Localising the B Corp movement: celebrating the launch of the Liverpool B Local

We were joined at the Royal Liver Building by B Corps from the region, businesses on their journey to certification, representatives from Liverpool City Council, and other key local stakeholders. 

The energy in the room was infectious. Despite Liverpool being home to only 14 B Corps, and the B Local only just being established, the true B Corp community spirit was alive with people making connections and sharing opportunities for collaboration.

In September, we shared exciting news that the UK reached 1,500 B Corps. This growth has been largely organic, and has put us in a great position to continue demonstrating how business can be used as a force for good at scale. However, much of the community’s growth has been concentrated in the south of the UK. Areas such as Wales and the North West have seen fewer businesses become B Corp certified. We are, therefore, exploring ways in which we can help raise awareness and grow the movement in these areas. 

A place-based approach to growing the B Corp community is one of the ways we have started to do this; forming B Locals in priority growth areas, starting with the launch of B Local Wales earlier this year. B Locals exist as regional microcosms of the global B Corp movement, with place-based communities of B Corps and B Leaders coming together to create connections, maximise collective impact, and enact change within their local economies. 

Places are ever-evolving, complex intertwinings of social, political, cultural and physical influences. The city of Liverpool perfectly exemplifies this notion due to its long history as a centre of invention and innovation. In transport, the city pioneered transatlantic steamships and railway tunnels during the industrial revolution. In music, it was the birthplace of The Beatles and hosted Eurovision in 2023. In business, Liverpool was once at the centre of global trade and now the current generation of business leaders called for change when the city celebrated Global Goals Week (New York was the only other global city to do so). 

With this rich heritage of being “a city that gets things done”, as more than one proud Liverpudlian member of the B Corp community has expressed to me, it is only natural that Liverpool should be the home of our newest B Local. By establishing a B Local in Liverpool, we will be providing a space to formalise B Lab UK’s support for the city, facilitating greater local cohesion and community building while empowering B Corps in the city to pass on the message that it’s time for all companies to use business as a force for good. 

The UK is currently home to eleven B locals, each with their own points of focus, such as the Greater Manchester B Local’s engagement with the Good Employment Charter, B Local Surrey championing sustainable business practice and B Local Oxfordshire engaging with local economic strategy and education.