B Lab UK has announced the full agenda for Louder Than Words: The B Corp Festival which will take place across the city of Oxford from the 10th to the 11th September this year.

Kicking off the two-day festival will be Mary Portas OBE, co-chair of B Lab UK’s flagship campaign, the Better Business Act, and founder of B Corp Portas Agency. Mary will give a keynote focused on inspiring business leaders to positively shift culture around business. Patrick Grant, founder and director of Community Clothing and judge on The Great British Sewing Bee, will open the second day of the festival.

The main stage at Oxford’s New Theatre will also play host to a discussion about how to effectively change the UK economy for the better, with panellists including British lawyer and activist Farhana Yamin, former managing director of Ben & Jerry’s, Anuradha Chugh, and former UK energy minister, Chris Skidmore. 

B Lab UK is the nonprofit behind the UK B Corp movement; its purpose is to redefine success in the economy by building a community of engaged businesses that benefit all people and our shared planet. 

A testament to the success of the purposeful business movement in the UK, Louder Than Words will host one of the largest-ever gatherings of B Corp companies. The UK B Corp community is one of the fastest-growing in the world, with over 2,000 businesses spanning every size, sector and corner of the UK — a figure that’s doubled in just 18 months. Louder Than Words will be a space for this community to come together and  mobilise business action on critical social and environmental issues.

As well as headline moments at Oxford’s New Theatre, B Corps and friends of the movement will share their perspectives on business as a force for good through over 50 fringe agenda sessions spread across the city. The Guardian will focus on how to tell sustainability stories with integrity, Patagonia on how to help protect wild salmon and The Living Wage Foundation on what’s next for good work in the UK. Other names include Motability, Good Energy, Finisterre and Elemis. Greg Clark, former secretary of state for business and trade, and Ruth Turner, senior director at Forward Institute and former director of government relations for Tony Blair, are just some of the notable speakers.

Tickets are available for both in-person experiences, while virtual tickets are also on sale for those looking to join over their phone, computer or tablet.

Mary Portas, founder and creative director at Portas and co-chair of the Better Business Act said: 

“I’m delighted to be speaking at Louder Than Words this year. Business leaders in this country are ready to drive the movement for positive change. The momentum and the success of the B Corp network is testament to this.  The question now is less why and more how. How do we make the restless pursuit of better the norm in the UK and lead the world by example. Because change comes through action, not words. And action comes when we come together to share, learn, challenge, and inspire. That’s why events like these are so important.”

Chris Turner, executive director of B Lab UK and campaign director of the Better Business Act, said:

“Speaking on behalf of the team at B Lab UK, we are thrilled to announce the full agenda for Louder Than Words this autumn. It will be an event that showcases the very best of British business, with a whole host of brilliant speakers and businesses exploring the role that business can play in ensuring our world is one where society and the natural environment can thrive. Louder Than Words is all about putting these ideas into action and tackling the issues that matter. You don’t want to miss it.”

Chris and Mary are also campaign director and co-chair of the Better Business Act respectively, a campaign by B Lab UK calling on the Government to amend Section 172 of the Companies Act 2006 which sets out the job description for company directors. 

This proposed change to Section 172 of the Companies Act would empower company directors to align the interests of shareholders with their employees, customers, local communities and the environment.

Tickets are available from https://festival.bcorporation.uk, priced from £65.

ENDS

For more information contact:
Will Paxton
william@higginsonstrategy.com
(+44) 7861 517518

Notes to Editor

About B Lab UK

B Lab UK’s purpose is to redefine success in business through building a community of engaged businesses, raising awareness of the B Corp movement and influencing change in the UK economy. The Better Business Act is a business-led campaign by B Lab UK, driven by leaders who recognise that the law has fallen behind business culture and who have proven that this approach to business works for everyone.

About Better Business Act

The Better Business Act is urging all of Britain’s business leaders to call on the Government to amend Section 172 of the Companies Act to ensure businesses are legally responsible for benefiting workers, customers, communities, and the environment while delivering profit. To achieve this, it has brought together a broad and growing coalition of over 2,500 businesses from across all sectors and regions of the UK to help deliver this new contract between business and society.

About B Corp Certification

Certified B Corporations, or B Corps, are companies verified by B Lab to meet high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability. To achieve B Corp Certification, a company must meet a score of at least 80 points in the B Impact Assessment — a tool designed to help measure and manage a business’s impact on its workers, community, customers and the environment. They also change their corporate governance structure to be accountable to all stakeholders and demonstrate transparency by publicly sharing their impact via their B Corp profile. B Corps recertify every three years against B Lab’s evolving standards and are expected to increase their score as they progress to becoming more inclusive, equitable and regenerative.