Today, more than 10,000 businesses worldwide are Certified B Corporations, meeting rigorous standards for social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. In April 2025, B Lab introduced new standards, including a dedicated focus on Government Affairs & Collective Action (GACA)—reflecting a broader shift toward corporate political responsibility and the growing recognition that lasting impact requires engagement beyond business operations alone.

While many B Corps have made meaningful progress through internal practices, the limits of traditional corporate social responsibility are increasingly clear: systemic problems require systemic solutions. Businesses cannot drive lasting social and environmental change solely by operating responsibly within existing systems—they must also engage in policy advocacy and collective action to help shape the rules that govern the system itself.

The GACA standards create a clear opportunity for mission-driven businesses to move beyond isolated efforts and build the shared infrastructure needed for collective, systems-level change.

My research, conducted in partnership with B Lab U.S. & Canada, examines how mission-driven businesses are building the capacity, strategies, and partnerships needed to engage effectively in policy advocacy and collective action—and produces practical, actionable insights to strengthen advocacy across the B Corp movement. This study focuses on how Certified B Corporations are responding to the new GACA standards, and what support is needed to help them succeed, drawing on in-depth interviews with leaders across the B Corp community, including Certified B Corporations, B Locals, Trained B Consultants, and other movement partners.

If you are involved in or work alongside the B Corp community, I’d love to include your perspective. Please email me at std380@g.harvard.edu with the subject line "Research Interview."