B-Talks by Leen: Recent Episodes
Leen Zevenbergen
Leen Zevenbergen is a serial ánd sustainable entrepreneur. Founder of B Lab Europe. He created the B-Talks, inspiring talks with business leaders from all over the world that have a sustainable way of doing their business. Produced by Puck Zevenbergen
Italy almost seems to be the most sustainable country in Europe. With almost 130 B Corps and around 1000 Benefit Corporations, Nativa has done a tremendous job in making systemic change happen in Italy. In this B-Talk podcast, Eric Ezechieli, co-founder of B Corp Nativa, explains why Italy is so enthusiastic about business as a force for good.
Impact investment is increasingly playing an important role in funding companies that do business as a force for good. Coenraad de Vries, co-founder and CEO of the B Corp StartGreen Capital, has been one of the first Dutch impact investors. Also, one of the first European B Corps. Coenraad is passionate about how his company can create systemic change in the financial world.
B Corp Mamotest has given 350,000+ Argentinian women access to breast cancer early diagnosis. With advanced equipment and teleradiology, women in Latin America can finally get the treatment at an early stage, increasing their chances of survival to up to 95%. CEO and Founder Guillermo Pepe tells us in this truly inspiring B-Talk what and who made him start this company. A company that deserves the title “Best for the World”.
Carbon Neutrality is essential for all future companies and the future of our world. The Dutch B Corp Climate Neutral Group (CNG) is one of the global leaders in this field. Founder and CEO Rene Toet shows his passion for a cleaner planet in this enthusiastic B-Talk podcast.
The fifth oldest company in the United States, founded in 1790, is King Arthur Flour, currently named King Arthur Baking. A superb story of a company that is owned by its employees and was one of the Founding B Corps. With a passion for the baker. This B-Talk podcast with CEO Ralph Carlton tells a story of a very special company with a very special set of values.
Do not buy new stuff !! The garment industry is going through big changes and expects that 20% of all clothing will soon be refurbished or renewed. The Renewal Workshop is a phenomenal B Corp that re-vives clothing that otherwise would become waste. Listen to this B-Talk podcast of Jeff Denby, founder and CEO of The Renewal Workshop.
B Corp Zelfstroom helps people in becoming sustainable. Miranda Berkhof, CEO of the Dutch B Corp Zelfstroom tells us in this B-Talk about the passion of the company to help people to get cheap renewable energy and her personal drive to create systemic change in this world.
B Corp Fresh & Co addresses the Chilean food sector to make it more sustainable, loose less food in the process and use less plastic in packaging. The founder and CEO Nils Lindeen speaks about his company and about the 2010 earthquake and tsunami that changed his life. His media tips are “let my people go surfing”, a book by Yvon Chouinard from Patagonia and the Netflix documentary “Kiss the ground”.
The very successful dramatic remaking of a multinational!! Christophe Barnouin, CEO of B Corp Wessanen speaks about his passion to change the world. His company Wessanen, just recently renamed to Ecotone, went through a formidable transformation which you could easily call a systemic change. With the SDG’s as a compass. Listen to his story on this week’s B-Talk.
Sustainable companies are stepping up in many Asian countries now. Listen to the B-Talk podcast with Corey Lien, founder of B Lab Asia and also CEO of the Taiwainese B Corp Domi Earth. According to him the future lies in a drastic interdependence between people and companies all over the world. His media tip is the movie “Miracle” about the American ice-hockey team that could only win because of this radical interdependence.
Iconic Dutch bed- and matrass company Auping is now a B Corp. Their CEO Jan-Joost Bosman talks in this podcast about the history of this company that was founded in 1888, still family owned and with a very high dedication to a circular economy. By opening up the Auping technology even competitors can improve the way of doing business. The media tip of Jan-Joost Bosman is the advice to take time for reflexion, go for a walk, read a book or watch a movie. Or just sit still and let your thoughts come. Specially in this covid-period.
Unreasonable people will be the changemakers of this world. Daniel Epstein founded the B Corp Unreasonable in order to support scale up changemakers all over the world. Helping over 200 wonderful companies to build a better business. His favorite book that he recommends is “Let my people go surfing” from Yvon Chouinard, founder of the other B Corp Patagonia.
Italian pharmaceutical company Chiesi sets the tone for being sustainable. The famous Italian family company Chiesi, also a B Corp, has performed an impressive impact analysis in all their 29 countries. Maria Paola Chiesi tells us about their passion for doing business as a force for good.
How B Lab Europe is redefining capitalism. The community of B Corps in Europe is growing at a very high speed. Both multinationals, mid-size companies and smaller enterprises are aiming to define business as a force for good. Katie Hill, managing director of B Lab Europe, talks about the needed systemic change, the SDG’s and effects on millennials.
From a 2004 worm-poop startup to the leading recycling company in the world. Hungary-born Canadian Tom Szaky, living in New Jersey, founder and CEO of Terracycle, tells us all about the badly needed systemic change in the world and how the 17 SDG’s can help us with that. Amazingly clear he also tells us about the need to buy less and to end consumerism. This 24th B-Talk podcast is amazing!
Facing Global Problems is what the Dutch B Corp ENVIU does. Their leader, Ankie van Wersch, talks to us in the B-Talk podcast about the Systemic Change needed in the world, how the SDG’s give direction and how Enviu addresses our largest challenges. Worth listening!
Phenomenal growth of the number of B Corps in Latin America. The organization that supports the B Corps is B Lab, which is called Sistema B in Latin America. The leader of Sistema B is Marcel Fukuyama, who passionately tells us about the Systemic Change that the B Corps are bringing to the world.
The world needs a Systemic Change, based upon the SDG’s. Listen to Professor Chris Marquis from the New York based Cornell University. Chris just launched his famous book “Better Business”, describing B Corps as an example of how companies can make the world a better place.
Treat all African farmers well and help them through this difficult period. Entrepreneur and Founder of Vava Coffee, Vava Angwenyi has built a coffee training facility in Kenya, supports farmers and became a B Corp. Listen to her story in this B-Talk #20.
African B Corp 4G-Capital provides micro loans for tens of thousands of African entrepreneurs. Founder and CEO Wayne Hennessy-Barrett started in the British military but wanted a better purpose in his life. Now his purposefull B Corp has 120.000 active clients who they help with 4th Generation technology in providing capital and knowledge. This B-Talk tells you his story.
How African companies leapfrog over most Western companies with new technology. Famous Kenian entrepreneur Sriram Bharatam has built a public health solution and is using that technology to now develop micro learning all over Africa. His company Kuza is doing digital innovation all over the continent.
What can we learn from street-children who face live threatening challenges every day? Arnoud Raskin, Belgian B Corp entrepreneur, worked with them for many years, developed a mobile school for these children, but found out that learning is a two-way street. His amazing story can be listened to in this podcast on B-Talk.
Using blockchain technology as a force for good. Jessi Baker, Founder and CEO of the blockchain technology company Provenance, tells us about her challenges during Covid-19, her personal developments from a Phd to becoming an entrepreneur. Jessi was inspired by Anita Roddick from The Bodyshop and is very passionate about creating a company with a strong social and environmental impact.
Chilean B Corp receives a huge 8.5 million dollar investment. In this super inspiring B-Talk with Eduardo della Maggiora, CEO and Founder of the Chilean B Corp Burn to Give we learn how his company has built an impressive service and product for the global community. Starting as a company giving calories to people who need them, coming from people who need to burn them in the gym, the company has evolved to much more than only physical health. Raising a huge Round A of financing on the basis of its phenomenal success is unique in the Latin American country.
Companies should pay for their pollution! An intergenerational exchange of opinions. Anne Pleun van Eijsden is the Founder and CEO of a ground-braking company that produces paper from different sources, with much less pollution during the production process. Lively she tells about her company and her dreams, mixing her ideas from her young generation with the ideas of my generation. As leader of a B Corp she wants to change the world.
A LEARNING PLATFORM TO ENABLE EVERYBODY TO STUDY, was the advanced dream of Josefa Monge, when she founded the company e-class. Josefa lives and works in Santiago, Chili and runs the B Corp Cumplo. Cumplo is a fintech company that enables crowdfunding for small and midsized companies. Not very welcome in the financial community in the beginning, but now a solid partner of the regulator. Josefa is a Board member of Sistema B Chili as well.
‘’BEING IN TOUCH WITH NATURE IS WHAT COUNTS.’’ Words from the inspirational Peruvian Maria Paz Cigarán, Leader of the Lima based B Corp Libelula. Her whole life Mariapaz has been helping others to connect with global climate change. At a very young age she represented the government of Peru in the global climate discussions. She tells us all about this global struggle and the situation in Peru, caused by the Covid-19 crisis.
Great B Corp Leader from Costa Rica, Ernesto Moreno, started his first company when he was 19 years young. After a huge adventure with the production of billions of plastic bottles, his daughter asked him about the sustainability of these products. That was a turning point in his business life. From bottles Ernesto went to Yuxta, an initiative that created a new company that is socially, environmentally and financially sustainable. Ernesto Moreno is also Founder of Sistema B Central America.
Amy Clarke is a phenomenal leader, challenging the financial system in the UK. She founded Tribe Impact Capital, better known as “The Tribe” and has become a close ally to the regulator in their joint try to change the financial system for good. Standing very close to nature, Amy has built a very transparent and different business model and in 2016 became a B Corp. This B-Talk provides a very inspirational moment with a very inspirational woman.
Elizabeth Soubelet is a French entrepreneur with her roots in Texas. She moved to Paris some 20 years ago, where she and her husband created Ma Bonne Etoile, which means my lucky star. Because she was always busy with her 5 children, feeding them pureed fruit snacks in little plastic pouches was not very environmentally friendly. So she invented a product called Squiz, which can be filled with little portions of fruit or yogurt and then washed and reused again! Elizabeth has a very optimistic and definitely energetic view on the future, which becomes very clear in this B-Talk. Elizabeth is also a Board member of B Lab France, where she takes care of small companies. Definitely worth listening!
Rosie Brown, one of the leaders from the UK B Corp COOK, is a passionate supporter of the human element in a company. COOK does not have employees but team members that have given the company an immense support in these challenging times. Rosie came from a family of three talented brothers, one of which was the founder of COOK, and another was the founder of B Lab UK. Rosie found her way and passion in the great work she has been and is doing at the food company COOK, which grew over the past 20 years from 80 to 1200 team members.
This B-Talk gives a fabulous insight into the Australian view of the current challenges we are going through and Mele-Ane Havea from Small Giants gives us a superb view on the hope that she sees in the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests.
The B-Talk with Robert Eden, founder of Chateau Maris in the South of France, is exceptional. Robert is an expert of the soil as the core ingredient of our food and of our lives. He is a very active B Corp, with a strong view on necessary interdependence.
Soledad Lama from the Chilean company Comaco is a very enthusiastic Chilean entrepreneur who ‘’inherited’’ her company from her father and is building it into a thriving B Corp. She is by many seen as a role model for Chilean people. Soledad and Leen spoke about the effects of the COVID-19 crisis in Chile, how she is handling that in her company and what effects she thinks this has on young millennials in her country Chile.
This B-Talk is with Sofia de Meyer, founder and CEO of the Swiss B Corp Opaline. Opaline produces pure fruit juice, directly from farmers in Switzerland to the market. Sofia talks about the current crisis and the effects it has upon her life and business.
Joe Kenner is CEO from the New York based B Corp Greyston. One of the first B Corps in the US. Joe joined Greyston in 2018. His innovative leadership, experience, and ability to collaborate with diverse stakeholders ensures that they deliver the best services possible to southwest Yonkers. In this podcast Leen Zevenbergen and Joe Kenner will talk about the effect of the corona crisis on Greyston bakeries, on the lives of its employees and how the unique concept of “open hiring”, that was introduced by Greyston, helps them through the crisis.
Francesco Mondora, an Italian sustainable entrepreneur and B Corp Leader, speaks about his company Mondora, his organic farming activities and his partnership with the Pope in the famous project “The Economy of Francesco”.
Maurits Groen from the company WakaWaka is a Dutch communication advisor, activist and entrepreneur who deals with environmental and development issues. In this podcast Leen Zevenbergen and Maurits Groen will talk about the current crisis and the impact that it has both personally as for the business.