Haligonians are invited to view a free documentary called Not Business As Usual that stresses the need for entrepreneurs to be agents for social good and redefine business. Organizers of the screening say the documentary recently played to a sold-out crowd at the Vancouver International Film Festival. The movie will play at the city’s Company House on Monday, April 28th and will be followed by a conversation about the future of entrepreneurship in Canada.

Made by InsitituteB.com, a Vancouver-based company that helps develop profitable, socially-purposed businesses, the movie focuses on the need to reinvent capitalism to lessen the role of the profit motive and promote social change.     

Representatives from the Global B Corp (Benefit Corporation) Movement will be in Halifax at the same time to further the discussion.  A growing U.S.-based movement, B Corp certification requires companies to meet high standards that demonstrate their commitment to social good, said organizer Kristy O’Leary, Creative Strategist at Halifax-based advertising agency Scout & Burrow, and whose company is B Corp certified.

“We’re facing incredible global challenges,” O’Leary said. “I believe in the B. Corp movement as an actionable way to get companies to understand their impact and get better…There’s a need to empower citizens and consumers…every dollar consumers spend can promote change.”

Information from the B Corporation website speaks of a Declaration of Interdependence and says Benefit Corporations use the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. B Corps operate the same as traditional corporations but with higher standards of corporate purpose, accountability, and transparency.

B Corps are certified by the non-profit B Lab. The site says there is a growing community of nearly 1,000 Certified B Corps from more than 30 countries and 60 industries. Laws have been passed in 22 states, plus DC, that give leaders legal protection to pursue a higher purpose than profit, and offer the public greater transparency to protect against pretenders.

O’Leary said gaining B Corp certification was tough but valuable. “B Corp certification is like a flag I get to wave that says I’m doing the right thing,” she said.

Check out the documentary trailer here.

If you're interested, RSVP HERE.