In early September, Triodos co-workers Amy Robinson, Jeremy Pannell and Jim Kay attended the largest-ever gathering of B Corporations (B Corps) at the Louder Than Words festival. Bringing together over 2,000 B Corps from across the UK, of all shapes and sizes, this was a unique opportunity to connect with a community of likeminded organisations, and embrace creativity, learning and debate.
Founded on the principles of sustainability, Triodos Bank has been part of the B Corp movement for almost a decade and is joined by over 8,000 certified B Corps from 162 sectors in 96 countries worldwide. Collectively, this community strives to meet high standards of social and environmental performance, with transparency and accountability.
Business leaders, activists and academics came together in Oxford for two days of inspiration and action, fuelled by the array of insightful discussions covering specialised topics. From discussing how to influence big businesses to change their practices, to putting tourism on trial in a traditional court room, the festival provided a wide range of engaging discussions for attendees.
Our key takeaways from the two-day festival
Business can be a force for good
From cosmetics and catering to credit management, this festival was an opportunity for organisations across a wide range of industries to come together. It was refreshing to feel part of a community of organisations that see success framed in terms of mission, purpose and people – not just profit.
Coalition and togetherness
The conference focused on bringing people together to take action, and highlighting the power of community. The B Corp movement is calling for a different way of doing business - something that is challenging for any one organisation to tackle on its own!
All investment has an impact
Our Corporate Projects Manager, Amy Robinson, was a panellist in a discussion that focused on the impact of money. In the session entitled ‘Small Footprint, Big Impact’ the panel reflected that, through their lending and investments, finance institutions have huge environmental impact in relation to their size, and the industry needs to use this as an opportunity to support a just and nature-positive transition. Equally, by considering their pensions, banking and investments, all B-Corps and responsible businesses can make better financial decisions that create positive impact.
Actions, not words
We all have a role to play in creating the future we want to see. Whether consciously choosing to support B Corp businesses with our purchases, or collaborating across organisations to do business differently, the conference reminded us of the importance of actions truly being ‘louder than words’.
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