An Inclusive and Regenerative Path to Business As a Force for Better

B the Change Weekly: August 9, 2019

Delivered on Fridays, B the Change Weekly delivers the most important and most relevant stories about people using business as a force for good. The newsletter features a weekly note from the B the Change team alongside insight and context on the stories we share here on Medium. Below is our latest roundup. To receive these insights directly in your inbox, sign up for B the Change Weekly today. Now on to the good stuff:

Rethinking hiring practices. Building a more inclusive economy.

Refreshing mindsets. Regenerating our economy.

To achieve the latter, businesses must first do the former — and much more. In the face of global challenges such as rising inequality and the climate crisis, business leaders must continually rethink their business practices and encourage their colleagues to do the same. These business shifts aren’t easy, as shaping a stronger future for people and planet requires a thoughtful, collaborative approach.

This month on B the Change, we highlight inclusive and regenerative business practices that go beyond considering our environment and instead aim to leave it better. When Certified B Corporation leaders gather next month for the annual Champions Retreat, they’ll collaborate and inspire with that higher goal — an inclusive and regenerative economy — in mind.

Get ready to rethink, refresh and reimagine business — as a force for better.

Achieving Change and Finding Hope Through Inclusion and Regeneration

To bring about the inclusive and regenerative economy that B Corps envision will require active participation from business leaders — and policymakers, advocates and customers also must play a role. B the Change recently asked former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, currently co-managing partner of Bain Capital Double Impact, and Rose Marcario, CEO of B Corp Patagonia, how business and finance can achieve change, who else needs to get in the game, and why there’s reason to be hopeful.

Read what Patrick and Marcario shared with B the Change — and hear more from them as main stage keynote speakers at the 2019 Champions Retreat, the annual gathering of the B Corp community.

Shining a Light on Diversity at Work

For Bulb, the United Kingdom’s biggest green energy supplier, building a diverse team is a crucial part of the B Corp journey. In pursuit of that goal, Bulb is taking steps such as hiring apprentices and reducing its reliance on academic background for some jobs.

On B the Change, learn how Bulb tracks its diversity and inclusion progress to build a team that better reflects the members it serves — and how other businesses can follow suit.

A Natural Model to Change Business for the Better

It’s time to shift toward a regenerative economy, according to Harry Doull of B Corp Keap Candles, that functions as a natural system and creates net benefit for a sustainable balance with planet. As Doull says on B the Change, this idea goes beyond our previous concepts of sustainability — think: reducing harm and impact — and instead challenges each of us to ask whether we leave the unique systems we affect, from plants and water sources to soil and people, in a better place.

On B the Change, Doull shares why we need these forward-thinking movements to take hold across the economy and provide a long-term solution to our planet’s ills.

Stay in the Know

Here’s your chance to catch up on all the good stuff we shared this week:

• Bain Capital Double Impact’s Deval Patrick and Patagonia’s Rose Marcario Share How Business Can Build an Inclusive and Regenerative Economy
• 5 Reasons Your Startup Should Be a Benefit Corp: The Legal Step Entrepreneurs Can Take to Safeguard Their Business’s Purpose
• Shining a Light on Diversity at Work: UK B Corp Bulb Shares a Snapshot of Diversity Data
• Convening Conversations to Build Industry with Purpose: How Chandos Construction Is Helping Leaders Rethink the Role of Business in Canada
• Good Practices Make Good Neighborhood Restaurants: B Corp Grows Staff Loyalty and Draws ‘Green’ Honors
• B Corp on Track to Reduce Workers’ Carbon Footprint While Traveling: Better Places Joins Program That Encourages Trains Over Planes
• Food Service That Serves the People: Allison Gibson of Paintbox Catering and Bistro Combines an Employee-First Approach with Green Living Principles

B the Change gathers and shares the voices from within the movement of people using business as a force for good and the community of Certified B Corporations. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the nonprofit B Lab.

An Inclusive and Regenerative Path to Business As a Force for Better was originally published in B the Change on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.