There’s been no shortage of challenges facing the world in 2017. Extreme weather incidents, increased economic inequality and shrinking civic space, just to name a few, threaten a future that benefits both people and planet. These and other global issues have emphasized more than ever the need for and the power of purpose-driven business.

We are excited to continue to work with all of you in 2018 to help ensure that the B Team can help to catalyze a better way of doing business for the wellbeing of people and the planet.

Here are some of the highlights from the last year:

• We are pleased to have two new leaders on board, Christiana Figueres and Mats Granryd. Their experience will help to strengthen business action toward a net-zero world and support the journey for business to play a role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

• B Team Leaders helped support a number of movements throughout the year. Sir Richard Branson and Sharan Burrow led The B Team at the People’s Climate March, advocating for a job-creating clean energy economy. A group of 30 CEOs, including six B Team Leaders, urged President Trump to keep the US in the Paris Agreement, rallying enormous support from the business community that spilled over into the We Are Still In

• B Team Leaders came together to support the fight against anonymous companies in the US and later, in the wake of violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, to condemn hate, bigotry and racism in business and society; an effort that will only grow more important as we drive business action to protect civic rights around the world.

• Throughout 2017, our Leaders also initiated change within their own companies and organisations. Dow and Virgin adopted the United Nations' new global standards for business on LGBTQIA discrimination. In addition, We Mean Business’ Take Action campaign and Science-Based Targets Initiative formally recognised net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, and nine B Team associated companies are aspiring to meet this goal.

• To ensure these moments create lasting change, The B Team continued to develop and promote long-term systemic solutions. The Net-Zero team advocated for a just transition toward a clean energy economy; a shift made even more prevalent after the announcement of the Powering Past Coal Alliance.

• The B Team was also a key partner in the launch of OpenOwnership,org, the world’s first global platform for companies to publish ownership structures currently hosting data on 1.9 million companies from 24 countries. Addressing the global crisis of trust, The Governance & Transparency Team convened a dialogue at this year’s Concordia Summit on restoring institutional integrity. Business, civil society and government leaders came together to advance key solutions and policies in the face of this critical turning point.

• The 100% Human at Work team continued to address the challenges and opportunities around the future of work by building a network of over 500 companies, including launching in Australia, South Africa and Kenya. This network continues to experiment with more human ways to shape our workplaces.

• With the launch of The B Team Africa, localized action is growing even stronger. Partnerships with regional business leaders, organisations and governments will enhance the power of our collective voice and drive relevant changes to the way the world does business at a local level.

We want to close out the year by thanking all of you for your ongoing support and partnership. Changing how we do business for the better is not an easy challenge, but it is one we are confident we can achieve with all of us working together.

The B Team objective is to be a constant inspiration and a reminder that business focused on people and planet is no longer a ‘nice to have’, but imperative to the success of a business.

We look forward to working with all of you in 2018 and beyond.

Wishing you very Happy Holidays,

Jochen Zeitz, Co-Founder/Executive Chair

Jean Oelwang, Senior Partner

Joanna Rees, Senior Partner