EP 34. Andrew Davies, CEO of B Lab Australia and New Zealand on the burgeoning B Corp Movement

In this episode we speak with Andrew Davies, CEO of B Lab Australia and New Zealand on the burgeoning B Corp Movement. The B Corp certification program began in 2006 after the founders Jay Coen Gilbert and Bart Houlahan successfully sold their basketball footwear and apparel brand AND1 and joined forces with long time friend Andrew Kassoy. Having already built the AND1 brand with deeply embedded values they faced the reality that those values were not guaranteed to exist within the business after the sale. The trio created the B Corp (B standing for Benefit Corporation) certification system to ensure businesses were obligated within their corporate structure and the law to abide by values and systems that protect people, place and planet.

Andrew Davies shares with razor sharp focus the origins of the B Corp movement and how it is burgeoning across the globe and, specifically, in Australia and New Zealand.

Anyone who has followed the OIO journey to date would notice that we've made a strong effort to align with B Corps. Within the Pitchfest Partner Network we had a range of Australian and International B Corps including: Bank Australia, Patagonia, Republic of Everyone, Digital Storytellers, Compass Studios, StartSomeGood and Edge Environment. At OIO we strongly believe in the power of the B Corp movement to rapidly and radically transform Planet Ocean for the better through impact-driven, business for good.

For more information on B Lab Australia and New Zealand, including a directory of certified companies head here: www.bcorporation.com.au/

To follow B Corp ANZ on Twitter head here: twitter.com/bcorpanz