Building Ballyhass with purpose, people and place in mind
This page brings together the story behind Ballyhass Adventure Group’s B Corp journey — how we are growing our business while working to create a stronger impact for our team, our communities, our customers and the outdoors that sits at the heart of everything we do.
It is not a finished story. It is a working picture of where we are, what we are learning, and where we want to go next as we continue building a more responsible outdoor business in Cork and beyond.
A public view of our impact journey
This is our way of sharing the work behind the badge — the standards we are trying to uphold, the improvements we have already made, and the areas that still need more progress.
Proof, progress and priorities
We have structured this page around the core B Corp impact areas, bringing together key numbers, case studies, community work, team initiatives, operational changes and the priorities shaping our next chapter.
Inspiring an outdoor generation must mean more than growth alone
For Ballyhass, building a stronger business also means supporting local communities, backing our team, improving how we operate, and protecting the places that make outdoor experiences possible in the first place.
A framework that matched the business we were already trying to build
Ballyhass did not begin with B Corp. It began with a mission to inspire an outdoor generation, a strong belief in the value of outdoor experiences, and a growing sense that success should be measured by more than visitor numbers or turnover alone.
As the business evolved, B Corp became a natural fit. It gave Ballyhass a clearer structure for looking at how decisions affect people, customers, community, governance and the environment — while also challenging the business to document, improve and be more accountable in the areas that matter most.
It also aligned with work that was already underway: the development of Ballyhass values, the Code of Ethics, stronger team policies, more formal community support, better environmental tracking, and a wider ambition to build a business that contributes positively to County Cork and beyond.
Inspiring an outdoor generation should mean building a business that is better for the people in it, the communities around it and the places it depends on.
From values to verification
Mission and values became more defined
Ballyhass built out clearer internal values, purpose and behavioural standards, helping turn culture and intent into something more practical and more visible across the business.
The Code of Ethics and policies strengthened the foundations
Formal documentation helped connect Ballyhass’s day-to-day operations with higher standards around staff, suppliers, community relationships and responsible decision-making.
B Corp gave the business a full framework to measure itself against
Instead of looking at sustainability or team culture in isolation, Ballyhass could assess the whole business across governance, workers, community, environment and customers.
Certification marked a milestone — not the end point
The challenge now is to keep improving the quality of the work, the consistency of the evidence, and the way Ballyhass tracks and communicates its impact over time.
A more disciplined way to connect purpose with operations and decisions.
How Ballyhass measures impact, documents progress and spots gaps more honestly.
Better reporting, stronger evidence and more progress built into the day-to-day business.
Some of the clearest signs of progress are already visible
Ballyhass is still improving how it tracks and reports impact, but the direction of travel is already clear — more people reached, more team members supported, stronger environmental action, and more evidence of Ballyhass playing a positive role across its sites and surrounding communities.
Visitors in 2025
Ballyhass welcomed 102,635 visitors in 2025, up from 60,269 in 2022. That growth matters because it shows the scale of Ballyhass’s role in getting more people outdoors across Cork and beyond.
Team members in 2025
Team numbers increased from 140 in 2022 to 178 in 2025, reflecting Ballyhass’s continued growth as an employer and its wider ambition to create more meaningful outdoor-sector careers and pathways.
Clear operational steps are already in place
Waste to landfill per visitor
One of the clearest indicators of operational progress is the drop in waste to landfill per visitor, down from 0.211 in 2022 to 0.14 in 2025. That points to a more efficient and more intentional operating model as Ballyhass has scaled.
Direct local support tracked in the report year
Ballyhass has recorded direct support through sponsorship vouchers and sports team support, alongside wider community activity that is harder to capture in one figure alone.
A business becoming more structured as it grows
The most important thing in this section is not any one number on its own. It is the overall picture: Ballyhass is growing, employing more people, improving core infrastructure, reducing operational waste intensity, and putting more shape around how it contributes to community and place.
How Ballyhass is measuring progress across the whole business
Ballyhass’s impact work is structured around the five core B Corp areas. Together, they create a broader picture of what responsible growth looks like — from how the business is governed, to how it supports its team, contributes to community, reduces environmental impact and delivers better experiences for customers.
Governance
How Ballyhass makes decisions, strengthens accountability and builds long-term value into the business.
Workers
How Ballyhass supports, develops and rewards the people who help bring the experience to life every day.
Community
How Ballyhass contributes to local places, partnerships, schools, organisations and wider community life.
Environment
How Ballyhass is reducing impact, improving infrastructure and taking more practical steps for nature and resource efficiency.
Customers
How Ballyhass creates experiences that encourage more people to get outdoors while improving the overall customer journey.
How Ballyhass is building stronger accountability into the business
Governance is about more than policies on paper. At Ballyhass, it is about shaping a business that makes decisions with a longer view — considering people, place, community and environmental impact alongside commercial performance.
B Corp certification has become an important part of that framework. It provides an external structure for measuring the business across multiple impact areas, while reinforcing the idea that purpose and profit should not sit in opposition to one another.
For Ballyhass, that means embedding responsible thinking into how the business grows, how it communicates its standards, and how it keeps improving the quality of its decision-making over time.
What is already in place
B Corp Certification
A formal commitment to balancing purpose, transparency and long-term responsibility alongside business growth.
External validation
Governance is reinforced by wider recognition including Great Place to Work, Pure Cork and Fáilte Ireland programmes.
Key governance priorities
How Ballyhass is trying to build a stronger place to work in the outdoor sector
Ballyhass’s team is central to the experience it delivers. Supporting workers well is not just about retention or reputation — it is about creating an environment where people can grow, feel valued and build confidence in a sector that has often struggled to offer long-term pathways.
The outdoor industry is full of passionate people, but it can be difficult to hold on to experience and talent over time. Ballyhass’s approach has been to develop a more proactive mix of culture, benefits, recognition and support, while continuing to strengthen the quality of roles available across the business.
That work has already been recognised through repeated Great Place to Work certification, but the wider aim is bigger than certification alone — it is to keep making Ballyhass a healthier, more progressive and more supportive place to work season after season.
Current evidence and proof points
Certified as a Great Place to Work for three consecutive years.
Difference in mean hourly pay across all employees in the report draft.
What Ballyhass is focusing on next
Why this matters beyond Ballyhass
Outdoor businesses often rely on seasonal intensity and short-term labour patterns. Ballyhass wants to keep pushing towards a model that offers more support, more development and more reasons for talented people to stay and grow in the industry.
Part 2 of the Ballyhass Impact Report
This first page covers the opening section of the Ballyhass Impact Report 2023–2025. To continue reading the next part of the report, including the remaining impact areas and wider progress highlights, head to Part 2 below.
View Part 2 of the Impact Report