As newbies, we were invited to the B Corp Summit 2021,  November 24th and 25th. It’s an annual meeting the community of Certified B Corporations, sharing their experiences and ideas for creating a more inclusive and sustainable economy. This year’s theme: The Power of Collective Action. Consultant Malou Bok and our HR Manager Tosca Spee were there (digitally) and acted as our reporters. How did they experience the summit

What did you think of the summit?

Malou: “The past year I’ve been involved in the B Corp certification process for Been Management Consulting and to now be officially part of this community of B Corps is beyond great!  In the summit, I found the story of Judith Joan Walker, COO of African Clean Energy, very inspiring; how they put the Business Impact Assessment right at the heart of their business. Really integrating the impact measurement in their everyday way of working and using it as a management tool. It’s what we’re doing at Been Management Consulting as well and what ensures we will improve our impact as we strive for.”

Tosca: “I found the stories of Tony’s Chocolonely and Organic Basics very insightful. The topic was: how being a B Corp affects your employees. They talked about the upsides of working for a B Corp; all that passion and motivation a common purpose ignites. But they were also frank about the downsides of working for such organizations. As we are all so passionate, when and where does your work stop?”

What’s it like to now be working of a B Corp?

Malou: “As a consultant, I’m always interested in transformation processes. Therefore, being part of our own journey in becoming a B Corp was already very rewarding. But I must say, that by meeting all these other B Corps, I truly feel I’m part of a bigger movement, which makes me very proud.”

Tosca: “It really adds an extra dimension as an employer too. As an HR manager, I already sensed that being B Corp has much added value, for example in recruiting young people. They’re very motivated to use their talent for companies that have a positive impact. It adds an extra dimension to our projects too, because we always take the planet’s and the community’s perspective into account. That provides an intellectual challenge as well.”

What are your thoughts on the theme, the Power of Collective Action?

Malou: “There’s a lot of power in the B Corp movement. We can learn from the best, like African Clean Energy, and keep challenging ourselves.”

Tosca: “Yes, being part of a bigger collective definitely does bring a lot of energy!”

Thank you, Tosca and Malou!