B Local Series: Navigating the World of Collaboration with Rose Lavelle of B Lab US and Canada

Ever wonder what it takes to transform a B Corp member into an integral part of the B Local movement? Join us as we sit down with Rose Lavelle from B Lab US and Canada, who weaves the intriguing narrative of her journey from B Local to full-time employment at B Lab. She provides an illuminating look at the mission and layers of B Lab, the B Local program, and the Good Standing Checklist that serves as a powerful tool for strategic planning and onboarding. for B Locals.

The riveting conversation continues as we navigate the successes and challenges of B Local groups. From sustainability journeys and forming partnerships, to the contemplation of formalizing as nonprofits, Rose sheds light on a myriad of topics. She spotlights the impressive work of successful B Local leaders and emphasizes the importance of B Corp values as the cornerstone of all their endeavors.

In the world of B Locals, succession planning and structured leadership are key. Rose gives us an insider's perspective on the process of recruiting leaders and keeping them engaged. We discuss the potential of a united B Corp community and how they can leverage each other's resources to drive success. As we approach the end of our insightful dialogue, Rose shares her vision for B Lab and B Locals, painting a promising picture of the next five years. Join us for this captivating discussion that reveals the inner workings and future prospects of B Lab and B Locals.

B Local Communities - Website
Asheville & WNC
Bay Area
Boston
Colorado
Connecticut
Florida for Good
Georgia
Idaho for Good
Illinois
Los Angeles
Maine
Manitoba
Michigan
Mid-Atlantic
Minnesota
New York City
North Carolina Triangle
Ontario
Philadelphia
Portland (PDX)
Quebec
San Diego
Tennessee
Texas
Vancouver
Vermont
Washington
Wisconsin

B Corp Networks - Website
Black, Indigenous, & People of Color
B Locals
B Tourism
B Corp Beauty Coalition
B Corp Marketers
B2B B Corps
B Corp HR Professionals
B Fashion
EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating Systems) 
We the Change

Dirigo Collective Website

Transcript

Speaker 2: 0:11

Welcome to the responsibly different mini series exploring the different B locals around the United States and Canada. B locals are placed based communities of people that are using business as a force for good in their region. B locals are made up of people and businesses that are helping to transform the global economy to benefit all people, community and the planet. Throughout this series, we will hear from different B local leaders in their community and we will learn about the work they are doing and how others can get involved. In this episode, I will be talking with Rose LaValle of B Lab, us and Canada. I want to first start off by welcoming Rose to the podcast. This is so exciting. I feel like you and I have connected on a number of different things and it's like let's just finish checking off the list and have you on the podcast.

Speaker 1: 1:13

So excited to be on the podcast. Thanks for inviting me, Brittany.

Speaker 2: 1:17

Of course. So, Rose, how I want to kind of just start off so that those who aren't as familiar with you as I am what's Rose's story? Kind of give me the background that you want to share. Where are you from? I would love to know what brought you to the B Corp movement. It feels like when I think of the B Corp movement I'm like, oh well, everybody has to know, Rose, if you're someone involved.

Speaker 1: 1:42

Yeah, no, I'm happy to share my B Corp story. So I'm currently I live in Portland, oregon. I was born in San Francisco but really spent my formative years in Eugene, oregon. So I really identify as being from the West Coast of the United States. So I kind of entered the B Corp community when I worked at a local B Corp called Scout Books. I worked there for 10 years. I started working there while I was finishing my bachelor's degree in geology, and so Scout Books was a kind of local maker printer bindery that made customized pocket notebooks and I became the sustainability director and did the initial certification in 2017. I've done the recertification for them in 2021.

Speaker 1: 2:28

And so kind of during that time I got to know my B local and that was B local PDX. So I really engaged them through like the events and networking, and I joined the board after about a year or two in 2018, where I was the learning chair. So I plan, you know, learning events every month. I, you know about a couple of years ago I shifted my role to certifications chair. So I run monthly B Corp, one at once, for people interested in learning more about what is B Corp and how do you get certified. I do like to add this tidbit because my Craig Hill, who held the role before me, loves this story and I like it too.

Speaker 1: 3:10

But the first B local event that I ever attended was also the very first B local PDX, b Corp 101. And now I host them monthly. So I just like it's really cool, it's like really come full circle for me. Oh, I love that. Yeah, and then, you know, during the pandemic, as things changed, I responded to an opening for B Lab US in Canada for like a temporary event manager position, and so that's where I worked, in partnership with Karen Lichtig. Through last June. We were contractors, so we worked on events, champions retreat as well as the B local program. But last actually, one year ago next week will be my I became a full time employee at B Lab as the B local program manager. So it was kind of the first time there was a full time role for B locals at B Lab.

Speaker 2: 4:01

Wow, okay, so so many things. First of all, next time I see you in person and we're out like in public or in like the environment, let's geek out about geology together, because I was a geology minor, no way.

Speaker 1: 4:16

That's awesome. I love that. Okay, so we need to geek out about rocks. Yes, do people say, hey, what rock is that? How did it happen to you all the time? That's the biggest thing for me.

Speaker 2: 4:27

When I was in college and we were, I was an avid hiker. So, yes, I would say I'm not an avid hiker much these days. So no, and I think a lot of people forget about my geology minor, which is fine, because I often do too. Yeah, I was. I was a dual minor, geology and geography, which like say that 10 times fast and like you will get your tongue twisted. But people often are more interested in like the amount of like states or towns and countries that I can like name. So that's more like my hidden talent than like let's identify rocks.

Speaker 1: 5:09

Yes, yes.

Speaker 2: 5:12

And the other thing that like your little background story, just like kind of cemented I guess for me is, I think of you and Karen, one as a duo and two as like the staples in the B Corp community, because we kind of entered at the same time. So I guess maybe that's why I'm like, oh, you're just my go to a B lab, because for as long as I've been in the community you've been in the community, so I've just solved a lot of mysteries about you.

Speaker 1: 5:41

Yeah, you know, there's definitely some people in the community that I'm like you, you are essentially like, you are there and it's like oh, we joined at the same time, we're in the same cohort, so like the same event. So right yeah.

Speaker 2: 5:53

That's great. Okay, so since you are my go to at B lab, then we just decided this I would love to talk to you a little bit more about B lab and really kind of pick your brain there. So I'm wondering, from your perspective, what is it that you think B lab does really really well? And I guess I'm saying, like, for those who don't know what B lab is like, what is your mission statement? Or like what do you think you're most known for?

Speaker 1: 6:21

That's a great question. I think you know B lab in general can be. There's lots of different layers of B lab. There's B lab global, which holds the standards, and then there's global partners or kind of the global partner network. So B lab us in Canada is a global partner. So I'll really speak to B lab us in Canada, though I know B lab is most well known for the standards, the certification and being the certifying body. So I'll really focus on us in Canada.

Speaker 1: 6:51

And I think you know our goal is to really build an economy that benefits all people in the planet. So it means mobilizing our community of B Corps in the US and Canada to address society's most pressing issues the racial injustice and the climate emergency. So really, what we do is create programs, tools, campaigns and connections that drive collective action on these issues. One thing that we try to say often and to many people is that we want to be clear that B lab does not have all the answers. So really, co creation is really a key piece of our strategy and we work with like frontline communities to develop priorities for action, joining their efforts whenever possible instead of recreating our own. And what I personally really truly believe is that B lab really works to connect and to convene the community for this action to take place.

Speaker 1: 7:50

Yeah, so I think the next thing I wanted to touch on is really our theory of change. We have three pillars of our theory of change climate justice, racial equity and stakeholder driven economy and so I really want to specifically talk about racial equity. So one thing that we do is support companies in their journey towards becoming anti-racist. So we have some examples of what those tools are, like the learning journey, co improvement or impact improvement program, and really there's. We have some stats too that basically like 69% of B Corp's in the US and Canada have been implemented in equitable hiring practice, which is like a huge number. So really our job is to like engage with companies, provide guidance, provide tools and just avenues for them to connect and to work with us and with each other.

Speaker 2: 8:48

Yeah, and I think one thing that you said that really sticks out to me is like you all don't always have all of the answers, but if you don't have the answers, I've always found that you do B Lab you, yes, but B Lab as well does a really good job of bringing the community together to collectively find those answers. And it's like people always are like, oh, fake it till you make it, but it's like, no, just be honest, I don't know. And then find it together. And I think that that is like a beautiful, wonderful culture B Lab is like is showing that culture by using that culture themselves. And I think that the B Corp community is this welcoming collective that searches for answers together, because we see B Lab use it so often. So, yes, you don't always have the answers, but you, the way that you work to find the answers, is like really a beautiful thing, and I've seen it, I've noticed it and I think others have as well. So I just want to lift that up.

Speaker 1: 9:54

Yeah, we have a community that's really full of experts in different areas, so we really try to work together with them and you know can't speak highly of math about my colleagues and coworkers and the people at B Lab US in Canada Definitely like a passionate group and we're always trying to. We're working to really listen to what the community wants and be thoughtful about our approach and strategy.

Speaker 2: 10:15

Yeah, so to that avenue, I'm wondering what is your role at B Lab and how? How are you communicating with the community?

Speaker 1: 10:23

Yes, my, my role is to support B local leaders and manage the B local program. That really can be varied depending on what the locals need. There are, you know, over 30 B local groups across US and Canada. There are more B local groups globally, but I really just focus on US and Canada. So really I'm there for B locals as they want to start forming a new group, as they want like working with existing groups to support them in growing or whatever their goals are, offering programming and communication to keep leaders connected to the larger community. You know, really, again, my, my role really varies because it's supporting B locals and B local leaders. So really, you know, I work with the community team and we're really working to like strategize what support can we offer as B local program steadily grows.

Speaker 2: 11:22

So what you're saying is making me think. The tone that you're using it sounds like this is all brand new, so I'm wondering has there always been somebody in your role at the company doing this type of work?

Speaker 1: 11:35

Yes, and I kind of my predecessors really. You know, I wasn't there, but I've heard lots of great stories and like how things were set up. And I do want to point out that it wasn't the lab who said, hey, let's start these localized groups of B Corps, oh funny, it was the community saying, oh, hey, we're all B Corps, we live in the same city, we should connect, like let's meet up, let's share best practices. So it was really grassroots of the community, like we just want to be together. And then B Lab noticing that and saying, oh, let's, you know, start a program, let's, how can we support these groups?

Speaker 1: 12:11

So before I held the role, full time, karen, like I and I worked together sharing the role and it was a three quarter time position. Before us, there were two other people in the role, so if you Ferris and Jocelyn Corp. So it's my understanding that their roles maybe weren't that. Their roles were quarter, half or three quarter time positions. So when I became an employee in July 2020, this is the first time that that role particularly was a full time, 40 hour per week position. So it really shows that the lab us in Canada continues to invest and support the locals and networks and B Corps connecting and working with each other. So it's a great example of that.

Speaker 2: 12:54

Yeah, I'd say so, and I mean even seeing that the town, state, cities, wherever the B locals are located, to see that they started their own community because they want to be close and distance or, yeah, close and proximity with each other and then be allowed to react to that. That's pretty cool. I mean, I think that's awesome of B Lab.

Speaker 1: 13:16

Yeah, I need to do a little more research on the exact. You know how the started, but I do think it was, you know, gradual grassroots and I just think it's, you know, I. There are definitely people who are still in the community, who are still leaders, who were there at the beginning. So, looking forward to gathering their stories and learning like, well, how did this happen? What was it like at the beginning? Right?

Speaker 2: 13:37

You did actually just say something that I personally know what you meant, but I'm not sure if everybody does. So I'm wondering can you distinguish the difference between B locals and networks, and what are networks?

Speaker 1: 13:50

Yes. So in general, you know, b locals were something that we've been supporting and that have kind of been in the community for a while. There have also been other groups of B corps that connect with each other across maybe not in proximity, but across identity or their role or impact area. So some examples of these are we the change women leaders in the B corp community, or B tourism, like B corps in the tourism industry, b to B B corps, so companies working with with other businesses Awesome. So really, networks are self organized groups that really center around role, identity, impact area or you know something as B corps, and so when we say networks, we that includes B locals too.

Speaker 2: 14:44

And I will link to all of the B networks and B locals in the show notes so that if you are a B corp and you're looking to connect with people either in your region or in your industry, you can have the full list of everybody. All right. So from your position and where you do have this large access to all of these B locals and all of these networks across the US and Canada, I am wondering Do you see any differences? Like I feel like listeners might be able to guess that sure, every B Corp, whether you're in California or Texas or Vermont, you care about planet and you care about people and you want to see, you want to see people do better. But I'm just wondering, like, what are the differences from region to region that maybe you see?

Speaker 1: 15:40

Yes, it's a great question. I thought about this. You know each group is definitely different. They have different goals and some focus on local issues and solutions. Some are working to bring more B Corps to their region, to their province or their state. Some are all about collective action and bringing in more collaboration amongst B Corps. You know, I'd say I know that there are regional differences, but I think it really depends on group to group. We do have multiple B locals in certain states. So even looking at that, they have different goals.

Speaker 1: 16:20

One thing you know we do have a B local activity rubric. So it's basically something where we provide guidance on activities, structure and strategy. So the B local rubric is almost like a menu of options and focuses that B locals could work towards, especially if they'd like to be in alignment with B Lab, a US and Canada strategy. So, that being said, a lot of groups choose their own path and what matters to them and into their B Corp community. There are larger concentrations of B Corps in metro areas and sometimes that can lead to more support for B local leadership teams. You know there's more options at B Corps to ask for help. Hey, can you help support our event or can you help us with the project, although you know, sometimes it's just the opposite.

Speaker 1: 17:15

Tighter, closer knit groups of B Corps sometimes, you know, are different levels of success. I wanted to mention that there are also different stages of B locals. So we don't often share out that to the external community, but internally at B Lab and with B local leaders, there are different kind of stages we try to have set for B locals to understand, you know, what they could be up to next. And so some regions just really want to get together. They just want to come together for coffee or happy hour once a month or a quarter and just chat about what it means to be a B Corp and share ideas of oh yeah, we just implemented this program. It's great. It got points on the B impact assessment. Other groups are really set on let's formalize as an organization, let's become a nonprofit, let's, you know, hire staff one day. So it really depends on the B local itself of you know what their goals are and what they'd like to become.

Speaker 2: 18:21

So you mentioned the rubric the activity rubric is, I think, what you called it and I'm wondering is that resource that you use as like an onboarding tool, or is that something that, let's say, a B local had a change in their like chair or they restructured? Do you revisit that rubric with them often, or is it like one and done, or only when they ask for it?

Speaker 1: 18:48

That's a good question. So there are different kind of parts of the rubric. One of them is called the good standing checklist. So that really helps us determine which stage a B local is at and, in turn, what support we can offer. Our goal is to support every B local group, no matter what their stages or their goals are. You know, we want to help support them in growing and reaching their goals. But as far, yes, I think the rubric is most used for onboarding and really, you know, I think it can be used for strategic planning.

Speaker 1: 19:25

The beauty about the B local activity rubric is that it was co-created. It was co-created between B lab and B locals and it was like let's look and see it all to be local groups and what they currently do. It's impossible to try to identify 30 groups and be like let's fit them into these categories, but we do try to do that, to say, all right, maybe you're at this second stage or you're at this third stage. What are your goals next time? What are you doing now, but what would you like to do in one year, I think, being a B-Local leader? Not all, but I'd say a majority of B-Local leaders are volunteers, so they work at B-Corps and they do this community engagement work on their own time as volunteers.

Speaker 1: 20:14

So there can be a feeling of overwhelm, looking at other B-Locals and saying, oh, I wish we did that, or I feel like we're not doing enough and that's not something we want them to feel. So I think the activity rubric really breaks it down and try to say, ok, let's see what all we've accomplished and where we're at now and what could we do next. So really trying to simplify that and really be a tool and guidance for them to use in strategic planning if they wish. We do have partnership agreements with some of the B-Locals so we do ask for a filled out rubric twice a year. So that is helpful just to get a good snapshot of where each group is every six months. And then we ask other groups if they could fill it out once a year just so we can get an idea of where are you at. Oh, you have a newsletter. We're not signed up. We didn't know about it, just like that, just to stay in the loop, if we can't always meet one on one or connect about everything.

Speaker 2: 21:09

Yeah, wow, I'm honestly just thinking your job must be so overwhelming to connect with 30 different groups Because just in this podcast series that I'm doing, which is a fun project for me but I'm connecting with five different groups and through the conversations with them, I'm like you are so vastly different from the B-Local Boston board that I know so well.

Speaker 2: 21:36

And then I'm like, wait, but Nathan in B-Local Georgia is so different than Kell in B-Local PDX. And then Florida for good with Winnie. It's like, wow, every group is its own unique group and, yes, there are so many similarities but there are also so many differences. And this is not a stab at Nathan, because I love Nathan and I know that he self identifies as this, but he has no structure to his board and it's just like you want to do that, great, go for it. And then you have Lisa in Wisconsin, where every chair who comes on has the opportunity to describe their chair structure, their chair title and their chair or their committee's definition. And I'm like, amen, I am so on board with that and I even told.

Speaker 2: 22:35

Nathan. Listen to the episode with Nathan where it's like I'm like Nathan, your structure stresses me out.

Speaker 1: 22:42

Yeah, you know, what works for one region might not work for another region, but that's like where the local leader community is about, is we really have opportunities to connect and say, oh, what do you do? How did that work? Oh my gosh, that worked for you Like, okay, maybe we'll try it out. But just it's amazing to see these leaders interact with each other. They're like, okay, that's really cool, it worked for you, but that's not going to work for our community.

Speaker 1: 23:10

And it's just yeah, and you mentioned, you know, oh yeah, 30 groups. That's a lot. And again, yeah, they feel like each one is very different. But luckily, you know, we we do have a be local advisory program, so these kind of split up the be local groups into, you know, four to eight groups and where be local advisors previous be local chairs are there to like kind of meet larger regions and help support and like more support and like talk through, like what's going on in the ear, what are challenges you're having, and trying to support like through solutions. So definitely have some amazing advisors supporting the be local chairs and the be local groups, as well as like a lot, a lot more focused from the B lab community team and the B lab us and Canada team in general and kind of working with leaders, listening to leaders and, you know, helping solve issues. Yeah, oh, I love that.

Speaker 2: 24:07

Look at that. Support on support on support. I love it. I just feel unsupported. Join the B Corp community. We promise you'll be supported. Okay, so then my next question for you is a pivoting from like maybe the differences and the challenges into like what are the things that be locals are doing really well from your point of view? And I guess, like thinking, is it like, oh my God, yeah, this one group did this like out of the box thing, like what can you share with me about what B Corps are doing well?

Speaker 1: 24:41

Definitely. And again, there's 30 groups. I don't want to leave anyone out, I don't want to show bias, because every group has done amazing things in like building community in their local region. So they really all set their own goals. So success is really defined by you know what they set out to do, which be local experiences, you know issues and there's some common threads too. So I'd like to kind of cover in general some accomplishments and then I can kind of go into more detail too, if that's helpful.

Speaker 2: 25:14

I feel like you're my mom answering when I ask her who's your favorite child.

Speaker 1: 25:20

Yes, exactly. So, without naming all 30 plus groups and their accomplishments, here's just like a few highlights from what groups have achieved. Some groups have really become sustainable in terms of revenue, in succession and recruitment, in kind of collective action journeys, regularly convening and connecting like opportunities and events, having a very connected B Corp community, b Corp partnerships and collaboration. That's kind of leads. The connection leads to those collaborations and partnerships and successful events and B Corp leadership development conferences or build conferences, as I know, you know, brittany, and becoming formalized or organized like as organization, so not for profits, fiscally sponsored. And now I'm happy to go into some details but I just wanted to kind of call out that general list of, like you know, some common, like amazing highlights that we've seen. I did mention the bay or collective action journey. So we've actually seen the local bay area launch to action journeys. So this is something that they've partnered with another organization impact tree and coming up with almost like a menu or a list of ways that you can take action as an individual or a B Corp. So I think a lot of B locals and B Corps have asked great collective action. We get it, we're working together, collective impact. But like, how do we, how do we take those steps, like, what does that look like? And I think that could look like many different things, and I think Bay Area has set up something that is really amazing and I haven't seen something like that before. So, yeah, bay Area is action journeys and I do, you know, I do want to kind of mention some, the local groups that have a larger focus than just B Corps. So these are good for Michigan, florida for good and Idaho for good there are more to but these really, you know, they have a larger focus than just B Corps in their community and I think that's powerful to kind of bring others in to the like. Other organizations then that are values aligned. So they're not just saying, oh, b Corps only, they're saying, oh, do you also believe in climate justice and racial equity? Great like, join us, you know, partner with us. So there's been some really cool examples of partnerships with other business alliances.

Speaker 1: 28:00

We've also seen some B locals implement membership and sponsorship models and programs. So this is relatively new. In the past few years, b local PDX, b local Quebec, b local San Diego and B local Texas have all launched and kind of started this. So it's been interesting to see some of the early adopters, like B local, pdx, start this to kind of really see that example of how could that work and that lead to having sustainable revenue models and continuing to continue in your work and being able to hire staff.

Speaker 1: 28:37

Which kind of leads me into my next area is that I did mention most B local leaders are volunteers.

Speaker 1: 28:44

They work at B Corps, but some B Corps say, oh yes, being part of your B local is part of your job, so they may get compensation. But you know, a lot of times they're doing this on their own time. There has been some B locals that have gotten to a point through grants, through membership models, through, you know, events, revenue in just like generation, in being able to hire staff. So either a full time employee, b local, pdx or the Bay Area has hired interns and we but we also have seen some of the larger organizations that have that wider scope have full staff or staff members. Again, they're not just focused on B Corp and B local but they kind of are like larger organizations with like a B local arm and program.

Speaker 1: 29:38

And then I cannot go without sharing about the build conference organizers. So we've actually had over two thirds of the B local groups be involved in planning the build conferences. So Colorado, pdx, vancouver, quebec, georgia, boston, florida, nc, triangle, asheville and Western NC and there's so many more that have been in the past, but these are kind of some of the highlights there's from the last year or two like this year coming up and last year, and I can.

Speaker 1: 30:17

I can go on and on and on. So if you'd like, or we, you know, got more of a list here.

Speaker 2: 30:26

If you want to tell me about more than keep going, yeah.

Speaker 1: 30:30

Yeah, I, you know there are. It's been amazing to see some groups really start and just take off like that. There are some groups maybe have been around for a while that have different leadership like changes. And then you know, I've been really impressed by NC Triangles like event strategy and planning ahead and just saying, oh, here are events for the next, you know, 12 months. I know it's amazing to see like all this work being done and just there's so much passion from the local leaders.

Speaker 1: 31:05

There's been a lot of movement and be locals who have kind of formalized as nonprofits or not for profits. I think maybe one year ago or one and a half yeah, probably about a year ago, maybe a year and a half ago there were no not for profits or nonprofits in Canada for be locals groups. And now Vancouver, quebec and Ontario are all not for profits. It's different per province on like the exact definition. So we have societies, we have not for profits, things like that. But you know also seeing the US be locals who have formalized as nonprofits to Texas kind of took off and running LA, colorado and then of course like Michigan and Florida and things like that. So there's been a lot. There's just so many examples. I can't even possibly get through them all. I'll talk for hours about be locals. So if anyone wants to talk for hours about be locals, I'm here for that.

Speaker 2: 32:02

There will be a second part where Rose just continues to talk about be locals. Exactly, rose, I feel like in the scheme of B Labs, always kind of co-creating and collaborating and like taking this head on approach to difficult conversations. I am wondering, like, what are some of the hard conversations that maybe you are having or you've heard about different regions having, and I'm imagining that, like each region does have their strengths and their weaknesses. I'm wondering to be locals ever bring you in to help them work through the challenges that they are facing and, if so, if you can share any of those challenges, what are those challenges look like? And if people listening are having these challenges, how can they learn or maybe ask you to help them work through them?

Speaker 1: 33:00

Yeah, I think each be local, as we know, they're all different, they experience different issues, but we have seen common threads and a lot of times it's around engagement and governance and succession of leaders. So this is more about kind of the be local group rather than maybe the be corpse in the area. But it kind of leads to growing pains, changing and the shift to virtual work and also changing of priorities and capacities. One thing we've seen take place is there's one person leading a be local. We call them the hero volunteer. They're like I'll just do it all, like you know, really rallying everybody and like keeping it together and keeping things moving, and it's amazing. But what you know, if that person has to step away or leave, then sometimes we see that group stop. So what we really try to like help the locals do through, you know, tools and guidance and resources is, hey, like build a succession plan. So when someone does have to leave the board, you know what happens. How do you recruit more people? And so around that, you know some some be locals are. You know it's.

Speaker 1: 34:10

It's challenging to to kind of get engagement either from the leaders or from the be corpse locally in wanting to become leaders and to help support this work, and that can be really discouraging as a leader, who you're like everybody. I'm trying to create a space where we can connect and learn from each other and and grow as people and as businesses, and when you feel that that work is just on your shoulders, it can be hard. So we really suggest, like working with be corpse, you know asking, like working as a be core community together, asking yourselves what do we want out of this community, what do we want from our be local and for be corpse that haven't engaged with be locals? Really think about what you could do to support your be local. There's lots of different ways. Some of it is joining the board and being a be local leader, but there's lots of like one time opportunities, if capacity is not able to allow you to, to join a leadership board. So that's just one area that I hear you know pretty common around.

Speaker 1: 35:14

Like the governance and you mentioned some, you know some it works for some be locals to be like nobody has a role. Let's work on what we'd like, you know, but I think having some structure in case you know, most of the board leaves at once just knowing that like, oh, we don't have to start completely over that. We can kind of like continue the thread. But maybe you have a whole leadership group, new leadership group, and you're like we actually do want to change some things, and that's great too, you know. I think it's important to have just remember to kind of center be court values and think what does, what do we want as a be court community in our, in our local community, right, right?

Speaker 2: 35:54

Thank you for sharing that. I think that that is a really great example and one that I think a lot of people will connect with and and see some value for.

Speaker 1: 36:03

So you know, a lot of my work is listening, then bringing things back to my team, finding common threads and really planning how we might support or correct or change, moving forward in order to support or address these common challenges that B-Locals face. I really rely on B-Local advisors who support me and the B-Local chairs. We use other B-Locals as examples and we have resources to share with groups who might need more support. Really, I do get asked hey, do you have an event plan or a run of show, or we need a job role description around the roles of B-Local. Really, we try to collect resources and make them available to all B-Locals. Again, as we talked about earlier, b-lab doesn't have the answers. We are sourcing this from other B-Local groups who have gone through this to be able to share resources. We really rely on those B-Locals to share their examples. We can share with the other groups who are maybe just starting out or need a refresh.

Speaker 1: 37:10

We have talked in the past of what if we've tried launching a mentorship program between B-Local leaders so they can support each other. It actually just goes on organically by itself. Leaders want to support each other. There's oftentimes like oh yeah, we're best buds, we live across the country, but we talk all the time about being a B-Local leader and supporting each other. I hear that more and more and it's amazing. So, just like the B-Corp community, but especially within this B-Local leader group, people are so willing to share their work with others. It's not about competition, but working to share and support each other. So we often say for B-Locals as well as in the B-Corp community don't start from scratch. Let us share examples, templates, resources and stories with each other from other B-Local leaders, from other leaders from other B-Corp that you can use. So we all want to work together in this community.

Speaker 2: 38:12

I hear that time and time again and it's so unique to the B-Corp space. But everybody in the B-Corp space feels that way and it is truly a magical thing.

Speaker 1: 38:23

Absolutely. When I worked for B-Corp, all the time another B-Corp would say hey, we heard you might have a paid volunteer program. We also use the same HR platform as you. How do you do that? It's like oh, here have all my standard works. Here's six of them. Do you need anything else? It's just that surprised me most about being in the B-Corp community. Before I got the company certified of, people were like oh, here have our employee handbook, have this, just change your name on it, make it your own. It's just amazing. It's very unique yeah.

Speaker 2: 39:01

Okay, well, rose, my last question for you, if you're up for it, is in the next five years, I'm wondering what's your hope for B-Lab and for B-Locals?

Speaker 1: 39:13

Yes, I love this question, so I have a few different answers, but in five years, I'd like to see sustainable and formalized organizations that are B-Locals, that are strong, and there's a strong and healthy partnership between B-Locals and B-Lab US and Canada. I also want to see B-Locals who would like that, that they're in a position to hire staff so they could lead to more capacity. I'd also like to see 100% of the B-Corps in US and Canada have a B-Local group to engage with. Right now we're around 80%. And one thing I'd like to leave with is I've been working with my colleagues Becca Cork and Carson Bolding on network strategy, so this includes B-Locals as well as other groups based around identity, role, industry or impact. We would like to see that there is a network for everybody.

Speaker 2: 40:17

I really, really love what you said and I totally, 100% agree that. How cool would it be if every single B-Corp in US and Canada had a group, a network, a B-Local that they belong to. So I hope that that does come true for you in five years, but also for the community, because that's a powerful network to have.

Speaker 1: 40:37

Absolutely. Now we're seeing incredible growth, so it's amazing. Every month I feel like I'm talking to at least one to three people about can we start at B-Local where we are? It's amazing.

Speaker 2: 40:50

I love it. Well, thank you, rose, so much for all of your insight today. This was extremely fun to catch up with you, but also to share your wealth of knowledge with the full community. So thank you so much.

Speaker 1: 41:02

Absolutely. Thank you so much, brittany. I had a great time Again. Love talking about B-Locals and catch up with you. Can't wait to talk about geology.