies on the list. Familiar names include The Guardian, Innocent Drinks, Patagonia, Tony’s Chocolonely, The Big Issue, Finisterre, Elemis and Sipsmith Gin.

Chris Turner, CEO of B Lab UK, said: “Welcoming Bosena to the B Corp community is hugely exciting. Its commitment to doing business differently in the making of feature-length films will be an inspiration to others and will help spread the notion that success in business is as much about people and planet as it is profit.”

Three Years In The Making

Denzil and his team have been going through the B Impact Assessment process for three years. The company joined the Cornish “B Creative” cohort led by Matt Hocking of Leap, which Denzil credits with making the process workable for a film business.

“Alongside our own in-house ecosophical developments, Bosena has been going through the B Impact Assessment process for three years, having joined the Cornish ‘B Creative’ cohort led by Matt Hocking of Leap,” Denzil said. “We’re incredibly grateful to Matt for paving the way for us and making the necessarily stringent B Corp processes as natural as possible for us. Our industry is not necessarily immediately B Corp ‘primed’, so we’re beyond delighted to become one of the handful of film companies to achieve this major certification. We’re always very happy to share our open-source processes and principles with others in the industry, and encourage our colleagues in other film and TV production companies to embark on the B Corp journey.”

On Set in Cornwall

In practice, Bosena’s approach means employing local specialists and crews where possible, including a growing number of students from Falmouth University film courses. The company has also introduced a range of environmental and wellbeing measures that Denzil treats as non-negotiable on every production.

For Rose of Nevada, the team developed what they call a “Rainbow Memo”, a document referenced throughout the shoot to acknowledge a collective environmental and human care requirement on set. The memo was designed to make sure everyone on the production felt welcomed, regardless of age, experience or role.

That same Rainbow Memo has since been picked up by several other UK production companies and is being used as best practice in sustainable production training by leading screen institutions.

A Wider Movement

Bosena is also part of the Better Business Act, a coalition of more than 3,000 organisations campaigning to change UK law so that all companies align their long-term interests with those of wider society and the environment.

Rose of Nevada is in cinemas across the UK and Ireland now.

📷Photo Credit: Steve Tanner