If you’ve been following B Lab AANZ closely over the past few months, you may have noticed some changes to our team as we refocus for our 2024 (and beyond) strategy. We’re starting to explore the policy & advocacy space — specifically the potential for B Lab and the B Corp community to advocate for structural change. This has been part of our Theory of Change, and work that has started to pick up momentum in other regions like the US & Canada, Europe, the UK, and South/Latin America.
I wanted to share our latest submission to Treasury (Australian Government) ahead of the 2024-2025 Budget process. The submission aims to highlight opportunities that we believe will help the Government achieve its vision of a stronger, more inclusive, and more sustainable economy. We have focused on two main recommendations: 1. procurement and 2. impact programs.
Procurement is a topic that we hear about regularly from B Corps, and while we have done some work on this at the state level, we think there is a great opportunity for the Australian government to lead on stronger social procurement.
Some of you may also be familiar with our program delivered in Aotearoa with NZTE, Business for Good. We have planned the expansion of this to Australia, in partnership with the ACT government, but are advocating for the adoption of this at a national level here, as we believe the outcomes for Australian businesses would pay dividends.
Our community of 680+ B Corps in our region is our evidence base for how dedicated purpose and investment in impact can support a stronger, more resilient economy. We hope we can continue to share your stories with Governments in our region — both Australia and Aotearoa — as we expand our policy and advocacy work. If you want to chat about this submission or other opportunities, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me!
B Lab AANZ _ Submission to Treasury 2024-25-f (1).pdf (2.1 MB)