Collective Action in Practice: How B Locals Are Advocating for Climate and Social Justice

The Government Affairs and Collective Action Impact Topic within the new standards for B Corp Certification is designed to encourage companies to engage in advocacy in partnership with other B Corps. Learn how B Local Bay Area and B Local Ontario are using grants from B Lab U.S. & Canada to support advocacy in their communities and drive collective action. 

We know that those with economic power are among the biggest drivers of the climate crisis, while its most severe impacts fall disproportionately on historically marginalized communities. But what if those responsible for environmental harm were held financially accountable for the damage they caused?

B Local Bay Area (BLBA), the organization focused on engaging Bay Area Certified B Corporations, is among those advocating for California’s Polluters Pay Climate Bill. Under the bill, the state would fine fossil fuel companies, which have been responsible for 1 billion tons of greenhouse gas pollution from 1990 to 2024, a proportional fee that would go into a fund to address climate-related damages such as wildfires, floods, droughts, and rising seas. “This groundbreaking policy requires the companies most responsible for the climate crisis to pay for the environmental damage they have caused,” said Amelia Ahl, BLBA Collective Action Chair. 

Advocacy for the bill is among BLBA’s efforts to engage area B Corps in collective action across B Lab U.S. & Canada’s three impact pillars: stakeholder economy, racial equity, and climate justice. The group’s efforts are also an example of advocacy in the Government Affairs and Collective Action Impact Topic within the new standards for B Corp Certification. This Impact Topic requires B Corps to support collective social and environmental movements. Part of B Lab’s theory of change includes that companies must act beyond their own interest and have a broader systemic impact. 

BLBA is one of five B Locals that received a $4,000 grant from B Lab U.S. & Canada to help fund its advocacy project. The grants support B Lab’s goal of driving companies toward advocacy in partnership with other B Corps. The other recipients are B Local Ontario, Florida for Good (B Local Florida), People First Economy (B Local Michigan), and B Local PDX (the B Local for Oregon and Southwest Washington). 

Learn how each of these B Locals is supporting advocacy efforts in their communities below — and get inspired to take part in collective action with your company in places you call home. 

B Local Bay Area Stands Up for Climate Justice

To promote collective action opportunities to B Corps, BLBA launched a website and an event series to engage local businesses in ongoing policy action across B Lab U.S & Canada’s three pillars. In March, BLBA hosted the initial event with B Lab and Fossil Free Media, which served as the first-ever gathering of the California Businesses for Climate Justice Coalition. The Polluters Pay Climate Bill is the coalition’s advocacy focus for 2025, and Ahl said the gathering reflects the broader goals to engage B Corps and prepare them for the new standards for B Corp Certification. 

“This event was a meaningful way for BLBA to engage our local community, increasing visibility with current and prospective B Corps and helping prepare companies for recertification under the new standards,” Ahl said. 

B Corp leaders learned more about the California Businesses for Climate Justice coalition during a March event organized by B Local Bay Area.

The fact that the efforts are community-driven is also key and reflects the role B Locals play in their communities. Ahl said that in 2024, BLBA convened a new advisory committee with members from local businesses, developed a policy partnership with the nonprofit advocacy organization Ceres, and sourced more actions for local B Corps to advance the three impact pillars.

“B Locals are often the first place B Corps look to for advice and are community-focused by design,” Ahl said. “That makes them good sources of information for what’s going on locally, from policy initiatives to meetups to crisis response.”

As far as any advice for B Locals that want to get started on collective action, Ahl said they should begin by talking with their communities to discover who is already active in the work. She said every community already has individuals and organizations leading the fight for climate justice and racial equity, so B Locals should connect with them and see where they need support from local businesses.

“Advocacy is a way for B Corps to act as true members of their communities and make change within their spheres of influence,” Ahl said. “Global organizations like B Lab benefit from having strong local nodes that share power and responsibility across an organization. I’m a big believer in the power of fractals, meaning the work we do on a small, individual scale ripples out to the wider community.”

B Local Ontario Demands an Even Playing Field for Utility Providers

For B Local Ontario, advocacy efforts center on petitioning the province’s gas supplier to fairly compensate municipalities for using public land and to change a law that currently allows free access to that land. The campaign, “Fair Compensation for the Use of Municipal Land,” maintains that Enbridge Gas’ free use of public right-of-way for its pipelines is effectively a subsidy to the fossil gas industry. 

“Our campaign is asking companies operating in Ontario to sign a petition encouraging Enbridge to be a good corporate citizen and offer to pay municipalities for use of public rights-of-way like they do in most other provinces in Canada,” B Local Ontario Chair Arni Mikelsons said. “This would provide $6.6 million per year to municipalities for every 100,000 people in a time where municipal budgets are very tight.”

Mikelsons explained that in Ontario there is a law that forbids municipalities from charging gas utilities for use of the public land to bring gas to private homes and businesses. He said while gas was originally provided by individual taxpayer-funded municipal utilities, now Enbridge Gas supplies 99.7% of the province’s fossil gas supply in Ontario municipalities — while also charging a delivery fee for this service. 

The campaign is also asking the Province of Ontario to amend the law to permit municipalities to charge fair fees to for-profit utilities for their use of public property, as municipalities do in most other provinces. Enbridge Gas already has such arrangements with British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Nova Scotia. Mikelsons said subsidizing fossil gas in Ontario could also slow the transition to cleaner energy sources, such as heat pumps and renewables, and progress toward a zero-carbon future.

While the issue may be complex, Mikelsons said the inspiration is simple: the need to address inequity. He said as a business association, B Local Ontario feels they are in a unique position to speak to this complexity and advocate for fair business practices. 

“The largest privately owned fossil gas company in North America is being subsidized by Ontario municipalities,” Mikelsons said. “Those same municipalities are facing unprecedented challenges with housing supply, affordability, climate change, homelessness, mental health, and more.”

With support from B Lab U.S. & Canada, B Local Ontario has hired a contractor, Vanessa Pereira, as its Advocacy Campaign Coordinator. Her tasks include calling each B Corp in Ontario to inform them about the campaign and get feedback on how B Local Ontario could better serve B Corps in the province. He said this is an important endeavor that will inform B Corps about the activities of B Local Ontario, encourage memberships and sponsorships, and ultimately create a stronger B Corp community in Ontario. 

“B Corps are in a unique position to participate in advocacy as companies that believe in a triple bottom line,” Mikelsons said. “There are many opportunities to take on local issues and engage in public discourse. Taking on issues, especially popular ones, can bring together and grow the B Corp community. After all, we are in business as a force for good.”

Other B Local advocacy efforts supported by B Lab grants include: 

B Local PDX

B Local PDX is working with Oregon Business for Climate, a state advocacy organization that mobilizes businesses to lobby for pro-climate legislation. They are hosting educational and training sessions for B Corps to prepare for an advocacy push during the 2025 Oregon state legislative session. As of March 2025, B Local PDX had three educational trainings with over 50 B Corps and is now considering legislative priorities.

People First Economy

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 its new hire, who will focus on creating more internal structure within the organization.

Florida for Good

Florida for Good used the funds to organize a public policy session at the October 2024 Florida Climate Week. In addition to educating B Corps, the event helped strengthen relationships between B Corps and local and state officials and demystify ESG for attendees.