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B Lab: Making Theory Into Change

  • Branding
  • Ecosystem Design
  • Strategy

Working to make business a force for change

THE CHALLENGE

Our initial task was to review B Lab’s  revisions to its theory of change, which explicitly oriented the organization’s work around three pillars: racial equity, climate justice, and stakeholder capitalism. Our response: why not adopt a mindset of abundance and invite experts  from several firms to not only to review the new ideas, but to work together to share them with the community and provide their feedback? A theory of change can be co-created through careful communication, conversation, and dialogue.

THE OUTCOME

Racial equity, climate justice, and stakeholder capitalism now serve as the pillars upholding B Lab’s theory of change with supporting language and training for the B Lab US/Can Team – but so much more emerged from our work together. A 10-stop virtual tour introduced the new CEO of B Lab to affinity groups across the nation, with events featuring music, poetry readings, and playlists celebrating and centering anti-racism. The one-of-a-kind collaboration between Provoc, Element Five, Hella Social Impact, and ConsciouslyTM  demonstrated how far we can advance when we bring together parties with shared interests around a shared project  instead of forcing them to compete.

B Lab, a global leader in impact capitalism, embraces co-creation as a means of revising and launching a new theory of change, centering the voices of community members in an iterative and participatory process that redefines the organization’s path and purpose for years to come.

My hope of joining this community and certifying, was that it would be the platform I needed to combine my activism and community organizing work with that of my business – to affect the world positively, even in a small way through my business.
The launch of the Theory of Change is the first time since I joined this community that I see it as a potential place for what I imagined back in 2017.

Collective Action Tour Participant

 

After providing initial feedback on B Lab’s concept for its revised theory of change, Provoc Element Five, Hella Social Impact, and ConsciouslyTM collaborated to plan and execute a series of sessions with B Lab stakeholders to hear their ideas about the directions the organization should go. What would it mean for them if B Lab adopted racial equity, climate justice, and stakeholder capitalism as its core pillars? We also developed and delivered training for B Lab members to break down the concepts of racial equity, climate justice, and stakeholder capitalism and explore what it would mean to center voices of color in redefining B Lab’s theory of change.

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