Happy Monday and Happy International (Trans, Queer, Cis, Non-Binary) Women's Day!
Check out this Instagram Reel from educator and influencer, Blair Imani, for a brief history lesson on International Women's Day. You can also check out her post on the use of the term womxn vs women. The more you know! ✨
And while it's surreal to admit, this week also marks one year of office closure at B Lab due to COVID-19. As I reflect back on our last few days of "normalcy" in our offices one year ago, I'd like to remind everyone to give yourself grace this week. It's been a difficult year in so many ways, and this grim anniversary may dig up some challenging feelings for you. Rest assured, you're not alone.
What can you do this week to practice gratitude and/or offer yourself appreciation for your perseverance and resilience this year?
Thinking of you all,
💖 Cassy
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Dispatches from People & Ops
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Thank you for thanking each other!
Thank you for participation in Employee Appreciation Week! We hope you enjoyed the activities we organized and invite you to share your feedback on the week with us.
Appreciation thread winners will be announced in #b-celebration this week 🏆
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Global Network Assembly coming March 22-25
The next Global Network Assembly will be held virtually March 22-25 and you're invited! 🎉
During the GNA we will unveil our finalized global theory of change and strategy, as well as B Lab's new global programs. We will also be providing an update on our organizational and network structure for both B Lab staff and Global Partners. For B Lab staff, this will take place in a Town Hall held on Thursday, March 25 from 11am-12pm ET (calendar invite forthcoming).
The GNA will also include opportunities to engage with leaders from across the global network. This is a great opportunity to meet Global Partners, Country Partners, Market Builders, and B Lab staff around the world 🌍We will kick off the week with a keynote session and social activity on Monday, followed by asynchronous engagement activities on Slack throughout the week.
Most sessions will be timezone-friendly with both Eastern and Western options. They will also be recorded for those who are unable to attend.
This is our best opportunity yet to engage as a global movement and we hope you'll join us! Follow along in #global-announcements for up-to-date information.
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Progress report on CEO (or Lead Executive) transition
Building on the update Bart and Andrew shared at the end of January, the B Lab Board of Directors has been working to design and launch the search process to find our movement's next leader. Please watch the video update (deck here) to learn more about what’s happened since January, including the creation of the Search Design & Advisory Committee and an invitation to apply to join the committee! Applications are due Friday, March 19 at 5pm ET.
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Next employee engagement survey is on the horizon
 Our first engagement survey of 2021 launches on March 29! The survey will be open for about 2 weeks.
This survey will go out to all staff and will help us track our progress from the September and March 2020 surveys as well as identify emerging areas of opportunity. This time we will also be asking a few questions related to remote work for preliminary insights. We plan to launch a more robust feedback process for remote work in late spring/early summer as we start to think about reopening offices* and longer-term remote work policies. We also plan to collect feedback related to employee benefits and holidays in Q3.
As a reminder, when the survey launches you will receive a notification in your email and on Slack as a direct message from Culture Amp.
* Our offices will be closed at least through June 30, 2020 and we are committed to reopening only when it's safe to do so. We're collecting feedback to inform our planning, but this is not intended to signal that we're actively opening offices on a specific timeline. Keep an eye on #updates-covid-19 for official office closure-related announcements.
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Questions for us? Submit a ticket (or use the lightning bolt ⚡on Slack!)
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This digest is intended to highlight our work, share how it's making an impact, and help us stay connected to our vision/mission and to each other.
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B Corp Month continues!
So you've changed your LinkedIn header; you've re-shared posts from B Lab, Global Partners, and your favorite B Corps on social media; and now you're wondering, what's next for B Corp Month?
💗Join B Corps in celebrating International Women's (Womxn's) Day around the world! Check out the assets to share on social today here.
🤔Do you ever struggle to explain your job or the B Corp movement to your friends or family? Check out the thread from the Twitter Q&A held on March 1 for a great overview.
📹 This week Hannah (Global Comms) will be facilitating a conversation with several B Corp leaders on the value of the B Corp movement, which will air on YouTube and social media next week. Be on the lookout for that and be sure to watch and share!
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GRI ❤️BIA
B Lab has officially launched new resources in partnership with GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) regarding the interrelation of GRI Standards and the B Impact Assessment.
The short summary is: GRI Standards are for impact reporting and the BIA is about impact management, making them complementary. These new resources will be of particular interest to multi-national corporations, or MNCs, who are most likely already using GRI Standards.
For more information about GRI and the new resources, read our public announcement and Dan's (Standards Management) post on Slack.
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Black community is our superpower
Ellonda (JEDI) recently shared a beautifully written article recently penned by one of our POC staff members*:
"...we are more than our trauma. We are joyful and happy people, and this should be uplifted too ... [T]his article will discuss our biggest weapon against oppression imposed on us; our community and our love that creates our joy."
Read more: Black Community is Our Superpower
* Due to the recent onslaught of threatening responses from some bold white supremacists, this piece has been ghost-written by Courtney P (US/Can) to ensure that the author's identity was withheld.
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Is this section missing an important highlight? Tag us on Slack using #bkeeper or tell us directly.
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Events & Opportunities
Breaking America's Enduring Racial Caste System with Anu Gupta (B Lab US/Can JEDI Education Series)
March 16, 3-4:30pm ET
Global Network Assembly
March 22-25 (Various sessions)
Town Hall - B Lab Org Structure
March 25, 11am ET
Calendar invite forthcoming!
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Resources
📝 Building workplace belonging with vulnerability and empathy
There are two foundational skills to successfully building a culture of belonging: vulnerability and empathy. When these skills become the norm, they help foster a sense of emotional safety, respect, and care.
📝 Send audio messages on Slack
Struggling to explain something complicated over Slack but want to avoid needing to schedule a whole meeting for it? Try an audio message! All you need to do is type "/vm" and hit enter to get started. |
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Best for Last 🎉 Our Favorite B Corps
Happy B Corp Month! This month we'll be sharing some of our staff's favorite B Corps around the globe, celebrating what B Corps and the movement mean to us!
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Favorite B Corp: The Stroopie Co.
"I always talk about this company, just because I love it so much. This was the first B Corp I learned about, which ultimately led my journey to B Lab! The company is The Stroopie Co. and they sell Dutch Stroopwafels. Peter [Kara's fiancee 💍] and I plan on purchasing stroopies in bulk from them as wedding favors in the upcoming year."
— Kara Gwinn, People & Operations
About this B Corp: "The Stroopie Co. exists to support refugees who are starting over in Lancaster by providing meaningful employment and making high quality cookies to sell in Lancaster and all over the US."
Want to know more? Try this YouTube Video!
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Favorite B Corp: Miyoko's
"The availability and abundance of vegan alternatives have exploded over the past few years, so it’s exciting to look out for new products while I’m grocery shopping. Miyoko’s caught my eye because they use cultures in their butter and cheeses, making them more similar to traditional dairy products. Honestly, I would recommend all of their products, but if I had to call one out it would be their unsalted butter. It is perfect for baking and can easily substitute dairy butter without the salt and palm oil found in many plant-based alternatives."
— Kim Connell, Product Team
About this B Corp: Miyoko's are on "a compassion-centric mission (from farmer-to-table) to complete the blueprint for the animal-free dairy food system of tomorrow, for the urgent salvation of our planet and all that we share it with."
Want to know more? Try this YouTube Video to see Miyoko's kitchen cook with local B Corp products!
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