B Local Events Harness the Power of In-Person Connection for Impact

B Corp Leaders and Partners Create Timely Opportunities to Learn and Network

B Locals are harnessing the power of connection and collaboration to strengthen the global B Corp movement at the local level. These place-based communities organize activities and development opportunities that reflect their unique regional character while advancing the shared mission of building an inclusive, regenerative economy.

In 2024, B Local events showcased the diversity and creativity of the B Corp community, offering impactful opportunities for people to learn, network, and innovate together. From an ethnobotany trail walk in San Diego to a civic engagement panel in Colorado and a pre-Champions Retreat celebration in Vancouver, this year’s gatherings illustrated how local action can help accelerate the B Corp community’s global progress.

Each event serves as a reminder that the B Corp community is as much about fostering relationships as it is about achieving measurable impact. By combining shared learning experiences with moments of inspiration, these gatherings help attendees connect with their values, their communities, and the larger movement for change.

The following highlights of 2024 events are just a few examples of how B Locals are creating spaces for collaboration, dialogue, and action. Connect with your regional B Local to learn more about future events and other opportunities.

B Local San Diego + B1 Network: Connecting with a Trail Walk and Social Hour

B Local events often showcase their community’s unique places. This year’s 1% for the Planet Global Summit provided B Local San Diego with the opportunity to host a nature and educational walk followed by a social hour for B1 companies. B1s are businesses with both B Corp Certification and 1% for the Planet membership, through which they donate 1% of sales to environmental organizations. 

The October gathering at Mission Trails Regional Park brought together 25 members of the B1 community for a guided ethnobotany trail walk led by Kumeyaay relative Mandy Curo, who shared insights about the land’s history, its connection to Indigenous peoples, and ongoing stewardship efforts. 

This year’s 1% for the Planet Global Summit provided B Local San Diego with the opportunity to host a nature and educational walk at Mission Trails Regional Park. (Trail walk photos by Duncan Nicholls / courtesy 1% for the Planet)

B Local San Diego organizer Abraham Chen said one event highlight was welcoming two attendees from Argentina: Nito Anello, founder of B Corp Zafran, and Leandro Sciancalepore, co-founder of Germinar ONG, an environmental partner. “They had just stepped off their flight, and it was their first time in the United States with the B Corp and 1% community,” he said. “When I met them, their eyes were open with amazement and excitement. It was a special moment and a reminder of the global growth of our movement.”

Fellow organizer Brittany Angelo of the B1 Network said collaboration was key to the event’s success. “B Local San Diego helped to plan and manage logistics, while the B1 Network handled marketing and outreach to spark the strong interest that filled the event to capacity,” she said. 

Learn more 

B Corps that are also 1% for the Planet communities can learn more about the B1 Network on the B Hive, an online B Corp platform.

In early October, B Local Colorado and the B Proud network hosted an in-person and online event to help the B Corp community learn more about policy issues ahead of the 2024 election. (Photo courtesy Craig Spalding)

B Local Colorado + B Proud: Helping Businesses Nurture Civic Engagement

As B Corps and other purposeful businesses seek to create profit and positive impact for their stakeholders, they are using their voices to advocate for aligned policy and encourage civic engagement. In early October, B Local Colorado and the B Proud network hosted an in-person and online event to help the B Corp community learn more about policy issues ahead of the 2024 election. 

The “What’s at Stake” civic engagement panel event featured experts on LGBTQ+ rights, reproductive healthcare, economic justice, and climate change. Panelists shared how and why B Corps and other impact-minded businesses can influence future policies by supporting voting, establishing policies to support workers, and staying connected with local issues. 

Organizer Craig Spalding of B Corp Vermilion said the event drew about 70 people from Colorado’s B Corp, foundation, and nonprofit sectors — a turnout that reflected high engagement in the impact community ahead of Election Day. “Whether folks attended in person or via live stream, the feelings were mutual: energized, fired up, and ready to take action for what’s at stake in this election,” he said. They tapped into that energy at the event with a civic engagement activity that involved writing more than 300 postcards to help combat voter suppression in a North Carolina county. 

Spalding said the event reinforced the power of community and how a single person’s role in every election can and should be more than the singular act of voting. “There can never truly be a single-issue voter because every issue inherently impacts and connects with other focus areas,” he said. “What’s at Stake helped remind and instill the importance of civic engagement and collective action in addressing these systemic issues. Without moments of shared focus, one person can only do so much.”

Learn more

• How did the “What’s At Stake” election and voter engagement event go?
• How Businesses Can Support Civic Engagement Through Insight, Action, and Connection 

B Local Wisconsin + We The Change: Providing Resources to Navigate Political Anxiety

A B Local Wisconsin program took another approach to the 2024 election with an event offering resources focused on well-being and community amid a divisive political environment. The Navigating Our Political Anxieties program was initially presented to B Local Wisconsin and later repeated for members of WeTheChange, a community of purpose-driven women business leaders. 

With Wisconsin among the battleground states in the US presidential election, Lisa Geason-Bauer of B Corp Evolution Marketing and B Local Wisconsin’s Liberatory Action Committee Co-Chairs Darrie Matthew Burrage of B Corp Integrated Work and August M. Ball of B Corp Cream City Conservation saw an opportunity for community engagement and learning. 

Geason-Bauer is a Midwest leader in sustainability space who has worked in social sustainability and workforce development for 15-plus years in Wisconsin. Her experience in that work helped shape the B Local Wisconsin program and its lessons designed to serve people beyond the election. “I have learned that you have to meet people where they are,” Geason-Bauer said. “The purpose of our program was not to try to change people’s minds or convince someone to do something they didn’t want to do. Instead the goal was to empower the attendees with tools to help themselves to be OK following the outcome of the election.”

During the program, Geason-Bauer unpacked strategies that emphasize holistic employee well-being, defining boundaries, and creating safe spaces for engagement. She also highlighted simple actions that workers can take to reduce stress and anxiety in their day-to-day work environment. “The tools highlighted reminded us that we are all human, and the only way forward is working together,” she said.

Kimberly Flood, coach and principal consultant at Venture Forward LLC and a member of the Wisconsin Women in Sustainability, led a discussion of cognitive bias and how people can have different perceptions of situations. She shared how empathy and intellectual humility can help people expand their perspectives, and explored the role of resilience and self-care. 

Ball introduced an election anxiety response plan to guide people through post-election emotions. She also shared an inspiring poem and reflections on the nature of “safe versus brave” spaces and the importance of community.

Learn more

• Get links to resources from the program 
• View the program slide deck 

B Local Vancouver + Champions Retreat: Coming Together to Celebrate the B Corp Community

With hundreds of people in the B Corp community heading to Vancouver in March for Champions Retreat 2024, B Local Vancouver hosted a celebratory welcome event for a capacity crowd of 300 people. At a site — All Purpose Creative — selected to reflect the community’s creativity and purpose, the B Here, B Connected event helped set the tone for the following two days of the broader gathering. 

Kristy O’Leary of Vancouver-based B Corp Decade Impact said the kickoff event celebrated the growing B Corp community both in British Columbia and around the world. “We wanted it to be a night full of wonder and wonder,” she said. “We wanted to create a safe, shared space and come together as a community.”

It also recognized the importance of the spirit of community among B Corps, said Robin Ashmore of fellow Vancouver B Corp All Purpose. “Events like this bring the community together,” he said. “We’re a lot more powerful together than we are apart.”

Learn more

• Get takeaways and calls for B Corp collective action from Champions Retreat 2024