For Good Movement

For Good Movement seeks to mobilize and engage purpose-driven companies that are using their business as a force for good and to reset our economic system so that it works for everyone.

The organization has two main initiatives that share common goals. Our state-wide initiative is Florida For Good and our global initiative is B Tourism. Both span multiple impact areas, encouraging companies to meet the highest standards of overall social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability while aspiring to use the power of business to solve social and environmental problems with a strong sense of community at their core.

We will be successful when the majority of businesses demonstrate that the purpose of business is no longer to uphold shareholder primacy, as it has done for decades, but instead to prioritize and care for all stakeholders. It will be a significant sign of our shifting culture when the country’s largest corporations and the organizations representing their interests revise their definition of the purpose of the corporation from profit maximization to “benefitting all stakeholders — customers, employees, suppliers, communities and shareholders.”

Companies will reap the benefits of a stakeholder approach by not only being included in network of other businesses with the same goals, but also by enjoying the financial savings from implementing energy-saving retrofits, retaining employees, and new customer acquisition.

FGM has set goals to scale specific transformational business practices and public policies that systemically advance climate justice, racial equity, and a stakeholder-driven economic system. To achieve these goals, FGM will:
• Continue to engage companies that demonstrate their commitment to using business as a force for good and encouraging them to join our Florida For Good/B Tourism communities.
• Fortify support for the Florida For Good/B Tourism network, so that all values-aligned companies see the importance of embracing positive social and environmental practices.
• Foster opportunities for the Florida For Good/B Tourism communities to connect and learn from each other.
• Create equitable access to tools and resources, identifying and addressing barriers that exist to historically marginalized business leaders joining and fully engaging in the B Corp framework as a reference point.
• Mobilize collectively for impact in three areas of focus: climate justice, racial equity, and stakeholder-driven economy.
• Amplify the impact of the Florida For Good/B Tourism Communities through thought leadership and invite other business leaders to join us.

Education
We support programs and curriculum that help students broaden their thinking, build their networks, and scale their impact beyond just individual actions. FGM assists faculty and educators at many Universities in Florida in changing the way business is taught - including how to use business as a force for good, how to measure companies’ impact on all of their stakeholders, evolving legal structures, and innovative approaches to investing and finance.

We plan to increase the number of universities that offer to help local businesses by taking them through the B Impact Assessment and setting them up for success by actively measuring, reporting, and improving their environmental and social impact.

Partnerships
We are actively forming connections with like-minded community partners in order to create impactful actions, alliances, and conversations on topics that matter in sustainability. For example, FGM’s Central Florida chapter has formed a close partnership with IDEAS for Us, an environmental advocacy group that creates global environmental solutions through local action. FGM funded a one-year commitment of bringing the IDEAS Hive, which is an interdisciplinary, inter-generational community Think + Do Tank designed to educate the public about sustainability and develop their ideas into local action projects, into the Tampa Bay region.

We intend to solidify other partnerships that will help FGM expand into other regions to help us achieve our goal.

Tax Incentives
A third goal that we deem as crucial for making green businesses sustainable for the long run comes in the form of city, county, and state business incentives. Procurement is an often-overlooked policy tool, but it can have a significant impact on local economies. We want to initiate change in Florida’s government sector by giving all values-based companies an opportunity to be rewarded for operating their companies in a responsible manner.

That’s why FGM is planning to coordinate multiple Proclamations throughout Florida to proclaim and promote that businesses can be a force for good and that businesses should solve problems and advance their community. When planning the media events for each proclamation, we will engage the mayor in conversations about creating a formal tax or procurement incentive for values-based companies. By making these incentives available to businesses, more companies will be willing to make positive changes that benefit all.

Our evergreen goals for the FGM are to encourage businesses to reduce inequality, alleviate poverty, restore a healthier environment, build stronger communities, & create more high-quality jobs with dignity and purpose. We fully intend to accomplish these aspirational and much-needed goals.

In order to reach our long-term goals, we have meticulously created a strong foundation of staff, skills and resources because there is evidence to support that responsible business is a fast and effective way to create positive change in our world. For Good Movement is powered and supported by two certified B Corporations in Florida – owned by the founder of For Good Movement, Jared Meyers.

The overarching support of these two companies enable us to have a full time Executive Director on staff who has a background in marketing. She has experience with website maintenance, social media, graphic design, photography and is a LEED Green Associate. She, along with Jared (who devotes 80% of his time to growing the For Good Movement) use their business development experience to engage executive leadership at companies to help them adopt best practices of social and environmental responsibility.

We also have a strong network of companies that supply continuous in-kind support, such as an attorney, a PR company, Business Development Director, Director of Engagement, Director of Academic Partnerships and For Good chapter leaders in six regions.

We have also cultivated partnerships with various established organizations in Florida that align with our mission. We have found that these partnerships enable us to gain trustworthiness and to engage with the community on a more personal level. These benefits allow For Good Movement to grow at a faster pace and with intention

We have accomplished many things since For Good Movement (FGM) started in 2018. Even though it is in its infancy, FGM is creating ripples in Florida – from social media awareness growth to Economic Development Departments in various cities asking for recommendations and guidance regarding the future of business.

The primary challenge we face daily is that Historical policies and practices have been used by those with power and wealth to maintain it. This can be broken down into 3 sub challenges:

1) Centuries of Racial/Minority & Gender Discrimination assist the continuance of business as usual

2) Inadequate protections for small/community-based businesses result in multi-national or large conglomerates putting community-based companies out of business and then sending the wealth elsewhere

3) Shareholder Primacy/Profit Maximization at the expense of a business’ stakeholders. Businesses cannot be incentivized to externalization their costs to tax payors or those that can least afford them. Florida only has 23 Certified B Corporations while Colorado has hundreds, and we need the private sector to be transparent, inclusive, equitable and legally committed to a material positive impact. The rules of the game and society’s expectations from business must be changed in order to obtain a different outcome.

Social and environmental justice guides our programs so we can find equitable and wholistic solutions to our challenges. We do not have time to focus on programs or results which lack credibility, so we heavily rely on the B Impact Assessment and the B Corp Community due to their transparency, accountability, and legal commitment. This establishes trust with governments, consumers, investors, academia, and business owners. We use that trust to adjust societal expectations, government policy/incentives, and shift capital and consumer spending towards businesses that make their community and its people better. The good news is that these businesses are not only the best for their community, they are actually future proofing because Millennials and Generation Z prefer them. This is essential for shared prosperity to last and for it to be embraced by traditional business.