B The Change Weekly: August 7, 2020
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:
The COVID-19 shutdown orders that closed many offices, schools, and child care centers quickly created quandaries for families and businesses on top of concerns about a public health crisis and an economic plunge.
Despite these challenges, people are still demanding — and Certified B Corporations are continuing to create — businesses that provide benefit to the people and places they impact. From building family-centered policies that support parents juggling full-time work and full-time child care to demanding social and environmental impact funds be accessible to all people with a 401(k), the community of people using business as a force for good is stepping up.
Protecting Families During Times of Upheaval
COVID-19’s impacts range much deeper than the outbreak numbers, as nearly a third of the U.S. workforce has children at home — a special challenge for single parents, essential workers who cannot work remotely, and others with nontraditional schedules. While these challenges have long-term implications and lack easy solutions, B Corps are adapting their practices and turning to their purpose-driven values for guidance as they help workers navigate a new reality.
Protecting Workers’ Retirement Funds
A proposed federal rule for retirement plan administrators would make it more difficult for retirement plans to incorporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors into their investing philosophy. In this B The Change article, The Shareholder Commons and B Lab outline their objections to the proposed rule, which appears to be based on an animus toward social and environmental responsibility rather than a desire to protect retirement plans.
Protecting Business Resilience with Purpose
As parts of the economy begin to reopen, the economic impacts of the coronavirus will continue to reverberate for years to come. While some companies will weather the storm, many others will not. But as author Christopher Marquis outlines in excerpts from his new report, B Corps tend to be more resilient thanks to their foundation in stakeholder governance.
Stay in the Know
Here’s your chance to catch up on recent articles:
- COVID-19 Business Response: Family-Centered Policies Provide Flexibility and Support for Working Parents: With Workers as a Valued Stakeholder, B Corps Adapt to Pandemic Changes by Adopting and Adjusting Policies
- Why Connector Managers Can Build the Strongest Work Teams: Capacity to Connect with Others Often Gives Women an Advantage as Leaders
- B Lab and the Shareholder Commons Join to Ask the Department of Labor to Withdraw Proposal: New Rule Would Threaten ESG Stewardship
- Good News: B Corps Are More Prepared for the Future: Certification Provides Tangible Benefits That ‘Future-Proof’ Businesses
- 4 Ways to Build Resilience — the Skill We Need Right Now: How to Overcome the Fight-or-Flight Reaction and Respond from a Grounded Place
- How the Pandemic Showed the Value of B Corps as a Community of Practice: Actionable Insights on Working and Learning Together in Times of Crisis
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.
Let’s Lean Further Into Purpose Through Challenging Times was originally published in B The Change on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
