“Towards impact and beyond…” This is how one could sum up the common lineage adopted between ChangeNOW and B Lab!

ChangeNOW is the world’s largest gathering of innovations for the planet. All year long, the team spots the most promising innovations for the planet and makes sure they can be connected to the resources they need to develop their impact. Every year for the past four years, a three-day global summit for the planet is being held, bringing together innovators, CEOs, investors, major groups, talent, and the media…

B Lab is the nonprofit network transforming the global economy to benefit all people, communities, and the planet. B Lab creates standards, policies, tools, and programs that shift the behavior, culture, and structure of capitalism. We mobilize the global B Corp community towards collective action to address society’s most critical challenges, and we collaborate with governments, academia, coalitions, and other institutions to drive economic systems change.

Certified B Corporations, or B Corps, are companies verified by B Lab to meet high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability.

On the one hand, there is a desire to federate, connect and multiply the synergies between the various impact players; on the other, there is a desire to support, provide tools and develop reading and action grids for greater commitment in companies. And in common, a great ambition to accelerate the transition to a more sustainable world.

Today, we, B Lab & ChangeNOW, would like to invite you to join our ecosystems. Companies, whether you are committed, in transition, questioning, motivated, lacking tools or networks: you are not alone. Join us in building a regenerative and inclusive economy that works for everyone.

Beyond speaking out loud, we want to give a voice to the business leaders who are initiating change in our ecosystems. Therefore, we interviewed 3 actors of our cross-communities to ask them why, and how, they manifest their impact on a daily basis in their companies. Alexandre Mars for Blisce, Clara Bardiau for Skateroom and Belinda Christine Borck for Tony’s Chocolonely tell us about their commitment through a series of 3 pieces.

Alexandre Mars, CEO @ Blisce : Financing cutting-edge tech projects: how is it good for the planet and for people?

For us, being part of the ChangeNOW and B Lab ecosystem means playing an active role in building the economy of the future: an economy that works for all stakeholders, not just shareholders. It’s by collaborating and sharing actionable best practices with one another that we can meaningfully move the needle and amplify our respective social and environmental commitments.

Belinda Christine Borck, Impacticular Storyteller @ Tony’s chocolonely : Will eating chocolate save the planet?

It’s a holistic approach overseeing the entire supply chain, which aligns with our way of viewing and doing business. The strength of a cross-sector community working towards achieving the same goal has an immense value and it gives us the opportunity to learn from others, as well as share our progress and how we’ve achieved it.

Clara BARDIAU, Impact Manager @ The Skateroom : Is The Skateroom the cool kids’ revenge on the world?

I believe that the strongest value of this ecosystem is the synergies it builds. Ultimately, we all have the same goal, and yes every little step counts, but by sharing practices and joining forces, we can be best for the world, together.

Join us online for the next ChangeNOW Summit on May 27-29, and sign up with a business pass to enjoy the best networking experience!

Willing to know more about how to engage and commit at work? Here are a few ideas for you to know more :

• And start measuring what really matters, here
• Read Alexandre, Belinda & Clara’s full interviews below

Alexandre Mars, Founder & CEO @ Blisce

Financing cutting-edge tech projects: how is it good for the planet and for people?

We at Blisce are acutely aware that the financial sector has a unique role to play in that it can steer immense resources toward socially-conscious companies that are both high impact and high growth. We take that responsibility very seriously, which is why social responsibility is a primary criterion we take into account when looking at purpose-driven technology companies to back — including areas like environmental impact, gender equality, and diversity & inclusion.

You are an entrepreneur, philanthropist, head of a VC firm: you wear a lot of hats! Which one helps the most to create positive impact?

I am a firm believer that everyone can have an impact at their own scale, no matter what role they may occupy. The various hats I wear aren’t separate, they’re all interconnected: I used my entrepreneurial skills and mindset to create Epic Foundation, which in turns supports exceptional social entrepreneurs all over the world. At Blisce, we help push companies to be better corporate citizens that generate both economic and social value… plus the Blisce team has committed to donating 20% of its carried interest to charity. It’s one big virtuous circle, I can’t choose just one.

What impact projects do you dream of funding through Blisce?

There’s no shortage of socially-conscious companies that are doing amazing work in our areas of expertise, like anti-food waste, future of health, micro-mobility and access to education. Too Good To Go, our most recent investment, is a great example of the type of impact-led companies we want to support. The number of meals they save from being wasted, by brilliantly connecting consumers with business-owners, is a core KPI for their business model. Today they’ve saved over 70 million meals from ending up in landfills. The environmental impact is astounding!

Belinda Christine Borck, Impacticular Storyteller @ Tony’s Chocolonely

Will eating chocolate save the planet?

We all know that eating chocolate makes everyone happy. Now imagine that by eating chocolate, you are not only happy but are also having a positive impact on the people and the planet! Together we can make sure that eating chocolate can contribute to saving the planet.

What does the job of Impacticular Storyteller involve in everyday life?

At Tony’s we strive to have the biggest impact possible, therefore we assess our impact and evaluate what we do on the ground in West Africa. My role is to turn these insights into stories that make everyone understand how we aim to achieve our mission of 100% slave-free chocolate.

Where does Tony’s golden ticket take us to?

Our objective is equality in the cocoa supply chain and an end to poverty for cocoa farmers in West Africa. Together we can reach the goal of all chocolate worldwide being produced without forced and child labour.

Clara BARDIAU, Impact Manager @ The Skateroom

Is The Skateroom the cool kids’ revenge on the world?

Yes, it definitely is! The Skateroom was born out of a revolutionary idea with a social mission at its core: with up to 10% of its sales, to support projects such as Skateistan, combining skateboarding and education. Especially back then when social entrepreneurship was not the norm.

Now, you may ask yourself: why skateboarding? The power of it is that it has so many positive side effects on individuals practicing it but also on communities surrounded by the discipline. It encourages resilience and brings confidence, improves mental health, and can even help deal with trauma. Skateboarding is an inclusive non-competitive sport, with no barriers or codes related to gender, race, background, or status and stimulates social interaction.

Clara, you are an Impact Manager: how do you manage impact?

When I first heard about The Skateroom, the job sounded ideal: ‘combining art with skateboards whilst creating social impact? That’s my thing!’ I had no idea that skateboarding could generate such a positive outcome for so many individuals. Today, my job is all about advancing and improving our sustainability practices as a company, whether it’s through supporting our social skate partners, being actively conscious of our environmental practices and carbon footprint, through our role as a social enterprise. It is about maintaining our ideals as a responsible company and B Corporation and keeping our team informed about the latest sustainability developments. For a generation like mine challenged by awareness and guilt of our system, it brings hope to realise business can contribute to the greater good.

The Skateroom will have reached its dream when…

Each year, we grow – by acknowledging our strengths while addressing our flaws -, and each year we are getting closer to our goal: supporting the 200 socially-skate projects needing support to thrive. By scaling up our model with others, we would leverage the necessary resources to be able to fund these projects by the Olympic Games in 2024.

That would already be the first big step of what The Skateroom has been dreaming for. But I believe our duty – not only as a company but as citizens of the world – to keep on building a sustainable future is a never ending one.

Why ChangeNOW, why B Lab?

I believe that the strongest value of this ecosystem is the synergies it builds. Ultimately, we all have the same goal, and yes every little step counts, but by sharing practices and joining forces, we can be best for the world, together.