A note from Elana: Why I’m excited to become a B Consultant

I’ve been working on something special behind the scenes at foundher. 

Earlier this year I applied to B Lab’s 2022 B Consultants Program. I’m thrilled to reveal that my application was one of just a handful accepted for this year’s intake, and training is under way. 

You could say this step has been bubbling within me since 2016, when I was deep into my post-grad and reading the B the Change magazine for inspiration about the type of impact I wanted to make. While I’m now more carbon-footprint conscious and no longer have print magazines shipped around the world for my reading pleasure, I’m still inspired and motivated by the B Corp mission. 

And what is that, exactly? It’s using business as a force for good.

Certified B Corps are businesses that are not only committed to being the best in the world, but the best for the world. They put people, the planet and purpose before profits in tangible and measurable ways.

But, attaining that certification is no easy task. The B Corp standards are rigorous (for good reason), and preparing the all-important B Impact Assessment can be confusing for many business owners. 

As a B Consultant, I’ll be able to guide businesses through the process of becoming a certified B Corp, helping them prepare their Impact Assessment and identify opportunities for further improvement. 

Training is being conducted online over a four-month period by the incredible B Lab ANZ team and traverses an in-depth exploration of the B Corp movement globally through to a deep understanding of the business models that lead to impact and the nuts-and-bolts process of becoming a certified B Corp.

I’ll also be bringing my own unique approach to this formal process, combining the process and actions with the habits, behaviours and resilience it takes to navigate and nudge old ways of thinking. I’ll help business owners develop the inner skills that are needed to take meaningful, sustainable steps towards a new future that goes beyond becoming a B to being B for the long term.

Over the last two years I have been playing an active role in contributing to defining the Inner Development Goals that are now widely recognised as the skills we need to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Our ability to reinvent ourselves – to wind back our immunity to change and design who we need to BE first – is our greatest opportunity. It allows us to shift from thinking and theorising, to taking real, potent action. This notion underpins everything we do at foundher, from our Sustainable PACE program to our private coaching partnerships, and it will underpin our future B Consultant work, too.

foundher was built on my vision of supporting those creating positive change, equipping them with the habits, actions and behaviours we need to innovate. I firmly believe this is what amplifies the ripple effect of change.

The mission that is the very motor of foundher is this: It’s not about what to do next, it’s who to be next. 

This notion was echoed recently in the incredible work of Dr Brene Brown in her new HBO series Atlas of the Heart. She shares a quote from Antonio Damasio: “We are not thinking machines that feel, we are feeling machines that think.”

Who we’re being affects what we’re doing 100% of the time, and I’m excited to bring this idea to the B Corp pathway.

Within my B Consultant training journey I’ll be working with a long-time client on her journey to become a B, which we’ll be sharing along the way. We’ll also be continuing to work on foundher’s own B Impact Assessment towards our goal of B Corp certification submission by year's end.

It’s a big step for foundher, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to be leading our community towards a brighter future.

Becoming a B Consultant is a strong signal that supports the foundher community and you will be the first to know when we take flight. In the meantime, if you’re ready to navigate your business and team toward change and you’d like to know more about the B Corp space, send me an email. 

I’d love to hear how you’re planning to be somebody who does something about that.

Best, brave & kind,

Elana