A B Local Collaboration for Climate Policy Advocacy

B Local PDX Empowers Businesses Through New Collaborative Policy Program

While complex global issues such as climate change may seem out of the realm of local influence, the saying “all politics is local” extends to the businesses that serve their communities. As more state legislatures work to craft legislation surrounding climate change, fossil fuels, and renewable energy, business owners who make their voices heard at their statehouses can become part of the collective action needed to make real change. 

B Local PDX, a network of Certified B Corporations from Oregon and southwest Washington, understands this reality well. That’s why B Local PDX hosted the first in a four-part series of a Collaborative Policy Program for B Corp Climate Advocacy. 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 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. 

Coming Together for Policy Advocacy

The Collaborative Policy Program was created by B Local PDX’s Collective Impact Committee. B Local PDX began the committee this year and subsequently created a new organizational impact strategy that aligns the three pillars in B Lab U.S. & Canada’s Theory of Change: racial equity, climate justice, and a stakeholder economy. For the climate justice pillar, the committee partnered with Oregon Business for Climate to educate B Corps about the legislative process in Oregon and how to get involved leading up to Oregon’s 2025 legislative session. B Local PDX received funding from B Lab U.S. & Canada to support the new program.

Portland-based B Corp New Seasons Market is one business participating in the program and taking up the call. Senior Sustainability Manager Athena Petty said the collaborative policy program aligns with New Seasons Market’s commitment to instigate broader, systemic change that extends beyond the B Corp’s day-to-day operations as a grocery store chain with locations in Oregon and Washington. 

“We understand that to realize impactful change for our community and region, we need policy advocacy to address issues at the systemic level,” Petty said. “Our engagement in policy advocacy is integral to our identity as a B Corp, reflecting our deep-rooted purpose-driven values that prioritize the well-being of all our stakeholders and the planet.”

Partnerships for Policy in Action

New Seasons Market’s advocacy efforts have included championing efforts to address climate change and offering support for investment policies at both federal and state levels, particularly in Oregon’s Legislative Assembly. Petty said specific advocacy efforts have focused on sustainable agricultural practices and the welfare of farmworkers. That includes backing funding for organic and regenerative farming practices and playing a role in advancing Oregon’s Recycling Modernization Act to help improve waste management. She said collaboration has been key in all these efforts. 

“By partnering with dedicated policy organizations that share our dedication to climate protection, sustainable agriculture, and materials management, we leverage collective expertise and influence,” Petty said. “Through these alliances, we empower not only our staff and customers but also other stakeholders to engage in the formulation of policies that resonate with our mission, ensuring a unified approach to creating meaningful change in our communities.”

Other B Local PDX B Corps have also been stepping up in the policy realm. Goldcrump said Benefit Corporations for Good, whose membership includes many B Corps, was involved during the 2023 legislative session in passing Oregon’s House Bill 3572, which gives governmental contract preference to Oregon companies with a benefit corporation legal structure. 

B Local PDX has also taken action. For instance, Goldcrump publicly commented on behalf of B Local PDX at the rulemaking committee meeting for Oregon’s Climate Protection Program, which was created to limit and cap greenhouse gas emissions from oil and natural gas companies. Goldcrump said the program was adopted in 2021, and the oil and gas companies filed a lawsuit in 2022 based on an error in the rulemaking process, which delayed the program and related limits on greenhouse gas emissions in Oregon. 

“Those businesses are still fighting back in the current rulemaking process, stating this legislation is bad for business,” Goldcrump said. “My comment on behalf of the B Corp community supported the program, where I explained that B Corps represent a model that values long-term financial viability, which includes protecting and healing our planet since all businesses rely on and have a relationship to the planet.”

Get Involved: Future Sessions in the Collaborative Policy Program

The B Local PDX Collaborative Policy Program for B Corp Climate Advocacy will continue with the second in the four-part series to discuss policy interest areas and get a preview of policies likely to show up in the 2025 legislative session. For more information, sign up for the B Local PDX newsletter or follow B Local PDX on LinkedIn.

Planned topics for the third session include actual business- and climate-related policies expected in the legislature, as well as an overview of advocacy organizations working on each and legislators leading the efforts. Session four will focus on education, talking points, sign-ups and specific pointers for business leaders’ participation to advance priority policies. This may also include opportunities for regulatory or agency-level engagement.