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Due to their unique positions, businesses have a better chance of making a lasting impact on their communities compared to NGOs, governments, or other entities that promise help that ultimately, never arrives. Hugues Sygney Jr. from B Lab United States & Canada has made it his mission to bridge the divide between businesses and the communities that desperately need their help, and he joins us today to share his story.
We discuss the role of businesses in affecting social change, why businesses can do it better than others, what it means to be truly transformative, the power of diversity, and what businesses need to do to play their part in improving the environments around them.
Tune in to learn about the challenges that Hugues has faced in his career, the ones he’s grappling with right now, the trials he sees in the future, and his methods for overcoming any obstacle that comes in the way of uplifting the communities that surround him.
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Key Points From This Episode:
• Hugues Sygney Jr.’s professional background and how he landed his current role. [0:00:52]
• The role of businesses in climate justice and other important movements. [0:07:29]
• Examples of the impact that businesses can have more than NGOs and others. [0:10:18]
• How to achieve true transformation. [0:16:34]
• The challenges that Hugues has faced and overcome on his professional journey. [0:18:55]
• How the diversity of the B Corp ecosystem strengthens the power of the movement. [0:24:02]
• The positive organizational changes that B Lab has made. [0:27:22]
• Specific challenges that Hugues is facing right now, and the ones he foresees. [0:30:42]
• How businesses can play their part. [0:34:28]
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Quotes:
“The intention of [FTK] is to provide support to communities, from a grassroots level, on how to identify resources to support their communities and not depend on NGOs and government and all the folks who claim to want to help and support but [who] often fall short on that promise.” — @SygneyJr [0:03:14]
“For me, it has been so refreshing to witness businesses really playing an active role in areas that oftentimes were not where businesses showed up.” — @SygneyJr [0:09:35]
“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out how an organization can show up for their community. It’s more than the service that you offer, it’s more than the product that you sell; it’s about the people [who are] engaged with it; it’s about the environment that’s impacted by what you’re doing.” — @SygneyJr [0:16:07]
“There is this beautiful connection between businesses and community and environment working collectively, and that collective activation is where we see the most transformational shift.” — @SygneyJr [0:16:43]
“This work is a journey, there’s no perfect way to do it.” — @SygneyJr [0:20:18]
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Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
Hugues Sygney Jr. on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ftkmovement/
Hugues Sygney Jr. on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/black_man_speak/
Hugues Sygney Jr. on X: https://twitter.com/sygneyjr
B Lab United States & Canada: https://usca.bcorporation.net/racial-equity/
Freedom Through Knowledge: https://www.linkedin.com/company/freedom-through-knowledge/
Rhino Foods: https://www.rhinofoods.com/
Black Man Speak: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/BlackManSpeak/episodes/L-O-V-E-Series-Part-1-eaq5r6
The BMW Foundation: https://bmw-foundation.org/
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