Collaborations & Partnerships
Collaboration is a core value of the B Global Network.
Since our founding, B Lab has partnered at local, national, and regional levels with a wide range of stakeholders, including private sector, civil society, and NGO networks; public bodies and policy makers; other certification or ethical labelling bodies; multi-stakeholder initiatives and alliances; and academic institutions. These collaborations are forged with the objective of building and inspiring best practice amongst businesses, sharing insights and learnings, building and strengthening our standards and impact management platforms, engaging with governments and policymakers to advocate for shared policy goals, driving public awareness and consumer behavior change, and more.
While this list is not exhaustive, below are key highlights of some of our current collaboration efforts, both new and longstanding.
Work with a standards organization, NGO, foundation, or other initiative that is interested in a collaboration with B Lab? Contact us at partnerships@bcorporation.net.
B Academics is a global community of educators and researchers committed to accelerating sustainable business through the study of the B Corp movement and benefit corporations.
An initiative of Sistema B, BMW Foundation, and Gulliver, Cities Can B is a movement mobilizing all sectors of global cities — citizens, companies, government, entrepreneurs, social innovators, academics, and civil society organizations — to collaborate in pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
B Lab has partnered with Fairtrade International, the world’s most recognized label for social justice and sustainability, on an ongoing collaboration aimed at advancing the SDGs through responsible business practices, sustainable supply chains, and global corporate transparency. Together both organizations commit to knowledge-sharing and collaborative efforts in the development of standards, advocacy, public campaigns, and mobilization. Discover B Lab and Fairtrade International's new joint guide: People and planet in business - A simple guide to how small and micro companies can start or strengthen their due diligence
The Global Alliance of Impact Lawyers
B Lab has partnered with The Global Alliance of Impact Lawyers (GAIL), a community of legal leaders who are using the practice of law to have a positive impact on people and the planet, and to accelerate a just transition.
The Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN)
For over ten years, B Lab and the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) have maintained an alignment mapping the B Impact Assessment for complementary use with IRIS+, the GIIN’s system for measuring, managing, and optimizing impact. This alignment was last updated in April of 2021.
In partnership with GRI, B Lab has developed resources to allow any company to learn more about alignment between the B Impact Assessment and GRI standards, which are the world’s most adopted for sustainability reporting. In addition, regional offices from both networks have had a longstanding record of collaborating on region and country-specific initiatives.
B Lab and Impact Management Project (IMP), a global forum for impact measurement, management, and reporting practices, have worked together on alignment and collaboration potential between the B Impact Assessment and IMP fundamentals — including the launch, in November of 2021, of the Impact Management Platform, a collaboration between leading providers of public good standards to mainstream the practice of impact management.
B Lab is a founding steward of the Imperative 21 network, driving a global movement from shareholder primacy to a stakeholder economy. Together with other steward organizations, we work to shift business, finance, culture, and policy towards shared well-being on a healthy planet.
In collaboration with other key organizations working to challenge the culture and structure of capitalism, B Lab has participated in this working group aimed at comparing and synthesizing strategies for reshaping the economic system.
The SDG Action Manager is the cornerstone of B Lab’s partnership with the UN Global Compact: a free tool allowing any company to measure their contribution toward facilitating the Sustainable Development Goals and plan for improvements.
B Lab is a partner of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change’s (UNFCCC) Race to Zero campaign, a coalition of leading net zero initiatives committed to building momentum on climate action.
B Lab has partnered with We Mean Business Coalition, a global nonprofit coalition working with the world’s most influential businesses to take action on climate change to accelerate the transition to a just and climate resilient net-zero economy. Both organizations are committed to engaging in collaborative efforts in the development of climate standards, policy and advocacy, and thought leadership.
As of 2021, B Lab has partnered with YPO, a global community of more than 29,000 chief executives in over 140 countries, to combine resources, knowledge, and networks, produce educational programming and events, and facilitate peer-to-peer executive learning.
Recognizing the need for guidance for small businesses, Fairtrade and B Lab have partnered to develop a joint guide supporting these companies in implementing socially and environmentally responsible business practices, even with limited resources.