B Corps: Building a Stronger Future Together

B the Change Weekly: August 16, 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:

At the recent B Corp Leadership Development Pacific Northwest Conference, partnerships and connections were central to the panel discussions and activities focused on “Building the B Ecosystem.” This wheel, built by two Portland B Corps, served as an interactive art piece and visual symbol of B Corp interdependence. It included the name of every attending business on the perimeter, and attendees used string to connect their business with others they collaborate with or want to work with in the future.

By counting community as a key stakeholder, Certified B Corporations acknowledge and enhance the value of partnerships, collaboration and education. B Corps bring these values to life when they come together to learn and inspire, whether that happens at Champions Retreat (get your tickets for this year now!), a B Local event, or other B Corp gathering. When B Corps collaborate for projects or share ideas, they know they have partners who share a broader view of success that includes benefit for all.

Right now, B Corps can support fellow B Corp leaders and B Lab by voting for a B Corp panel to be on the agenda at SXSW. The panel aims to share how B Corps together are tackling some of the most pressing global challenges by using business as a force for good.

Collaborating for Cleaner Waters

An estimated 9 million tons of plastic enter our oceans every year, littering beaches, clogging waterways, and affecting marine life. In the wake of these warnings, an initiative advanced through a partnership of two B Corps gives people a way to act on the issue of plastics in the ocean and creates hope for the future through their business operations and offerings.

On B the Change, learn more about the Preserve Ocean Plastic Initiative from Preserve and Grove Collaborative and how it will contribute to nonprofit organizations working to keep plastic waste out of the oceans.

Connect for Change at Champions Retreat

When businesses join the B Corp community, they sign a Declaration of Interdependence that includes agreeing to “act with the understanding that we are each dependent upon another and thus responsible for each other and future generations.” By signing on to this statement, B Corps agree to work together as a community to build an inclusive and regenerative economy.

Those two goals serve as the overarching theme at this year’s Champions Retreat, where B Corp leaders can create stronger connections that benefit all people and advance true, lasting change.

Planting the Seed for Financial Security

When Rhino Foods launched its Income Advance loan program for employees, it saw an opportunity to keep good employees while helping them build their credit score and weather financial challenges. The innovative program worked so well that it has been rolled out to other companies through an Income Advance Guide produced with B Lab.

On B the Change, read how Rhino Foods also inspired the launch of a similar program for a network of local California B Corps in partnership with a receptive, community-minded financial institution.

Stay in the Know

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

Adapt and Innovate: How Business and Finance Can Lead Positive Change: Bain Capital Double Impact’s Deval Patrick and Patagonia’s Rose Marcario Share How Business Can Build an Inclusive and Regenerative Economy
Collaborating for Cleaner Waters: B Corp Initiative Funds Research to Reduce Plastics in the Ocean
Cultivating Chemistry with Purpose-Driven Clients: David Fortson and the LOACOM Team Market for a Better World
Coast Capital Savings Builds on Positive Impact During First Year as a B Corp: Canadian Credit Union Encourages Employees to Connect Their Everyday Actions to B Corp Certification
Dos Toros Taqueria: Do What’s Right and Success Will Follow: NYC Restaurant Sees Long-Term Benefits of Employee-First Policy and Transparent Decision-Making
Spreading No-Till Farming in the Gambia: Modou Sowe Hopes to Build Youth Involvement in Sustainable Agriculture
Moving Toward an Inclusive and Regenerative Economy: B Corps Will Strengthen Nurturer Mindset Through Connections and Conversations at Champions Retreat

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.

B Corps: Building a Stronger Future Together was originally published in B the Change on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.