Andrea De Almeida - B-Corps, Business Culture and Inclusive Capitalism

Welcome to Episode 8 of Good Will Hunters! On the show this week we have Andrea De Almeida. Andrea is the Executive Director of B-Lab, the not for profit organisation which supports the community of B Corps in Australia. Prior to this, Andrea worked for Social Ventures Australia where she was the Director of Venture Philanthropy. In this role, Andrea was responsible for incubating and testing innovative solutions to complex social problems. Andrea holds a Bachelor of Public Policy and Management and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Melbourne. In addition, Andrea is a Vincent Fairfax Fellow, enabling her to work with other senior executives throughout Australia to undertake an advanced leadership experience. In this episode, we discuss the rise of B-Corps in Australia, and why more and more businesses are looking for an independent certification that distinguishes them as being socially and environmentally responsible. In the wake of the Financial Services Royal Commission, many are questioning the ethics of some of our largest businesses. Yet, more and more businesses are taking steps to expand their corporate social responsibility, become a social enterprise, attain B-Corp certification or play with impact investment. In this interview, we discuss these trends and more, including why law reform in Australia would enable more businesses to legally enshrine their mission and protect their Directors in the process. Andrea’s wealth of experience has equipped her with fascinating and important insights into the future of business and international development, and why we already have the tools we need to redefine profit, purpose and progress. 1:45 - What is a B-Corp? 2:55 - B-Lab 9:22 - Becoming a B-Corp 12:48 - Redefining business culture 16:30 - Building the B-Lab community 19:16 - The Benefit Company 20:25 - Impact Investment 25:50 - Why business MUST be a force for good 30:30 - Inclusive capitalism 36:00 - Business and international development Check out our article on this weeks episode, over at the Lowy Interpreter - https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/business-aid-and-aiding-business You can learn more about B-Lab Australia via their website - https://bcorporation.com.au Royalty free music by Bensound