How You Can Help: Australian Bushfire Relief

This image of a burning home in Lake Conjola in New South Wales, Australia, was taken by Matthew Abbott for The New York Times.

Show Your Solidarity with Those on the Front Lines

Our team has been overwhelmed by the local and global response from our B Corp community to the Australian Bushfire Crisis. At a time where we struggle to digest the tragic reality unfolding around us, we remind ourselves of why we are here doing this work — we want to change a system that is currently failing our society and our planet.

As our world changes it is clear our real strength comes from community, our shared fate and responding to needs greater than our own. There are many ways to show your solidarity with those on the frontlines, our wildlife and fellow Aussies that have lost everything they own.

Thank you to all individuals and businesses who have donated to bushfire relief efforts. We have seen some incredibly generous contributions from the B Corp community, whether it be donating products or profits, fundraising initiatives, matching in-kind donations or anything else in between every bit helps.

Our B Corp community in particular has been remarkable in the way they’ve galvanised to support the communities affected by the bushfires. Beyond Bank, whose members have been some of the most directly impacted by the fires, in addition to raising money for bushfire relief efforts, is also collating volunteer opportunities across the regions so their staff can utilise their community leave days to support their communities with response and recovery efforts.

So where to from here? We share some ways you can support the communities and wildlife that have suffered.

1. Donate to help relief, recover and rebuild local communities and habitats!

Here are some organisations you can donate to:

National

NSW

NSW Rural Fire Service (NSW)

VIC

SA

Wildlife

2. Help Local Business

Spend With Them

When the fires subside, residents and businesses in fire-ravaged areas will be starting to navigate the road to recovery. Spend With Them helps you buy direct from clothing labels, surf shops, farms, wineries, distilleries and more.

#GowithEmptyEskies campaign

Many of the towns affected by the bushfires in both NSW and Victoria are popular tourist areas. A campaign developed by two friends in Melbourne encourages “city folk” to head to fire-affected communities and surrounds, including the North East, with an empty esky. The idea is to support regional retailers and producers, by hitting the road, spending money and filling their eskies with produce to take home.

3. Commit to Net Zero by 2030!

At COP25 in December last year, more than 500 B Corps from around the world committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2030! This is a HUGE achievement as it is the largest group of businesses to make a commitment like this so far. We encourage B Corps and other businesses to commit to net zero and think about how you can reduce your environmental impact.

We want to acknowledge some of the B Corps who have supported the bushfire relief efforts through donations, fundraising, and on-the-ground support:

… and many, may more!

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.

How You Can Help: Australian Bushfire Relief was originally published in B The Change on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.