The Uncommon Life

B Inspired: Building Bridges at the B Corp Champions Retreat

November 12, 2015

Along with creativity and the artist community, sustainability is important to us at UncommonGoods. As you may know, we’re a founding B Corporation – a movement that designates companies who are using the power of business to solve social and environmental problems.

Portland

Enjoying the sights in Portland, Oregon, Photos by Sean Cullen

Every year, B Lab hosts the Champions Retreat, where B Corps from around the globe converge to celebrate the success of the businesses and growth of the movement. This year I had the honor of attending the retreat in Portland, Oregon, with HR Project Coordinator Sean Cullen, where over 300 B Corps gathered to exchange best practices, attend un-conference sessions, and brainstorm ways to further promote business as a force for good.

This year’s retreat theme was “Building Bridges.” This theme was meant to inspire reflection on ways to expand the B Corp movement. There was talk of building bridges between individuals and businesses within the B Corp community could build to make B Corp a better ally for issues like diversity, small businesses, and the potential B Corps of tomorrow.

Un-Conference

Sean and I write down the bridges we’d like to build in the B Corp community. 

To better illustrate this, the end of the retreat was rounded out by the TED-inspired B Inspired Talks. The talks featured inspiring individuals who paved the way for using a force for good, such as Perry Chen of Kickstarter, David Griswold of Sustainable Harvest, and Maya Rockeymoore of Global Policy Solutions. You can watch the full set of B Inspired Talks over at the B Lab.

The conference ended with a festival celebrating business as a force for good in Pioneer Courthouse Square. B Corp vendors such as New Belgium Brewing, Ben & Jerry’s, and Tony’s Chocolonely handed out samples while a DJ played music for the crowd. It was a great week to be part of the B Corp movement!

Learn more about how we’re learning from our fellow B Corps with these take-aways from past retreats.

Elise is the Public Relations Manager at UncommonGoods. She’s a big fan of movies, architecture, and sustainability. When she’s not playing fetch with her cat, spouting lines from Roadhouse, or talking up the breweries in her home state of Michigan, she’s laughing at feminist comedy or watching '90s sitcoms. Her perfect dinner party would include Bowie, David Lynch, and the Notorious R.B.G.

1 Comment

  • Reply Our 2016 B Corp Score: 120! - The Goods | The Official Blog of UncommonGoodsThe Goods | The Official Blog of UncommonGoods July 29, 2016 at 2:45 pm

    […] a B Corp is something that we are proud of and have written about here, here, and here. To remain a B Corp, organizations need to successfully pass the B Corp Impact […]

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