How to Advocate for Policy Change to Support Wider Adoption of Impact Business Practices

By adopting best practices and advocating for related policy action, B Corps have an opportunity to drive powerful and resilient economic change. B Corps are collaborating at the local, state, and federal levels to champion policy reforms that move all companies toward practices that benefit people and the planet. Access resources to get started at your business and find examples of advocacy success from the B Corp community. 

In a changing policy landscape, the business voice continues to hold sway. Certified B Corporations and other companies can navigate shifting policy currents by focusing on collective action and advocacy efforts that promote a long-term framework for positive business impact and success. 

The many small and medium-sized businesses in the B Corp community are crucial to their local economies and well-positioned to be credible advocacy leaders. B Corps are adopting policies that go beyond minimum wages, support families with paid leave, and create opportunities for employee ownership. 

Recent resources and initiatives, as well as the draft standards for B Corp Certification, reflect the growing role and need for B Corp collective action and policy advocacy. These draft certification standards propose requirements related to collective action, responsible lobbying practices, and engagement with professional and political associations. The draft standards also include topics such as fair wages and human rights, encouraging more companies to prioritize and strengthen these practices. These practices are supported by people and policymakers across the political spectrum, creating a pathway for business leaders to advocate for policy that supports wider adoption of the practices.

B Lab U.S. & Canada has a goal to build advocacy for policies that create a more sustainable, equitable, and regenerative economy. To support that goal and guide B Corps in their advocacy and collective action work, B Lab U.S. & Canada provided grants to B Local advocacy initiatives, helped organize a collective action group in New York, and developed a downloadable guide on policy advocacy and collective action. Learn more about each below — and find resources to get involved with policy advocacy at your business. 

(Top photo: Launched in 2021, the New York Businesses for Climate Justice represents over 50 businesses in New York with hundreds of millions of dollars in total annual revenue. A mix of small businesses, B Corps, and large companies, the group has a goal to offer a new perspective from the business community. Members include Seventh Generation, Prose, Kickstarter, Lime, and B Lab. Photo courtesy Olivia Clark of B Corp Seventh Generation)

Policy Grants Support B Local Advocacy Initiatives

Place-based organizations known as B Locals tap into the B Corp community’s collaborative power by bringing together leaders to act collectively and partner with other like-minded organizations. B Locals can also organize effective policy efforts rooted in local expertise. To support this advocacy work, B Lab U.S. & Canada recently awarded grants to five B Locals. 

They include B Local PDX, which comprises B Corps in Oregon and southwest Washington and launched a collaborative policy program in 2024. The policy grant funds a partnership with Oregon Business for Climate, a state advocacy organization that mobilizes businesses to lobby for pro-climate legislation. With Oregon Business for Climate, B Local PDX is hosting a series of educational and training sessions for B Corps to prepare for an advocacy push during the 2025 Oregon state legislative session.

The program aims to make it easier for businesses to get involved with advocacy by breaking down the policy process, the steps businesses can take to advocate for state and provincial legislation, and different ways to engage in collective action. B Local PDX Collective Impact Chair Rebecca Goldcrump, who is also CEO and Co-Founder of B Corp The Impact Collective, said it’s important for B Corps to speak up and engage in collective action and help create the stakeholder economy needed to support their communities and the environment. 

“As businesses, we are all trying to accomplish the same things around climate justice, racial equity, and stakeholder capitalism, but we won’t be able to have the impact we want unless we come together and align as a collective to take action,” Goldcrump said.

Here’s a look at four other B Local policy initiatives receiving grants: 

• B Local Bay Area: B Local Bay Area will launch a website and a series of events focused on engaging Bay Area B Corps in collective action across B Lab U.S. & Canada’s three impact pillars: stakeholder economy, racial equity, and climate justice. They will work with a web designer and identify local advocacy groups to partner with to promote collective action opportunities to B Corps.
• B Local Ontario: B Local Ontario will test engagement methods, such as direct mailing and a call campaign, to encourage more B Corps to join advocacy work. They also plan to create a digital and social media campaign to support the 21st Century Business Act, a Canadian bill that would define the purpose of the corporation as the pursuit of its best interests while also benefiting wider society and the environment in a manner proportionate to corporation’s size and nature.
• People First Economy (B Local Michigan): People First Economy will use the funding to create civic engagement programming tailored to Michigan’s current and aspiring B Corps. The money will help the organization fund a new employee, who will focus on creating more internal structure within the organization for B Corps.
• Florida for Good (B Local Florida): Florida for Good organized a public policy session at the October 2024 Florida Climate Week. In addition to educating B Corps, the event aimed to strengthen B Corp/B Lab relationships with local and state officials and provided a toolkit to empower local businesses in advocating for sustainable practices.

New York B Corps Join Forces to Advance Climate Bill

B Corps that advocated collectively in New York celebrated a step forward at the end of 2024. As part of New York Businesses for Climate Justice, they supported a bill to create financial accountability for polluting companies. Their work came to fruition in December, when New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the Climate Change Superfund Act into law.

This law aims to hold the biggest polluters responsible for the costs of their negative environmental impact. It will collect an estimated $75 billion over 25 years from major oil and gas companies to fund infrastructure improvements, including upgraded stormwater and sewage systems and enhanced grid stability, to contribute to the state’s climate resilience. 

B Corps involved in the coalition included ZZ Driggs, Prose, and Seventh Generation. Whitney Frances Falk, Co-Founder of ZZ Driggs and Flying Colors, said her involvement with the coalition started in 2023 when she joined a B Corp online meeting about federal environmental policy with former New York Congressman Dan Goldman. She also participated in a 2024 discussion of climate-related legislation with New York state legislators in Albany and contributed written testimony in support of climate action bills.

“Joining the New York Businesses for Climate Justice effort was a way to put action to words but on a larger scale than just trying to make right decisions in my day-to-day as it relates to sustainability as a citizen of New York,” Falk said. “Two companies that I co-founded depend on our state supporting climate measures.”

Falk said her advocacy reinforced the connection between business resilience and climate policy like the Climate Change Superfund Act. “This way we can trust that future climate catastrophes will be abated as much as possible and that necessary resources and materials will be reliably and efficiently supported and protected so that we can maintain business continuity, continue to employ and grow our workforces, and positively reinforce the greater goals and missions of our companies that are trying to do well while doing good.”

Policy Advocacy and Collective Action Toolkit Offers Resources for B Corps

The B Local policy grants and New York advocacy are just a few examples of the ways that B Corps can make an impact with policymakers. To help other value-driven businesses begin or deepen their policy engagement for a stakeholder-driven economy, B Lab U.S. & Canada recently created a guide with resources, examples, and other information.

The guide, “A Policy Advocacy and Collective Action Toolkit for Business,” outlines how to take collective action with partners like B Locals and B Networks, which are groups that coordinate around specific issues or topics. Download the guide to find information on topics including: 

• Overview of B Corp Movement for Policymakers
• ESG Messaging Guide for B Corps
• How to Engage in Responsible Lobbying Resources
• Policymaker/Legislator Meeting Request Email Templates
• Sample Testimony Template
• Partner Outreach Template
• B Corp, B Local, and B Network Policy Advocacy Case Studies

Download the guide: A Policy Advocacy and Collective Action Toolkit for Business