Innovating Sustainably for a More Resilient Economy
B The Change Weekly: November 19, 2021
Delivered on Fridays, B The Change Weekly delivers the most important and most relevant stories about people using business as a force for good. The newsletter features a weekly note from the B The Change team alongside insight and context on the stories we share here on Medium. Below is our latest roundup. To receive these insights directly in your inbox, sign up for B The Change Weekly today. Now on to the good stuff:
Increasing worker shortages, rising numbers of severe weather events, and heightened income disparities may not seem relevant for all holiday shoppers. But people increasingly are making choices while shopping with a concern for how they impact society and the environment — and expecting and asking businesses to act now for a resilient planet and inclusive economy.
As Ju Young Lee writes in the Network for Business Sustainability article highlighted this week, “Companies that engage in sustainable innovation go beyond seeking immediate profits. They think long-term, about investing in technologies and people for the future.”
Whether you’re seeking gift ideas or policies to adopt at your workplace, the articles below suggest products and practices that meet the current needs of workers and consumers — and look to protect resources for future generations.
Behind the Gift: 10 Gifts That Employ With Purpose
B Corps can serve as a model for other businesses seeking new methods to engage employees — the people who fill critical roles in creating, packaging, communicating, and distributing products and services. The 10 B Corps on this list take care of their employees and create beautiful and useful gift options for the special people in your life.
Behind the Gift: 11 Gifts That Reshape the Economy
As they look to reshape the economy through practices, policies, and products, B Corps take the values they uphold and exemplify through their everyday operations to open public, external conversations for change. Check this list of gift ideas from 11 B Corps that are speaking up and showing up for a more resilient and inclusive economy.
Innovating Sustainably for the Good of Society and Business
While crucial for a company’s growth and survival, traditional forms of innovation may harm employees or over-exploit natural resources. But through sustainable innovation, businesses can address and avoid those unintended social and environmental impacts while providing products and services. Read up on the basics of sustainable innovation and how it can benefit business and society for the long term in this article from the Network for Business Sustainability.
Stay in the Know
Here’s your chance to catch up on recent articles:
- Behind the Gift: 10 Gifts That Employ With Purpose: A B Corp Gift Guide for Products and Services from Companies with Positive Employee Practices
- Behind the Gift: 11 Gifts That Reshape the Economy: A B Corp Gift Guide to Companies Innovating and Advocating for a Stakeholder Economy
- 7 Corporate Digital Responsibility Principles: How Organizations Can Incorporate Digital Products, Services, Programs, and More That Are Better for People and the Planet
- How to Approach Corporate Storytelling as a Purpose-Driven Business or Organization: 5 Professional Communicators Share Their Storytelling Tips
- What Is Sustainable Innovation? The Importance of Creating Products, Services, and Processes That Are Good for Society and the Organization
- Behind the Gift: 15 Gifts That Give Back: A B Corp Gift Guide for Items that Invest in Important Causes
- Behind the Gift: 16 Gifts That Value Producers: A B Corp Gift Guide of Companies That Care for Suppliers, from Farmers to Artisans and More
B The Change gathers and shares the voices from within the movement of people using business as a force for good and the community of Certified B Corporations. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the nonprofit B Lab.
