Celebrating Interdependence: We Are Stronger Together

B the Change Weekly: July 5, 2019

Delivered on Fridays, B the Change Weekly delivers the most important and most relevant stories about people using business as a force for good. The newsletter features a weekly note from the B the Change team alongside insight and context on the stories we share here on Medium. Below is our latest roundup. To receive these insights directly in your inbox, sign up for B the Change Weekly today. Now on to the good stuff:

Certified B Corporations link together to best support one another on their journeys to consider and care for multiple stakeholders. When companies certify, they sign the Declaration of Interdependence, committing to not only use their business as a force for good but also to help others do the same.

Interdependence — increased individual resilience thanks to an extensive support network — is key to the growth of the B Economy. Link by link, B Corps build and sustain businesses striving to create a shared and durable prosperity for all, through their supply chains, their community networks and their teams of employees. In this week’s newsletter and all month on B the Change, we’ll be sharing stories that exhibit ways B Corps link together for greater positive impact.

The Future of the Herbal Industry Is Transparent

Being fully transparent as an herbal company that cares about corporate accountability can be complicated — many herbs are at risk of overharvesting, grown by exploited communities, and processed with undisclosed chemicals, so the quality of the final products can vary widely.

On B the Change, learn from B Corp Gaia Herbs how the company works with its supply chain to demonstrate a commitment to the health of people and the planet — and how herbal businesses can operate with greater transparency.

‘Putting the People Back in the Food Equation’

In the heart of Brooklyn, Amy Bennett and her trio of Greene Grape businesses are “putting the people back in the food equation” by participating in and strengthening a food system that is more human-scale, sustainable, transparent and local — and creating community-based businesses that keep customers coming back for more.

Dig in to Greene Grape’s “unique, ethical, sustainable options” in this article from Best for NYC, an initiative of the New York City Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development in partnership with B Lab.

B Corp Community Rises to the Challenge

When challenges arise, the B Corp community does also — a lesson that Namasté Solar learned firsthand after a destructive flood damaged its Boulder, Colorado, headquarters. In the wake of rushing waters that left a muddy mess, several B Corps banded together and sent volunteers to Namasté Solar’s door to assist with cleanup.

On B the Change, learn how that “rejuvenating shot in the arm” from the B Corp community helped Namasté Solar co-founder Blake Jones and his colleagues recover and get back to business as an employee-owned clean energy innovator.

This Week on B the Change

Here’s your chance to catch up on all the good stuff we shared this week:

• How Being in Business for Good Transformed Our Business — for Good
• ‘Me and White Supremacy’: From a Social Media Challenge to a Cultural Movement
• The Greene Grape: Putting People Back in the Food Equation
• Waking Up to the Global Climate Emergency — and Taking Action
• When the Herbal Industry Meets Corporate Accountability and Sustainability

B the Change gathers and shares the voices from within the movement of people using business as a force for good and the community of Certified B Corporations. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the nonprofit B Lab.

Celebrating Interdependence: We Are Stronger Together was originally published in B the Change on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.