The B Team

The B Team is a global collective of business and civil society leaders working to create new norms of corporate leadership that can help shape a more inclusive economy. It occupies an important role in the ecosystem of organizations working to influence leaders, business, and policy. The B Team serves as a bridge organization between traditional civil society groups and companies. In this role it serves as a convener, often translating issues from civil society to business (and vice versa) by raising awareness on issues, scaling new and transformative solutions, and advancing thought leadership and best practice. This grant is for a program to activate and deepen business leadership to improve governance, enhance accountability, and create incentives that transform economic systems. The program is premised on The B Team’s organizational goal of creating an inclusive economy by 2030. Through this grant, The B Team will contribute to the following goals: (a) incentive structures redesigned to support stakeholder governance and a sustainable, inclusive, people-centered economy; (b) accountability in governance embedded in corporate culture and practice, with companies motivated to adopt — and advocate for — transparent, participatory practices; (c) the growth of corporate transparency in contracting, company ownership and tax as a norm; and (d) business increasingly standing up for and respecting human rights, democracy, and the rule of law. (Strategy: Inclusive Governance)

The B Team is comprised of prominent business and civil society leaders working together to build a transparent and responsible private sector by leveraging their influence and voice, and leading by example with their own companies. Collectively, The B Team is charting a new course for business, while helping to build a more sustainable future for all. Through its program, The B Team will engage and advocate for governments to adopt, implement, and enforce transparency norms and standards on business ownership and public contracting, encourage business to adopt a new set of principles on responsible tax practices, and strengthen emerging areas of business engagement to protect civic rights.

The B Team was launched in 2013 by a group of business leaders with a commitment to promote corporate transparency and responsible business practices toward a goal of enhancing the well-being of people and the environment. Following the successful recruitment of a new CEO in August 2018, the B Team has developed a plan to clarify their vision and mission, reassess their theory of change, and strengthen internal alignment of the organization's principles and practices. This grant will enable the B Team to execute this strategy review plan.