In The News
Demystifying The B Corp Movement: Advancing Environmental & Social Impact In Wisconsin
By: Lisa Geason-Bauer and Leah Steinberg
Learn about the Certified B Corp movement, B Local WI and what it takes to become a Certified B Corp. Featured in Person and Planet Magazine.
Fight Climate Change With Your House, Join the Green Homeownership Movement
By: Lisa Geason-Bauer
Residential energy usage in the United States contributes to roughly 20% of greenhouse gas emissions. Considering recent global events, meeting the increased energy demands is going to be challenging. As the climate continues to heat up escalating higher levels of uncertainty, homeowners around the world are faced with a myriad of potential challenges to their homes that are tied to changing weather patterns such as increased moisture, stronger storms, wind gusts, larger hail, and greater air temperature extremes (i.e. from polar vortexes to 100+ degree heat indexes). Many residential properties, especially older homes, are not prepared for the ecological challenges of the future. For instance, according to the North American Insulation Manufacturers Association, roughly 90% of existing homes are under-insulated, causing energy waste while decreasing comfort for the homeowners.
How Forward-Thinking Businesses Can Address Systemic Inequalities Through Adoption of the SDGs 2 Strategies to Build a More Equitable Economy
By: Lisa Geason-Bauer and Angelina Godinez | B the Change Channel on Medium.com
According to the United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, “Extreme inequalities are the defining issue of our time. … Rising inequalities are undercutting development progress, frustrating poverty eradication, and producing social, political and economic instability.” We as leaders in the Certified B Corporation movement of “people that are using business as a force for good” have a real opportunity to adopt the framework of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to address extreme inequalities.
For those not familiar with the 17 SDGs, they are unique in that they are interconnected and interdependent — meaning that in order for countries, governments, NGOs, and businesses to address global human rights and the extreme inequalities that exist, we also have to address the social, environmental, and economic imbalances. Underpinning the SDGs are 169 targets that were created as a blueprint to help stakeholders implement equitable systems that benefit all humankind. Historically, systems of inequality have manifested in several forms, acting as “disproportionate threats to the enjoyment of several human rights … including the right to equality and non-discrimination, the right to life, the right to health, right to an adequate standard of living, and cultural rights” according to United Nations experts in the 2021 Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council.
Business as A Force for Good: Unpacking Social Sustainability
By: Lisa Geason-Bauer and Emma Hofman | B the Change
Shedding light on the sometimes less understood social side of sustainability, we introduce a variety of business models which have emerged as the definition of "business" is evolving.
Insight on Manufacturing: Balancing Purpose and Profit
By: Amelia Compton Wolff
The article highlights how Evolution Marketing became a certified B Corp in 2018, joining a global movement committed to prioritizing people, planet, and profit. Lisa speaks to the power of purpose-driven business, emphasizing the importance of embedding values into operations, supply chains, and leadership decisions.
Platinum Rewards: Reducing Carbon Footprint Makes Bottom-Line Sense
By: Sarah B. Hood
“Companies are reacting now,” says Christopher Castaldi, VP of sales for the warehouse consulting and system integration firm and MHI member DMW&H. “There are enough data points that say the majority of the country believes it’s not just the bottom line; they will pay a little more for a company that has consideration for the environment.”
He says he doesn’t believe Europe is leaving the U.S. entirely behind on this front. “The only LEED-platinum net-zero energy distribution center is in the United States, so now Europe’s coming to look at what we’re doing. And look at Tesla. We need to continue raising the bar,” he says.
The LEED-platinum distribution center that Castaldi refers to is a remarkable facility designed from the ground up by the outdoor recreation co-operative REI. Conceived through a charrette process by numerous expert collaborators versed in areas from architecture to material handling and sustainability, it is almost a textbook in sustainable supply chain design.
Get outside: 30x30 Nature Challenge takes off, expands around country
By: Thomas Content of the Journal Sentinel
What's the recipe to really get outside and appreciate what nature has to offer in our device-attached world? Unplugging from our phones and other gadgets.
Thanks to armbands and earbuds, our technology follows us as we walk or jog. We listen to e-books instead of birds, our favorite lyrics instead of rustling leaves. Or, as pedestrians, we catch ourselves crossing the street while texting.
It's just not that easy to unplug. Even leaders of the 30x30 Nature Challenge, which starts Wednesday, say so.
Corporate wave to cut carbon continues under Trump
By Thomas Content of the Journal Sentinel
Businesses don't even bother using terms like global warming or climate change when they discuss the subject.
"They talk about carbon," said Tom Eggert, executive director of the Wisconsin Sustainable Business Council. "It's 'business speak' for climate change. They're measuring, as opposed to mulling or ignoring."
The change is more than just about semantics: It illustrates the thought process has moved from talk to action for businesses looking to cut their carbon footprint. The term carbon refers to something that can be quantified and reduced.
As a result, businesses aren't pausing their carbon reduction efforts following the election of Donald Trump, who as a candidate described global warming as a hoax and vowed to cancel the Paris Agreement, the global climate accord signed last year by 195 countries including the United States.