Harmful corporate behaviour and lobbying - what are the B Corp requirements?
Corporate behaviour affects public health and shapes our environment, for better or worse. What do B Corps need to do about harmful industries, and why does it matter?
Harmful corporate behaviour
The tobacco industry used health claims in advertising that now seem laughable. They knew the risks, yet they engineered cigarettes to be more addictive, lobbied politicians and deployed dirty tricks to stop regulation. And if there’s one thing we know from Mad Men: the advertising industry used their creativity to sell more cigarettes.
The tactics of the tobacco industry may feel like ancient history but it isn’t - see the dodgy marketing and product design of vapes despite the recent ban on targetting children.
And we see the exact same playbook in corporate behaviour from oil and gas, online gambling, social media, and other industries whose products are known to cause harm.
That playbook goes:
Blame individual poor choices while you engineer your services to be more addictive
Fight against regulations
Endlessly challenge research that shows harm
Distraction techniques - ‘never mind about us, you should be worried about the black market over there….’
Overstate the economic benefit of your industry - tax revenue is quickly offset by health costs
Challenge attempts to make you pay for cost of harm your business does to health or the planet
Invest ££££ in advertising, marketing, sponsorship and social media influencers
Lobby politicians to sell your narrative
What does B Corp say about controversial industries? B Corp Foundation Requirements and Risk Tool
B Corp Foundation Requirements set out whether you are eligible for B Corp certification. As part of that you complete a Risk Tool to assess how much you are involved with potentially negative impacts. Depending on your answers, additional criteria come up in your assessment to ensure you are mitigating risk well enough for B Corp certification.
The jewellery industry for example can be ethical but only with a rigorous approach to sourcing and purpose-led decision making.
There are some industries not eligible for B Corp certification - such as fossil fuel, gambling, pornography, weapons, tobacco - and B Corps cannot generate more than 1% of revenue from those industries either. You can find full details on the B Lab website here.
Like the Don Drapers of yesterday, advertising and creative industries help sell harmful products and we can’t ignore that.
Assessing the potential negative impacts of your business choices
Under the latest standards, all B Corps need to routinely assess the potential impact of decisions - possible new clients, suppliers, projects - on their stakeholders. As always with B Corp, you need systems in place to show that you consider the impact of your choices and take action to minimise harm (and maximise good!)
B Corp requires you to think about product design and stakeholders across your whole value chain - customers, workforce, suppliers, the community you operate within, the environment.
At Sussex Impact Pathway have an impact assessment process to prompt thinking and track our decision-making. Baking good governance into your operations creates businesses that are genuinely purpose-led. It’s what B Corp is all about.
Lobbying for change
There is an enormous, lucrative and powerful lobbying industry which many of us just don’t see. They place media stories, influence politicians and campaign to create favourable conditions for their clients.
Which can be a powerful negative if the client is a harmful industry.
But can be a force for good. Look at B Lab’s Better Business Act campaign, lobbying for people and planet to be recognised alongside shareholders in Corporate Governance law. Or charity public affairs teams tirelessly working for cleaner air, or alleviating poverty, better access to play and green spaces.
B Corps recognise that business has a part to play in creating healthier, fairer, more sustainable world through the work we do, our behaviour as employer, the choices we make and the action we take for big systemic changes.
Do you need a Lobbying Policy for B Corp?
If your business takes part in collective action lobbying government for positive change, you need a lobbying policy that sets out what you do (and don’t do). Even if you don’t do that, if you are a member of a trade or membership organisation you should check what lobbying they carry out on your behalf. Is it aligned with your values and the B Corp theory of change?
Let’s normalise asking these questions and uncovering the forces that hold us back from a more equitable, regenerative economy.
