Reinventing Business
By B Lab UK
"To change the world, you’ve got to throw a better party than those destroying it"

"To change the world, you’ve got to throw a better party than those destroying it"

Celebrating 1,000 B Corps at the Natural History Museum, 24th November 2022

28.11.22

The 24th of November was a day that will go down in history — for the first time we brought the community of UK B Corps together at an iconic venue, the Natural History Museum, for an event to celebrate an extraordinary milestone: there are now 1,000 UK B Corps.

In the words of one of our speakers, Louisa Ziane from Toast Ale, one of the first B Corps to certify in the UK: “To change the world, you’ve got to throw a better party than those destroying it.”

And while we wanted this to be a truly great party, we knew that to do it the B Corp way we were going to have to think differently. That’s why event planners Warwick Events worked hard to ensure that this was a large-scale celebration event that nevertheless aimed to avoid unnecessary waste and keep its footprint small. Some of the ways we did that included:

All drinks and products were supplied by B Corps, 41 to be precise!
Party food was vegan and vegetarian and all ingredients used were fairtrade
We wanted to avoid unnecessary swag so we swapped goody bags for a GoodBye Bar full of B Corp treats, where guests would only take things they really wanted
We didn’t provide lanyards or tote bags and asked guests to bring their own
To save paper, there was a "no flyers" policy – and we kept signage to a minimum
Drinks were supplied in cans and bottles where possible to reduce glass washing
All artists and entertainers came from the local area
If guests didn’t already have an outfit for the evening, we encouraged them to rent or buy from a charity shop
Transport of supplies to the venue was provided by xeroe - a zero emissions electric vehicle B Corp
We invited B Corps attending to help us staff the event, helping out with everything from event registration to overseeing photography. This meant we could have even more B Corp team members in the room, and minimised unnecessary travel.
Zero waste from the event went to landfill

A GoodBye Bar full of B Corp treats, where guests would only take things they really wanted

We heard from inspirational voices

Here are our favourite quotes from the night...

"Embrace this incredible community...there is magic in this room and you never know where it's going to lead you." Hermoine Taylor, Founder and Director, Do Nation.
"Being B Corp Certified is not enough, it's not the destination it's the start of this journey. We have got to step up." John Brown, Founder, Don't Cry Wolf.
"This house is our home and our home is our heart and the foundations are strong if we all play our part." Sami Switch, singer/songwriter who did a live performance of the poem he wrote for Reboxed's B Corp announcement.
"This is a movement of people who are using business as a force for good. We are being the change and we are the change." Charmian Love, Co-founder of B Lab UK.
"We need to listen to the fresh ideas young people bring to the table. I encourage all B Corps to make sure the youngest person in the room has the space to speak up and air what they're thinking about." Alice Mazzola, Global Head of Activism, The Body Shop.
"If you want to change the world, you have to throw a better party than those destroying it." Louisa Ziane, Co-founder and COO, Toast Ale.
"Our global team are so impressed with the growth of the UK B Corp community and ask us how we do it. The most important thing I could say to them is, it's not about how many B Corps we've reached in the UK, it's about who they are and what they are doing because every single one is doing amazing work." Chris Turner, Executive Director, B Lab UK.

What does it mean to be a B Corp?

At the heart of the event was the opportunity to connect, celebrate, think about the future and consider the question: What does it mean to be a B Corp?

Our guests told us with a little help from B Corp Lighthouse...