Businesses’ Role in Envisioning a Better Future
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to hold the world’s human population in its grip, the ecosystems around the world are experiencing their own new reality. A short-term regeneration, created by just a few weeks of humanity easing back the continued pressure of carbon and other pollution, puts in high relief the ongoing damage we are doing to the larger system of the planet upon which we depend, and of the incredibly risky experiment we are conducting as we pump ever increasing amounts of carbon into the atmosphere.
The pandemic has also highlighted our connectivity, our interdependency, and the fundamental importance of early action to avert a crisis. The climate crisis is unfolding in real time, albeit more slowly than the coronavirus crisis, yet similarly denying the facts around human-caused climate change and our impact on the planet has even more dire consequences if we don’t act to “flatten the curve” before it’s too late.
As a Certified B Corporation investment firm seeking to use our capital to help fix the large social and environmental challenges we face, we believe capital and the businesses it supports must shift to create long-term value, generating returns for and considering all stakeholders in decision-making, versus short-term and extractive models serving shareholders in a vacuum.
In this context, we want to take a moment amidst this pandemic to remember that April 22, 2020, marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Since the first Earth Day event in 1970, millions have joined the movement to protect and restore our planet and ensure its future for the generations who follow us. While this year’s Earth Day celebrations are different, the message and goal of recognizing and protecting the planet on which we depend for everything remains the same.
Investing with a B Corp Lens: Focusing on a Regenerative Economy
The reality of the times and of our own experience in building systems-aware businesses suggests a shift to a regenerative investment strategy is not only necessary — it’s imminently possible if we simply shift our economic models toward alignment with the reality of the nesting and complex systems of which we are all a part. We know aligning capital with nature isn’t just an idealistic wish because we have seen it happening in the forward-looking companies we partner with and their peers.
One clear example of that approach can be found with the innovative team at MPOWERD. Makers of the popular Luci solar lantern, MPOWERD set out to create a solar-enabled lantern that could at once serve the U.S. consumer for camping and outdoor lifestyles while also using the profits to provide solar lanterns and chargers to the billions of people living without consistent access to electricity around the globe.
To date, MPOWERD has worked with more than 700 NGOs and nonprofits around the world like the United Nations, Save the Children and Team Rubicon. These partners and MPOWERD’s 14-person team have impacted 4 million lives and averted 1.8 million-plus tons of CO2.
“We believe that in the face of global challenges, companies have a responsibility to step up and face them head-on, participating in the recovery process and using our platform to connect one another,” says MPOWERD co-founder John Salzinger.
Awareness of the impact a business can have on communities around the globe is also very present at Traditional Medicinals, a fellow B Corp and the largest organic tea company in the U.S., that has been producing ethically and sustainably sourced herbal products for over 45 years. Traditional Medicinals has developed relationships to fairly compensate and support the grower communities it sources from, and lives its sustainability values in how it operates the business. For example, Traditional Medicinals shared in its last annual Sustainability Report that the company and its source communities are continually looking ahead and planning how to continue to grow sustainably and to prepare for the impacts of climate change.
“Our response has been to double-down on our investments in our growing communities to secure our required needs for high-quality, ethically sourced herbs. We’ve initiated more long-term planning with our growers and hired a medicinal plant agronomist to assist them in best agricultural practices to increase yields and acreage sustainably. Climate change is real and is adversely affecting our sourcing communities. More than ever before, we are investing resources in our grower communities so they can be more resilient in these challenging times of extreme weather, especially droughts. The value of sustainable practices like organic certification, fair labor standards, and the work done by TM’s Foundation will have critical impact into the distant future, from harvest to harvest, year to year, and generation to generation,” writes CEO Blair Kellison.
Now, as this pandemic unfolds, we at Builders are continuing to work to reimagine capitalism to better serve humanity while also protecting the families connected to each of our businesses. As we stay safe at home, or on the job, we can all recognize how lucky we are to be able to continue our work, and remember our interconnected roles as part of a global system. In challenging times, and at all times, we should consider the impact of our actions on the environment and the social fabric it sustains — and, like MPOWERD and Traditional Medicinals, work to light the way for a more sustainable future.
On Earth Day, we are annually reminded of the preciousness of the planet and believe this crisis, in the words of Carl Sagan, only “underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known.”
A longer version of this post originally appeared on The Builders Fund site. 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.
Earth-Centered Business in the Time of COVID-19 was originally published in B The Change on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
