New Resource: A Policy Advocacy and Collective Action Toolkit

Access Strategies and Resources for Businesses and Networks

As people increasingly look to business institutions as political leaders, the opportunities for businesses to strategically engage in advocacy are increasing. At the same time, the political atmosphere around the world, and especially in the U.S. in the lead-up to the 2024 election, is divisive, and the stakes of business advocacy can feel high. This divided atmosphere often prevents leaders from speaking out for more just and equitable policies. How can the community of Certified B Corporations be courageous in this moment?

The time is ripe for values-driven businesses to tell the stories and promote the data points that show how B Corps are building a more inclusive and sustainable economy. B Corps demonstrate that businesses can create profit and positive impact for stakeholders by strengthening local communities, investing in people, and providing valuable and innovative products and services. Measuring, managing, and disclosing environmental and social impact is integral to how B Corps operate. It’s also just good business.  

The B Corp community can serve as an example of purpose-driven business, provide real-life stories of social and environmental impact in local communities, and advocate for policy changes in a way unique to their sector and location. With the largest and most developed regional community of B Corps, B Lab U.S. & Canada has an opportunity to catalyze systems change as part of the global network of people using business as a force for good.

B Lab U.S. & Canada’s advocacy goal is to advocate for and enact policies that create a more sustainable, equitable, and regenerative economy. As B Corps build relationships with policymakers and provide a business voice that supports aligned legislation and regulations, they also establish credibility and gain a seat at the table when a relevant policy is decided.

To support these goals and guide B Corps in their advocacy and collective action work, B Lab U.S. & Canada developed “A Policy Advocacy and Collective Action Toolkit for Business.” This guide presents resources, examples, and other information to help B Corps and other impact businesses take individual and collective policy action. 

The Value of Advocacy for Purpose-Driven Businesses

Businesses can have a disproportionate impact on policymakers, who value their input more than almost any other type of constituency. B Corps and other purpose-driven business leaders can engage with policymakers at the federal, state, provincial, and local levels and advocate for policies that advance a stakeholder-driven economy. 

Your voice as an impact business leader can be hugely influential on important policy issues. Companies that operate according to their values and are committed to positively impacting their community have a responsibility to use their power with policymakers for good. 

The business voice throughout the United States and Canada comes primarily from large companies, trade associations, and business groups. These groups are often not aligned with issues emphasized in the B Impact Assessment, the platform used to certify and verify B Corps and their practices, or those important to the B Corp community. B Corps have the opportunity to provide a business voice that supports policy change to create a more inclusive and regenerative economy. And while the B Corp community is growing and adding larger business members, it is still primarily a movement of small to medium-sized businesses, which legislators greatly value. 

B Local PDX Collective Impact Chair Rebecca Goldcrump, who is also CEO and Co-Founder of B Corp The Impact Collective, said it’s vital 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. 

Getting Started: Resources and Worksheets to Take Action

A company can identify an advocacy area to focus on in many ways. It does not need to be a complicated process. Your company’s mission and values should drive the advocacy topics you work on. Reflecting on these foundational frameworks can help you understand why you engage in advocacy.

B Locals, which are regional groups of B Corp leaders, and B Networks, which are groups of B Corps that coordinate around specific issues or topics, can work together to identify collective advocacy goals. Sometimes advocacy work is driven internally: for example, by choosing to work on issues important to the B Local Board or by surveying B Network members. Other times, projects and goals may be driven externally: for example, by identifying a compatible partner group and working on one of their projects or advocating for a timely issue.

B Corp Evolution Marketing has seen the value of collaboration while advocating on state and local levels. Evolution Marketing is part of B Local Wisconsin, which has partnered with the state’s Citizens Utility Board (CUB), one of numerous organizations across the U.S. that advocate for utility ratepayers. 

In 2022, B Local Wisconsin and CUB presented a webinar on business energy trends with the Wisconsin Sustainable Business Council and Wisconsin Conservative Energy Forum. Evolution Marketing President Lisa Geason-Bauer said the event demonstrates how B Corps can form advocacy partnerships for climate-forward issues. “Three very different organizations, all coming together under the CUB umbrella to have an open and honest conversation about tips and tools to help businesses address their energy challenge,” she said.

The new guide features examples like this, plus resources and worksheets to help your company, B Local, or B Network engage in policy advocacy and collective action. It includes:

• 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

By driving the adoption of stakeholder-driven policy and working with allied organizations and advocates, the B Corp community can help create a more just future for all people and the planet. Action sustained over time is necessary to dismantle unjust policies and systems and build an economy that creates value for workers, communities, and the environment.