B Lab Europe
Create Systems Change

Changing policy

To tackle society’s most pressing issues, we need to go beyond voluntary individual business transformation to a world where all businesses take into account their impact on people and the planet. B Lab drives the creation and co-creation of policy initiatives, pushing for meaningful legal change around corporate accountability and social and environmental impact.

European flags blowing in the wind

How businesses can advocate for action

B Lab Europe is leading the charge in advocating for a European shift from shareholder primacy to stakeholder governance, emphasizing impact and transparency as essential practices in their policy efforts. Stakeholders include not just the close contributors to a company, such as employees, investors, and suppliers, but also the natural environment, affected communities, and its customers.

Central to B Lab Europe’s policy initiatives are impact and transparency. Through the B Impact Assessment, B Lab Europe encourages businesses to adopt transparent reporting practices. This involves disclosing comprehensive information about their financial performance, social and environmental impact, and governance structures. The work of the Interdependence Coalition highlighted corporate governance to actively drive corporate behavior that considers the broader impacts of business decisions on people and the planet.

In economies where shareholder interests dominate, known as shareholder capitalism, only the interests of shareholders are considered. In contrast, B Lab Europe promotes stakeholder governance, an economic approach that values the interests of all stakeholders equally. Companies operating under this principle measure success by the value created for all stakeholders, aiming to build social and environmental value and recognizing the interdependence of people, planet, and economy.

By promoting transparency and focusing on impact, B Lab Europe supports a transformative shift from shareholder capitalism to stakeholder governance. Through certification, tools, advocacy, and partnerships, we help businesses become more accountable, inclusive, and sustainable. This approach not only enhances companies’ long-term success but also contributes to creating a more equitable and resilient economy

 

Our Achievements

B Lab Europe advocates that all businesses behave with accountability and transparency by focusing on disclosing material impacts, taking their stakeholders into account in short—and long-term decision-making, and committing to transparency by measuring, managing, and reporting their impact.  

Business for a Better Coalition

Business For a Better Tomorrow

Business for a Better Coalition

Business for a Better Tomorrow is the coalition of 15 impact business networks across Europe, formed in preparation for the 2024 EU elections, aiming to ensure that the voice of entrepreneurs committed to environmental and social transition is heard.

Convinced that the transition will not take place without companies, we are putting forward concrete joint proposals to pursue the efforts initiated in recent years by the EU, notably as part of the Green Deal.

B Lab Europe is calling for the establishment of a regulatory framework favourable to the most committed companies and for the acceleration of the European economy’s environmental and social transformation. 

The Role of Benefit Corporations

A benefit corporation is a legal tool to create a solid foundation for long-term mission alignment and value creation. It protects company missions through capital raises and leadership changes, creates more flexibility when evaluating potential sale and liquidity options, and prepares businesses to lead a mission-driven life post-IPO.

B Lab and the B Corp movement have helped promote the passage of benefit corporation legislation in 50+ jurisdictions around the world, including the following initiatives across Europe:

  • Italy

    Back in 2016, Italy became the first European state and the second country in the world to create a new legal status for companies, called “Società Benefit.” After several Chambers of Commerce rejected attempts of B Corps to restructure their Articles of Association, a new legal form of company was created for which the corporate governance rules were modeled after the Public Benefit Statute from Delaware, US.

  • France

    Société à Mission is the French legal framework in which businesses pursue a set social and environmental purpose with specific sustainability goals. These companies need to create a Mission Committee responsible for monitoring progress made towards achieving these objectives and appoint an independent third party to verify that the mission is carried out. The number of Société à Mission has jumped by 42% since the end of 2020.

  • Spain

    In 2022 the Congress of Deputies has approved in plenary session the creation of a new legal framework, the Common Benefit and Interest Companies (SBIC), which recognizes Purpose-Driven Companies in Spain. This legal framework, which is included through a transactional amendment within the Create and Grow Law approved today, welcomes all those companies that generate a social and environmental benefit, in addition to an economic return.

  • Switzerland

    With the aim of engaging an even broader set of organizations to use business as a force good with the support of the Swiss B Corp community, B Lab Switzerland initiated the Swiss Triple Impact in 2020, a national engagement program. In addition, The Swiss government’s Public Procurement Act sets obligatory sustainability criteria for all of its 27 states. B Lab Switzerland successfully got the B Corp certification to be a recognized sustainability label.

Contact Us

Interested in collaborating on policy initiatives across Europe? Get in touch!







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