[Title Photo by Antoine Schibler on Unsplash]

Democracy’s Role in Driving Systemic Change

In 2024, 4 billion people will be heading to the polls worldwide, including 360 million for the June European Parliamentary Elections alone. However, citizen participation is notoriously low and has become a growing concern. For instance, during the 2019 European Parliament elections, only around 50.66% of eligible voters cast their ballots, signaling a significant disconnect between citizens and their governing institutions.

A well-functioning democracy is a cornerstone of systemic change in today’s world. By promoting active participation, we can cultivate a democratic landscape where every individual has a voice in shaping the economic system. B Lab believes that a different kind of economy is not only possible but necessary. Our ability to push for audacious legislation that aligns with our values depends on electing representatives who share our vision. 

While we’re in the process of evolving the B Lab standards for B Corp Certification, we see a powerful role for B Corps collective action in driving systemic change. By mobilizing the B Corp community for the European elections, we encourage B Corps to use their voices to engage their audiences, clients, users, consumers, and employees on the importance of acting beyond economic purpose and protecting our democracies. 

Why These EU Elections Matter

The upcoming European Parliamentary elections hold the key to setting the course toward a more inclusive, sustainable, equitable, and regenerative future in the European Union, where policies are not just promises but actionable measures that address pressing issues like the climate emergency. With the vision of a better economic system for people and the planet in mind, B Lab Europe is calling on the B Corp movement’s collective voice to drive meaningful change.

The next EU leadership faces the challenge of moving from legislation to enforcement. At B Lab, one of the ways in which we drive systemic change is through policy change. Since the presentation of the European Green Deal, B Lab Europe has been advocating for legislation to hold businesses accountable for their environmental and social impact, with a particular focus on two directives, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). Despite their critical nature, less than a third of the countries have transposed the CSRD, and the CSDDD was adopted by the Parliament earlier this month after being substantially watered down.

Together, We Can Make a Difference

Across the B Corp movement, voting campaigns are happening with B Lab US & Canada, focusing on the upcoming presidential elections and B Lab Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand’s previous work on the vote on whether to change the Constitution to recognize the First Peoples of Australia by establishing a body called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.

This year, B Lab Europe joined Civocracy, Earth4All, and GOPA.com in co-leading the 906 campaign: a nonpartisan, pro-democratic campaign to unite businesses across Europe to put aside our differences to increase the 2024 European Elections awareness and turnout from brands to retail companies, from suppliers to start-ups. We want to address the audience of all participating companies: the European citizens.

What would it look like to engage your audiences on democracy? It could be posters in our supermarkets or shop windows or posts on social media of our favorite brands that remind us of the date of the elections and the importance of getting everyone out to vote.

Together, we can reach 53% and beyond, driving meaningful change for our planet and future generations.

How can your company get involved?

Your company can join the campaign via this link, endorsing and announcing it across media channels and with its employees and partners, ensuring widespread visibility. Participating companies will receive the “Vote Anyway” communication kit, which includes everything needed to run the campaign: visuals, logos, possible post captions, and a timeline. All audiences will find helpful information on voting in their countries on vote-anyway.org.