Top Organisations to Escape To in 2022

This year x+why featured in Escape The City’s Top 100 organisations to escape to for 2022! Alongside some of our very own members, our metrics and anonymous employee reviews made the cut out of over 13,000 companies that were nominated. Escape the City is a platform designed to help people find work they believe in, at companies doing things differently. The Escape 100 list represents the organisations that are leading the way in putting their people and our planet on a par with profit.

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Metrics That Matter

With an ever-increasing range of industries, job roles, and workplaces, what does doing things differently actually mean? In order to find the best companies in 2022, Escape identified 6 key criteria to judge companies - with each criterion having its own scale.

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1) Impact: The “Impact” measure is the foundation of the judging criteria. Not only does it denote how far-reaching the organisation’s work is in the world, but it also affects both the “Mission” and “Planet” criteria. An organisation’s mission is multiplied if its impact is far-reaching. Similarly, an organisation’s environmental footprint is multiplied by its scale. In this way, the impact criteria has an important bearing on the calculation.

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2) Planet: This criterion measures the extent to which an organisation has a positive impact on the planet. We are living through a climate emergency. From the Paris Climate Agreement, to Extinction Rebellion and school strikes, to the resurgence of renewable energy and ‘green politics’, environmental concerns are now unavoidable. We believe all businesses, no matter how big or small, need to commit to having a positive impact on our planet. Escape looked at the environmental policies and systems in place for each organisation. Taking into account recycling programmes, energy sources, and if their products improved or harmed the environment, when calculating the score.

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3) Mission:  The "Mission" criterion refers to the aims and ambitions of an organisation. Fundamentally, what is their raison d'être? Some are simply driven by selling products to make money, others are charities that exist primarily to address a social or environmental need. And many fall somewhere in-between, focusing both on the products and services they provide, and on tackling wider societal and environmental issues.

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4) People: This criterion measures the holistic quality of an organisation as a place to work as rated by their employees and by their policies. You can have the most heartfelt mission, a world-beating strategy but creating an engaging workplace is an entirely different matter. Employees need organisations to set them up for success. Escape set about answering this question in two ways. They analysed the policies in place at any given organisation, how inclusive are they? How do they approach training & development? They also decided to ask the employees themselves.

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5) Innovation: This criterion measures how unique the core concept is. The world needs organisations to do things differently. Innovation is more than just a quirk of originality though - it inspires the world and sparks progress by providing creative solutions to pervasive problems. There is an element of real excitement about working somewhere which throws a spanner in the machine and builds a truly unique solution from scratch. This criterion celebrates the different, the unique, and the damn-right whacky concepts that inspire us.

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6) B-Corp: The ultimate seal of approval for a modern business. Certified B Corporations are businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. B-Corps form a community of leaders and drive a global movement of people using business as a force for good. Think of it as an ethical badge of honour.

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Combining these scores gives an organisation an “Escape Score” which is out of 200. However not all criteria carry the same weight - they weighted the criteria relative to their importance. Over time these weightings have the potential to change.

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Too Good To Go

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Although you might be looking to escape - some things are too good to go. Coming in at an impressive number 3 on the Escape 100 list this year are x+why members Too Good To Go! Too Good To Go is an app that lets you buy and collect this food - at a great price - so it gets eaten instead of thrown out.

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Connecting with a range of restaurants and cafes in the local area, their ‘magic bags’ are impacting the issue of food waste in a big way. We caught up with Jess Banner, the Regional Lead for the Midlands, at Too Good To Go to find out more about their tasty tips and secret sauce.

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“To me, a great company to escape to is one that cares about more than just profit. It’s about having a clear and inspiring mission with social impact, a diverse workforce, truly valuing their employees, putting mental health and wellness at the top of the agenda, and offering opportunities for growth and development.

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It’s incredibly rewarding to work for companies like that, when you know that all employees are driving towards the same goal of enacting true positive change. I’m excited to see more and more companies explore how they can become a better place to work by using business as a force for good in the world, as well as promoting inclusive cultures where everyone feels welcome and valued.” - Jess Banner, Too Good To Go

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Toasting to Toastale

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x+why members Toastale also made an impressive number 14 on the list - featuring their award-winning craft beer brewed with surplus fresh bread that would otherwise be wasted. 100% of their profits (or 1% of revenue, whichever is greater) go to charities fixing the food system to magnify their impact.

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Toastale’s main charity partner is Feedback. Feedback leads a global movement against food waste, working with governments, businesses and civil society to catalyse change in social attitudes and demonstrate innovative solutions to tackle food waste and wider food industry issues. Its campaigns include: Feeding the 5000, Gleaning Network, The Pig Idea, Stop Dumping, and the FSE Network. They collaborate with breweries all over the world and support local charities with a proportion of revenue from each beer.

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“We’re companions with passion for the planet, using business as a force for good over a cheeky pint. We have an inspiring vision of a better future, for people and the planet, and work with authenticity and integrity towards that. It's a real motivation for people seeking purpose in their work.

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We also celebrate collaborative ways of working, which are more effective for delivering system change and more rewarding for individuals. I think that's quite a unique approach and a refreshing approach for people who recognise that we need to work together to solve many of the societal problems we face. Oh and we regularly enjoy a few beers together - that can be a nice escape!” - Kristen Fuller, Toastale

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A Big Change For Systems Change

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Our very own COO and co-founder Phil Nevin, is also co-founder of the charity Big Change, who made the Escape 100 this year coming in at number 26. Big Change push value creation together with problem solving and act as a catalyst for positive change by supporting likeminded individuals and organisations. A small but disruptive force, they work with partners to see a society where every young person is set up to thrive in life, not just in exams.

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Do you want a world where every young person is set up to thrive in life? Are you willing to challenge old assumptions about how we support the next generation? Are you unashamedly hopeful for the future? At Big Change, these beliefs drive everything they do. They back pioneers and projects that deliver bold approaches on the frontline of change, and create a community to support them. They also activate diverse allies who want to reimagine and transform education.

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This work has never been more urgent. The pandemic has exposed the cracks created by the existing injustices in the way we currently do things. It is time for big change. So far they have backed 40+ projects, engaged over 7.7m young people, and unlocked over £60m in funding.

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These projects cut across a broad range of areas linked to their 10 big hopes for change. Their leaders share our belief in tackling the root cause of issues affecting young people, teachers, parents and carers. They take a ‘big picture’ system view and create early interventions that treat underlying causes rather than symptoms.

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“Working at Big Change isn’t like anywhere I have worked before. There is a unique vibrancy to the team, community and culture that is truly driven by everyone’s shared passion for the organisation’s vision to see a society where every young person is set up to thrive in life, not just in exams. There’s a collective dedication to this purpose, as well as an understanding that this work is not always easy, but is always needed.

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An innovative approach is intrinsic to the work Big Change does, funds and supports. This is reflected in the team as we are always keen to try new ideas, to challenge each other and tackle problems together. If you’ve got a suggestion - speak up and soon it might be a reality. There’s also a strong sense of flexibility and adaptability, so if something isn’t working or we need to reflect, make changes and find a new approach, then we will.

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The impact of Big Change’s project partners has positively impacted the lives of nearly 8 million young people. As a catalyst for change, the projects we have backed have gone on to unlock £60m in further funding to grow their impact, which is something that I find really motivating and exciting.

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Wellbeing, personal development and learning and development are all fundamental to the way we work and what we can achieve. We are encouraged both as individuals and as a collective to take an approach of continuous improvement, creating a growth mindset and valuing learning from others outside of our organisation.” - Melissa Evans, Big Change

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Find Your x and why

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Coming in at number 51, x+why were one of the few modern flexible workspace providers to make the Top 100 list. A hub of transformation and amplification for purpose-driven businesses, our ethos merges design, technology and wellness to offer our community of businesses a cultural programme designed to inspire members to recognise the link between people, profit and the planet.

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So not only do we have an amazing mission, if you work at x+why you also can choose one of our inspiring spaces to do so. We are B Corp certified, use 80% sustainably sourced furniture in our workspaces, and as a community we are working towards 13 of the 17 UN Sustainability Development Goals. We scored a pleasing 9.8/10 in our employee reviews, so check out the latest roles and put the purpose back into profit!

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“x+why is a business with purpose and principles. It’s a joy to come to work and know that you are playing a small part in making the world a better place. The people are fantastic - members and employees alike - which makes for a happy and collaborative culture of learning and fun.

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x+why’s mission is to change the way the world works for good - we are in the business of helping other businesses be more responsible. And we live it too - from programmes to support our members’ journey, to our ‘green’ buildings, and B Corp Certification. Purpose drives us.

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I live in Cornwall which demonstrates how flexible the team is! Culture is such an important part of our company - and the people make that culture. Everybody at x+why is a pleasure to work with. Hardworking, passionate and fun. I love it!” - Jemma Mcqueen, x+why

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The Great Escape

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More people are demanding more meaning from their lives and work than ever before. Escape the City are a global community - since 2010 they’ve been on a mission to help 1,000,000 quit their corporate jobs and find work that matters to them and the world.

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Eleven and a bit years ago founders Rob and Dom began an email exchange that would change their lives, and hundreds of thousands of others. Six months later they’d quit their corporate jobs and were beavering away in Rob’s basement looking for interesting jobs to populate their weekly Top 10 Opportunities email.

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People loved it. They were on to something.

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That same email list now has well over 500,000 members. But it’s only a tiny bit of what Escape does. Back in 2010 escaping was a fringe idea - today, thanks to advances in technology and shifts in attitudes, it’s becoming increasingly mainstream. As the world around us has evolved, so have all of us.

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Today they represent a movement of people who believe that life’s too short to do work that doesn’t matter to you. And that doing something different is possible. Their new mission is to liberate one million people to do work they love. Not just find more fulfilling work, but to create it too.

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Online and offline they’ve seen first hand the incredible power in connecting likeminded, motivated, passionate people. Whether it’s a small step or a brave leap, they’ve learned that amazing outcomes and inspiring change is best achieved together. So their new focus is to connect more people, build more Escape communities in more cities around the world and inspire them in exciting new ways.

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“We’re doing it because we believe a million more people doing work they love will change the world.”

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