Parallel actions happening in all corners of the globe
United Kingdom
The UK Better Business Act Coalition seeks to amend the Companies Act (2006) to make sure every single company in the UK, whether big or small, aligns the interests of their shareholders with those of wider society and the environment. More information here.
United States of America
In the US The White House Initiative on Inclusive Economic growth is a coalition of over 50 impact led organisations spearheaded by the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance and B Lab. The aim would be to coordinate federal policies focused on boosting stakeholder capitalism and community investing. Ultimately, the objective is to redefine capitalism—to go beyond incremental change, the better to address a trifecta of massive crises: the economic fallout from the pandemic, a widening racial wealth gap and the impact of climate change. Forbes describes the depth of the coalition and scope and vision of the initiative, which was based on a background paper: From Shareholder Primacy to Stakeholder Capitalism.
Latin America
In Latin America & Caribbean, a variety of inclusive economy initiatives are in place or underway, including the adoption of B Impact Assessment criteria on the Corporate Responsibility Index of the San Paolo stock exchange and public procurement initiative in Mendoza/ARG to embed impact as a criteria, and adoption of stakeholder governance statutes in a legal form in Colombia, Peru and Ecuador. An international working group is promoting a triple impact economic recovery throughout the region mobilizing hundreds of public leaders. More information here.
Australia
As is the case in many global economies, companies in Australia are being judged by a higher standard of being good corporate citizens, and their reputation (and consequently their financial position) can be impacted when they fall short. In this context, B Corps are leading the way by embedding their intention to hold themselves to that higher standard within their governing documents, confirming their profit with purpose motive as part of the understanding between each B Corp company and its shareholders and directors as to how the company conducts its business. In Australia, B Lab continues to drive this evolution from shareholder primacy to stakeholder governance by encouraging more companies to follow this path. More information here.