How B Corps Stay Connected While Working Apart

B The Change Weekly: April 10, 2020

*To help navigate these uncertain times, B Lab compiled a* *list of resources* *available to businesses in the U.S. and Canada.*

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:

While it’s important to maintain some solid footing right now, this pandemic whirlwind also presents an opportunity to encourage and shape systemic shifts that will provide a more equitable and inclusive economy. In this edition of B The Change Weekly, we share two thoughtful viewpoints on how the new “normal” could be better for all.

We also provide examples of Certified B Corporations finding strength and stability in practices and tools that serve their stakeholders — workers, community, environment, and customers — amid rapid and constant change. Through new products or services, these B Corps continue to move forward to find that solid footing.

Suddenly Separated, Still Mission-Driven

As stay-at-home orders and social distancing guidelines have most people working from home, in-person gatherings are replaced by online meetings, emails and text chats. For Certified B Corporations, keeping workers informed amid constant change and engaged with their purpose-driven mission is another challenge.

Hear from several B Corps about the tools and practices they are using to keep workers and clients connected and mission-driven while they are apart.

A Time for Manifest Equity

The global pandemic has affected the farthest reaches of the world, and those of us who own, lead, or manage businesses have a whole host of new variables to consider.

As Tiffany Jana of B Corp TMI Consulting writes on B The Change, it also is revealing the hierarchies, systems of supremacy, and a general lack of human equity constitute the foundations of our once and former status quo — and serves as a dramatic signal that we have the power to prioritize human equity and inclusion.

Creating a New ‘Normal’ Where We All Win

All reactions to the pandemic — whether international, national or local, and whether business, governmental or civil society — can be seen as either the individualist response or the interdependent response. As James Perry of B Lab UK writes on B The Change, the individualist response says that I can beat you, while the interdependent response says that I cannot win alone.

And when it’s time to get our global economy back to “normal” after this sudden shutdown, he sees an opportunity to shift to a system where the winners don’t take everything.

Stay in the Know

Here’s your chance to catch up on recent articles:

A Time for Manifest Equity: Why Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Are More Important Than Ever
Can We Create a New ‘Normal’ Where Winning Benefits Us All? How Individualist vs. Interdependent Responses Will Shape Our Collective Future
Suddenly Separate: Keeping Your Team Connected and Mission-Driven While Apart: Tried and True Ideas for Topics from Professional Conversations to Resilience and Safety
10 Strategies to Successfully Adjust Your Life and Business in a Time of Crisis: How Transparency, Empathy and Planning Can Create a Path Toward Stability
It’s Time for a New Paradigm of Business: Why Businesses Should Value People and Planet as Well as Profit
One B Corp CEO’s 9 Favorite Educational Resources for Stuck-at-Home Kids: How Remote Learning Can Be a Productive Tool for the Whole Family
How to Have Impact at Every Stage of the Sustainability Journey: Research Reveals Best Practices for Sustainability Managers
How B Corp Dr. Bronner’s Is Lending a (Clean) Hand During the COVID-19 Crisis: B Corp Maintains Strong Focus on Employees, Customers and Environment Amid Growing Market Demands

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.

How B Corps Stay Connected While Working Apart was originally published in B The Change on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.