Forest + Fire: Imagining the Future of Business at BLD PNW 2025

​Now in its 9th year, BLD Pacific Northwest (PNW) returns September 9–11, 2025, bigger and bolder than ever. The flagship regional gathering has grown into a three-day experience with more than 50 speakers, hands-on workshops, B Corp tours, and nature immersions from forest bathing to stewardship at Hoyt Arboretum. Organized by B Local PDX, this year’s theme—Forest + Fire—meets the moment: a call to explore resilience, regeneration, and the future of business in a world where crises and transformations are arriving faster than ever.

We spoke with Wes Griffin, Executive Director of B Local PDX, about how the theme took shape, why the Pacific Northwest is a uniquely fertile ground for impact businesses, and what attendees can expect from this year’s gathering.

Wes, can you tell us a bit about your role at B Local PDX and what goes into organizing BLD?

I’m the Executive Director at B Local PDX, which was the first B Local chapter to establish a paid staff position. When I mention that to other B Local leaders, they’re often surprised—they’re used to volunteer-run chapters. Having staff means we can have more capacity dedicated to signature programs like BLD.

For folks who don’t know, BLD stands for “B Corp Leadership Development.” It’s our flagship regional gathering: a place where B Corps and like-minded businesses come together to connect, learn, and spark collaboration.

I work with our 15-person board on all kinds of projects, but I’m the lead organizer for this event. We’ve got subcommittees for programming, logistics, communications, sponsorship—some made up of board members, some of volunteers from the B Corp community, and even folks who are just champions of good business and unapologetically excited about the B Corp business model.

Some people are leading big sessions, others are helping caterers on the day-of. It’s really the community organizing itself. And what’s beautiful is that those volunteers often turn into future board members. It’s a living ecosystem of people putting their hands on the work together.

The theme this year is Forest + Fire. How did that come about, and why now?

Historically, we’ve chosen themes that spoke more directly to business and impact: Building Connectivity, Progress on Purpose. But when we started planning this year, we couldn’t get away from two realities we were facing at once.

On the one hand, there’s this long-term transition in our movement: new B Corp standards, debates about ecosocial certifications, questions about credibility. On the other, there’s the firestorm we’re living through: cultural upheavals, political challenges, climate disruptions. Every time we met to plan, something else was burning—literally or figuratively.

So Forest + Fire came from wanting to hold both truths. Forests represent rootedness, long scales of time, and the shade or canopy that big brands can provide so smaller companies have space to grow, experiment, and find their footing. Fire represents transformation—not only in moments of disaster, but also as the clearing force that makes regeneration possible. And then a third metaphor emerged that we didn’t expect: soil. That sense of interconnectedness, the mycelium of a movement weaving beneath the surface. We don’t always see it, but it’s there, binding us together, feeding resilience.

Some of the “fires” we’ll talk about are pressing business challenges: how to navigate AI responsibly, or how to rethink mergers and acquisitions not just as transactions but as regenerative tools that create wealth and broaden ownership through employee ownership models or purpose trusts. In other words, fire as a force for transformation, not just disruption.

How will Forest + Fire show up in the programming itself?

The conference opens with a keynote on what happens when we stop treating business and nature as separate, and instead use natural systems as the blueprint for how companies grow, thrive and communicate their impact. You’ll hear from Luke Purdy of Wieden+Kennedy, the Portland-based global creative agency behind campaigns for Nike and other iconic brands, and Verônica Manguinho de Souza, formerly of Natura & Co., the Brazilian cosmetics group widely recognized for its sustainability leadership. Together, they bring that canopy perspective from some of the world’s largest, values-driven companies.​

After that, instead of a standard “state of the movement” talk, we’re putting B Lab US & Canada’s Co-Lead Executive Ellonda Williams in direct conversation with longtime and brand-new B Corps. Alando Simpson is CEO at COR Disposal & Recycling, the first Black-owned waste management company on the West Coast and the first in the region to put an electric garbage truck on the road. Jackie Santa Lucia represents Adre, a Portland-based real estate development company with an upfront justice lens that integrates community, equity, and climate solutions into every project. COR has been certified nearly 12 years, and Adre just a couple of months.

​Alando and Jackie know each other as peers and collaborators—even now working together on the reparative development Williams & Russell Campus Project—and I can’t wait to hear their perspectives. No moderator, no script; just an authentic exchange about the challenges and opportunities they’re facing. That choice was deliberate: to avoid podium speeches and create space for leaders to speak candidly with one another.

So yes, there’s a lot of nature framing here, but we’re not ignoring the people side of it. It’s about forests and fire; but it’s also about movement building and how we learn from each other. After these main stage talks and some incredible breakout sessions, we’ll turn to Michael ‘MC’ Crooke, former CEO of Patagonia and a professor of leadership and strategy. MC will share stories from Patagonia’s turnaround during his tenure and how values, alignment, and authenticity can create FLOW in high performing organizations.

Why does Forest + Fire matter in today’s sociopolitical climate?

Because we’re at an inflection point. B Lab Standards V2.1 are reshaping what it means to be a B Corp. Certifications are under scrutiny. And meanwhile, every week feels like another crisis—politically, culturally, and environmentally.

The Pacific Northwest has a reputation for progressive business and advocacy-minded leaders. People here don’t just want to be inspired; they want to be challenged. And from a business perspective, companies are being forced to navigate massive shifts that feel disruptive now but can become regenerative if we approach them with the right frameworks.

So this theme is our way of saying: let’s acknowledge the fires and how we must respond, but also let’s retain our agency and identity. Let’s imagine a future where resilience isn’t just survival, but transformation.

What do you hope attendees will experience at BLD PNW 2025?

ROI at BLD isn’t always direct. Sure, you’ll meet people, you’ll sit in sessions that speak to your industry, and you’ll leave with practical insights to apply at work. But the bigger value is being around people who share a commitment to something greater. That’s rare in today’s world: to gather across roles, industries, and perspectives with a shared commitment to business as a force for good. You’ll build resilience just by seeing other people be resilient. Sparks catch here.

I want people to leave not just with notes from a session, but with the conviction to keep sinking roots into this community. My dad is a Southern Baptist minister, so I lived the small town preacher’s kid life. In the same way he couldn’t build a healthy congregation out of folks who only show up on Christmas and Easter, we can’t build a movement on organizations that get their B Corp stamp and then put it all in a drawer ’til it’s time to recertify. We need people and organizations to keep leaning in. Every time you share knowledge or resources for the benefit of likeminded organizations, or help one more team member see how they belong and contribute, it’s like our roots are moving underground, intertwining and strengthening us for the long haul, making us resilient.

And we’ve seen the impact. A few small businesses that joined last year as marketplace vendors had such a great experience that they submitted their B Corp Certification applications the very next day. We’ve also seen companies that send a single leader to BLD come back the next year with five or six team members, because the spark caught.

That’s why this year we added community reflections after the main conference day. People told us in the past that it all felt so good and then ended too abruptly. This year, smaller groups will gather around specific needs—certification, collaboration, celebration—so folks can process what they’ve learned, make meaning together, and leave with clearer next steps. It’s not just about a three-day high. It’s about building momentum that carries forward.

You grew up in the South before moving to Portland. How does that shape how you see resilience in the PNW business community?

The South has a kind of raw resilience. People are direct—sometimes transactional, but always relational. When I ran a Habitat ReStore in New Orleans, contractors would walk in and, before they even said hello, tell me what sort of discount they wanted, or even needed. With the wrong attitude, it could be confrontational, but often it helped us find a shortcut to a mutually beneficial outcome. Here in the Northwest, the business community is so caring, inclusive and kind, but sometimes our politeness wins out over authenticity. There can be hesitancy. There’s something beautiful about not wanting to impose, but at times we are more oriented to process than we are outcomes.

I hope that my own style of community development brings those regional approaches together and creates something powerful. Candor ensures hard truths don’t get buried; restraint ensures those truths are shared with care. Resilience here isn’t just about gritting your teeth through hardship; it’s about building trust over time, so companies can lean on each other when challenges come.

And then there’s the density: there are more than 160 Certified B Corps headquartered in this region. That doesn’t happen by accident. Early adopters took root here and created an ecosystem where newer businesses could flourish. Pride of place has kept that momentum alive. Companies don’t have to be re-convinced every year to engage. Maybe they’re regulars at our industry mixers or policy workshops, or they meet monthly in one of our CEO and leadership cohorts; B Corp has become a part of their identity, and that depth of affinity sustains the B Local PDX community and helps it grow.

How does BLD connect with the broader B Corp movement and events like Champions Retreat?

BLD is local and hands-on, essentially neighbors getting together to inspire and maybe push each other towards greater heights. It’s where sparks ignite, where new companies get pulled into the movement, and where long-time B Corps have real conversations about the challenges ahead. Champions Retreat is where those sparks gather together into something bigger. It’s the marquee gathering for the movement in North America: a space to deepen connections, align on purpose, and move from ideas to action.

The theme for 2026 in Milwaukee is Ripples to Waves, which couldn’t be more fitting. BLD is where some of those small ripples can begin, in workshops and conversations and relationships that might seem modest at first. Champions Retreat is where we see how far they and other similar efforts can travel, and how powerful they become when it’s all coalesced together.

Since I’ve been in this role, we’ve always had some participation at Champions Retreat: panels on funding models, conversations about how B Locals organize. But my hope for 2026 is that we show up big. Milwaukee is a chance for us to bring the authenticity and joy you feel at BLD into the national spotlight—and to carry our tough, honest questions into dialogue with the broader community.

Join Us to Spark a Transformation

Photo from the 2024 BLD PNW event, courtesy of B Local PDX

BLD PNW 2025 takes place September 9–11 at the World Forestry Center and across Portland. With more than 50 speakers, interactive workshops, nature immersions, and community celebrations, it’s an invitation to deepen roots, transform through fire, and imagine the future of business together.

Tickets are available now! Grab your core conference tickets here, then choose some add-ons and plan your BLD week here.