B Lab UK’s Post

URGE’s Alexie Sommer and Ella Doran led a panel discussion and workshop on ‘Hopeful activism and long-term thinking’ at the Equinox Festival at Wasing - one of the many festivals inspired by the vision of fellow URGE member Joshua Dugdale. The panel included Jeremy Whelehan filmmaker and creator of the Wisdom Keepers exploring and transmitting contemporary ancestral wisdom, Nadeem Perera co-founder of Flock Together - a bird-watching collective for black and brown communities and Phoenix instigator of the Climate Emergency Centre’s programme running across the UK, each sharing their stories and examples of hope in action through their creativity and work. The conversation explored the actions, adventures, and steps we take both individually and, more importantly, collectively to move toward reason and justice, addressing societal inequalities and ecological crises. These efforts are often guided by a mix of experience, curiosity, intuition, science, and data. The discussion emphasized moving away from a mindset focused on probability and control, and instead, stepping into spaces of possibility and emergence, where hope has space and room to flourish. One such example is Design Declares - the activist design community, co-instigated by URGE, who are united by a climate emergency declaration, using the tools of the design industry to respond. When hopeful activism is paired with long-term thinking, it prompts us to look beyond the immediate consequences that affect only ourselves. We begin to envision the future that our children, the young people we care about, and their descendants will inherit. This shift broadens our focus, encouraging us to take responsibility for the world we are shaping for generations to come. First Nation communities exemplify this mindset with the principle of considering the impacts of seven generations. This philosophy holds that one's actions should be informed by the experiences of the previous seven generations while also considering the consequences for the seven generations that follow. It's a powerful reminder that our decisions today ripple far into the future, urging us to act with both wisdom and foresight. During the workshop, the audience gathered to share the hopeful actions they felt inspired to take. They were later invited to write these down and hang them in the trees of the surrounding forest. We closed the session with a group visualization inspired by the brilliant #HumanLayersMeditation that Ella Saltmarsh and Hannah Smith created for The Long Time Project. The next step is to bring this session to the boardroom… #hopefulactivism #longtermthinking #designthinking #wisdom #thegoodancestor

What does B Corp mean to you? As a Certified B Corp, we recognise that change results from collective action – working together as a unified force for good. This means ensuring all voices are included in the conversation. It’s why we educate, engage and empower our employees to champion the values of B Corp in everything they do. So, to celebrate B Corp month, we asked our team to tell us what B Corp means to them. For some, it’s about the work we do to positively impact our customers, for others it’s about giving back to communities, and for another it’s about how we care for our planet. And put together, these ideas are the driving force behind the collective action needed to realise B Lab UK's vision of an inclusive, equitable and regenerative economy. #bcorpmonth #thiswayforward #beauty

As April comes to a close, we're still buzzing from the energy of the 'Shaping Sustainable Events' event. Reflecting on insightful discussions & innovative ideas that were shared, it's clear that creating a more sustainable future for events is not just necessary, but within reach. Sustainability isn't just a buzzword – it's a mindset that we're proud to be a part of. What steps are you taking to make your events more sustainable? Let us know in the comments! https://lnkd.in/eZHU7kDB

Sports and entertainment have the unique superpower to inspire wide adoption of #sustainability initiatives. Corporations, nonprofits, and governments working on transforming our world must tap into this superpower to close the ambitions gap and move the dial on consumer behavior!! Speaking at the Green Sports Alliance summit, I shared this belief with the multitude of stakeholders gathered to share practical insights on furthering sustainability. 🌎 Every time we play or watch sports, or when we listen to music, we are invited to stretch our limits, let go of barriers, and have an experience that takes us from where we are to where we want to be. That’s transformative! In this lies the power to re-imagine our world in ways that are kind to our planet and each other 💚 #sportsustainability #corporatesustainability

🌿 Seaweed sachets, seizing fast fashion at the border, and rewriting the rules for businesses were just some of the show-stopping suggestions at our first week of #BCorpMonth events. With 1⃣0⃣ phenomenal panellists across two events we’ve extracted our top three insights from each below. 🤝 First up we visited B Corp law firm Bates Wells for their #event with a fashion focus: 👥 Safia Minney, MBE FRSA, Founder of Fashion Declares made clear that we must transition the entire fashion and textile industry. She cited the Cornell University report with Schroders, showing how the profit margins of fast fashion companies will be eroded by the effects of extreme heat. 👥 Kresse Wesling CBE, co-founder of Elvis & Kresse explained that while new EU Ecocide laws are great news for nature, it doesn’t solve social challenges. What’s needed is a fundamental change to core business law. 👥 Thea Cooper from modern slavery charity Unseen UK urged businesses to consider the exploitative nature of profit on people, not just planet: modern slavery must go beyond a statement on a website. It’s about transforming livelihoods, not ticking boxes. Next we went to B Corp workspace, Uncommon: Christina Brooks, CEO of Ruebik and inclusion activist shared how when you recognise you’re part of the problem, B Corp provides a framework to help you build the business you want to see in the world. Lucy Squires, Marketing Director at allplants | B Corp™, the chef-prepared, vegan meal company, attributed the huge leap in their B Corp score following their recent re-certification to two factors: 1⃣ Enthusiasm: of the whole team, who have embedded B Corp into their everyday. 2⃣ Evidence: of the positive effects of encouraging customers to substitute meat and dairy for plants, activating an Impact Business Model. Finally, James Wild, co-founder of Feragaia, Scotland's first distilled alcohol-free spirit, knew he wanted the business to be a B Corp before they began. That’s the spirit! Did you attend these events? What did you take away? And are there any others we shouldn’t miss? 💪 Oliver Scutt, Magda Al-Nugaidi, Kyle Soo, Aisling Connaughton #BCorpMonth #ReinventingBusiness #ThisWayForward #MarchOn

My article in The Daily Sceptic today - thanks Toby Young for publishing it. - Activist threats have resulted in The Edinburgh Book Festival joining the Hay one in cancelling the sponsorship agreement they had with Baillie Gifford. - Deep frustration being expressed by the organisers and also by Nick Thomas of Baillie Gifford. - The activists are demanding that the Festival refuse to engage with Baillie Gifford because they allegedly 'invest in oil and gas' and 'in Israel'. They are also complaining about authors who sell their books through Amazon whish has a presence in Israel and with Facebook for the same. - BG is demonstrably an ESG focused fund manager and has been for a while. ESG is front and centre and only 2% of their funds under management are invested in Oil and Gas. As to their Israel investments - who knows? They are woven into the modern global world so what do the activists actually expect. -Now put aside the unhinged demands and the impact on the Festival and larger implications for arts funding I am interested in what this means for ESG Funds. - ESG Funds don't justify ROI - check the article for references. - ESG Funds also force ESG and DEI/EDI down the supply chain and this is causing our clients a major problem -again spelled out in the article. - is this over reach by the activists and is it the beginning of the end of ESG funds -BG is learning, like Google did in March that you can NEVER be woke enough for the activists -and their demands get ever more radical you begin to realise you have a tiger by the tail #BaillieGifford #ESGFunds #ESGPrivateEquity #ESGCorporateFinance #SME #UKEmployment #TheEqualityAct #HumanResources #EdinburghBookFestival #HayBookFestival https://lnkd.in/eBzaGCmH

Here is a quick visual recap of the RtoZ festival that I was honored to speak on "Creative Campaigns: Using Art and Culture to Inspire Plastic-Free Living and Cultivate Conscious Citizenship." We must keep the conversations, and better still, the action, going.

Excited to announce my TEDx Wilmington talk on 'Redefining Home for a Sustainable Future' on April 27! Join me as we explore innovative, eco-friendly housing solutions. Let me know your thoughts on what I should cover, and if I should talk with someone on this topic before my TEDx talk? #TEDxWilmDE #SustainableConstruction #AffordableHousing #3DPrinting Dan Young

For our recent seminar on Brand Activism, Communications and Business we invited Kyrby Brown, Access Coordinator at WECIL (West of England Centre For Inclusive Living) and Disability.Inc. She shared a powerful message about how we need to ensure the communications we are putting out into the world truly reflect the physical accessibility and inclusivity of our businesses. Kyrby explained how in order to say your business is inclusive, you really need to investigate and consult with the right communities to make sure this claim is validated. We caught up with Kyrby after to reflect on the day: What was your highlight from the event? My highlight from the event was being able to introduce the pressing issue of accessibility to industry leaders and address the issue of access within large multi-national enterprises. What is one thing you learned? One thing I learned was that the majority of the so called 'green' energy we are sold comes from a range of non-environmentally friendly places. What is your closing remark about brand activism? My closing remark would be that brands should be taking their own responsibility for their social and environmental impact. Promise what you can, always look to improve and ensure what you say and what you do align. Thank you all those who came and the wonderful Future Leap team for putting together the event. If you want to stay in the loop for more great events, sign up to our newsletter using the link below: https://lnkd.in/eMmC_wdk #BristolEvents #NetworkingEvents #SouthWest #GreenTech #SocialImpact #SustainableBusiness #CorporateResponsibility #SustainabilityAwareness #EthicalLeadership

Sometimes I think the reason that we have the systems we do, is because we forgot we made them up. If we could make up a #politicalsystem that focussed on reflection, #empathy and thoughtful engagement, we might find ourselves in a different space altogether. Luckily, we now have a #thoughtpartner to do the dreaming, problemshooting, execution and planning with. Meet Parker, who leverages the worlds very best collective insights on every dimension of politics. Your political advocate and sidekick in creating a better #democracy. #AIforGood.