Business leaders driving a better way of doing business - for people and planet
At Virgin we’ve always been on a mission to change business for good, striving to ensure our work has a positive impact on the world around us. This company purpose led to a discussion nearly 15 years ago, between Richard Branson and Jean Oelwang, where they thought, “Wouldn’t it be incredible if we could pull together the most committed group of business leaders to change business for good?”.
Over several years, groups of leaders convened to take part in a series of workshops - labelling their vision for a better way of doing business 'Plan B'. It was during those sessions that 'The B Team' emerged, united by a shared belief that Plan A – where companies are driven primarily by profit – is no longer acceptable. The B Team officially launched with its vision on June 13, 2013.
A starting group of incredible leaders were brought together, including Jochen Zeitz as co-founder, Paul Polman, Arianna Huffington, Mo Ibrahim, Sharan Burrow, and several others. “The B Team represents a collective commitment to drive transformative change in the way businesses operate. It’s about ensuring that our economic system benefits everyone and respects the planet,” said Jochen.
Since launch, this growing global collective has inspired and challenged themselves and the business community - working to create a better way of doing business that serves humanity and the planet. Paul Polman, former CEO of Unilever and B Team leader, describes how he sees the role of the collective, “The B Team’s mission is to redefine the role of business in society, moving beyond profit maximization to create long-term value for all stakeholders. Our work is essential to building a more sustainable and equitable world.”
The B Team is an exercise in courageous collaboration and throughout their years together, leaders have consistently supported and driven one another, as well as the wider business community. Many of the actions taken and achievements made by the group are highlighted in ‘The B Team at 10’ – they include helping to get net zero into the world, to supporting the team that led the Paris Agreement, to setting business guidelines for a just transition and corporate climate action, to driving the growth of the We Mean Business Coalition and Open Ownership (which has now collaborated with almost 40 countries to speed up beneficial ownership reforms). Thanks to The B Team, and to many other wonderful partners, more and more business leaders are changing the way they do business to benefit people and the planet.
The B Team also inspires others to understand the scale of the opportunity for change. The group’s ground-breaking study on the scale of environmentally harmful subsidies, published in 2022 in partnership with Business for Nature and Virgin Unite, helped to influence the language and level of ambition within the Global Biodiversity Framework, which was adopted at the Biodiversity COP last year (COP15). This was achieved alongside many other great partners who have committed their lives to this work.
Christiana Figueres, former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate (UNFCCC) and member of The B Team, said of this work: ”Nature is declining at an alarming rate, and we have never lived on a planet with so little biodiversity. At least $1.8 trillion is funding the destruction of nature and changing our climate, while creating huge risks for the very businesses who are receiving the subsidies. In the meantime, we still have not met the Paris Agreement climate finance target of $100 billion per year. Harmful subsidies must be redirected towards protecting the climate and nature, rather than financing our own extinction.”
Global economic and social systems-change will take everyone coming together: business leaders, public officials and policymakers, civil society, young people - everyone. The B Team continues to make positive strides towards achieving such change – demonstrated recently by its CEO, Halla Tómasdóttir, being elected President of Iceland. Halla has always led with passion, courage, humility and a commitment to tackle the challenging issues of our time. Iceland has gained an exceptional leader – and the whole world has gained a beacon of courageous leadership and unwavering commitment to positive change.
The challenges we face as a society have never been more pressing, the need for a better way of doing business has never been greater, and the mission and purpose of The B Team has never been more relevant. .
The Catalyst is The B Team’s monthly newsletter, which showcases ways in which leaders are advocating a better way of doing business. Subscribe to receive monthly insights.