Pre-Assembly 2025 events
Ticketed separately, throughout October
Get ready for Assembly 2025. Join us at our B Corp events in the weeks leading up to our community gathering.
12:00pm, REGISTRATION OPEN
Lanyard collection and check in available
Location: Glenworth Valley Event Centre
Check in at reception and collect your welcome pack.
Find your village, meet your neighbours and get settled into the valley.
2:30pm — 3:30pm, LUMINATE, Ceremony
Location: The Assembly Hall
Join us as we are welcomed into Glenworth Valley.
3:30pm — 3:45pm, FLOW
3:45pm — 4:30pm, LUMINATE, Seed Pods
Location: Various
Theme: Shifting systems | Cracking echo chambers | Changing climate
Led by your Seed Pod Leader for Assembly 2025 – land in place and prepare for the journey ahead with your new pod of accomplices, colleagues and friends.
Begins with an introductory circle over afternoon tea and ends with a walk toward the next session.
4:30pm — 4:45pm, FLOW
4:45pm — 5:45pm, ASSEMBLE
From their fire, we rise: Inheriting legacies to continue the work
Location: The Assembly Hall
Theme: Shifting systems | Cracking echo chambers | Changing climate
At the heart of Assembly 2025 lies ASSEMBLE — a program of keynote conversations that gathers every delegate into one shared space. Across three transformative sessions, ASSEMBLE invites us to pause, reflect, and act together. These conversations are not simply talks; they are landmarks on a journey — honouring legacies, igniting imagination, and calling us into the collective responsibility required to build a future of care and justice.
Assembly 2025 begins with a reminder: B Corp is not just a certification, but a pathway to deeper responsibility.
Mele-Ane Havea, Co-Chair of B Lab AANZ, leads a landmark conversation with three transformative figures. Aunty Bronwyn Penrith, founding member of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy and pioneer of Blak theatre, has dedicated her life to justice and cultural connection. Tāme Iti, one of Aotearoa’s most influential artists and activists, continues to reclaim land, language, and identity through art and protest. Derryn Heilbuth, journalist turned founder of BWD Strategic, helps organisations navigate complexity.
Together, they invite us to pause, listen, and locate ourselves in a living lineage. As we embark on two days of reimagining futures, we are reminded: the work is already alive, and we rise together.
Aunty Bronwyn Penrith
Wiradjuri elder
and consultant
Tāme Iti
Ngāi Tūhoe activist
Mele-Ane Havea
B Lab AANZ
Derryn Heilbuth
BWD Strategic
5:45pm — 6:30pm, FLOW
6:30pm — 11:30pm, LUMINATE
Location: The Hearth Fire
Join us for dinner and drinks, hosted by certified B Corp Radish Events, as the sun goes down followed by a special performance by our evening entertainment.
Radish Events
The Dreaming Project
7:45am — 9:30am, LUMINATE, shared activities
Early morning sessions for the early risers — LUMINATE is a constellation of experiences that light up Assembly. From ceremony and performance to story, music, and reflection, these sessions sparks imagination, grounds us in culture, and weaves connection through wonder. These are the moments that shine long after we part. LUMINATE sessions run at varying times, so please double-check the schedule before you arrive.
Rise and shine with Pablo and Rusty’s
7:45am — 8:30am
Location: The Loft
Theme: Shifting Systems
Format: In conversation, a fireside chat or panel with Q&A
Wake up and smell the true price of coffee in this early morning session with Pablo and Rusty’s.
This session is for the early risers who want to start their day learning about specialty coffee while brewing their own cup.
Approaching the new B Lab Standards and what it means for you
8:30am — 9:15am
Location: The Tool Shed
Theme: Raising the Bar
Format: Workshop, an interactive, activity-focused session
The biggest shift in B Lab standards in a decade — here’s what it means.
Led by Luana Messena (Senior Manager, Standards & Strategy at B Lab Global), Andreea Pafaluta (Senior Sustainability Specialist Large Enterprise/Multi-National Corporation at B Lab Global) and Mindy Leow (Director of Certification, Growth and Programs B Lab AANZ), this session offers a clear overview of the new B Lab Standards, why they’ve changed, and how businesses can adapt. In a workshop format, participants will join the conversation on the opportunities, challenges, and how to meet rising expectations.
Mindy Leow
B Lab AANZ
Luana Messena
B Lab Global
Andreea Pafaluta
B Lab Global
Breakfast with B Lab: Connect globally
8:30am — 9:30am
Location: The Hearth Fire
Theme: Raising the Bar
Format: Fishbowl, an open facilitated conversation
Grab your breakfast and join B Lab colleagues from seven regions to share stories, lessons, and insights from their local B Corp movements. A chance to connect globally, learn how different markets respond to ESG challenges, and discover what unites us across contexts.
Callaway McCarran
B Lab UK
Chloe Huang
B Lab Taiwan
Courtney Pankrat
B Lab U.S. & Canada
Nozomi Torii
B Market Builder: Japan
Irving Chan Gomez
B Lab Global
Jennifer Kuo
B Lab Taiwan
Taeeun Chung
B Lab Korea
Lauren Diggle
B Lab AANZ
Embracing difficult conversations to create meaningful change
Location: The Roundhouse
Theme: Shifting systems
Format: In conversation, a fireside chat or panel with Q&A
We often speak about echo chambers. But what if we’re stuck in some of our own?
This session explores how purpose-driven leaders and businesses can hold their values while staying open to criticism, curiosity, and complexity.
As purpose-led businesses, we often get caught in our own momentum. We build strong convictions. We believe in doing good. But sometimes, we stop asking questions. We stop listening. We forget that there is more than one way to drive change.
This session is not about who has the right answers. It’s a conversation about how we ask better questions. About holding space for tension without needing to resolve it too quickly. About the risks of falling into groupthink, even in values-driven spaces.
We will share real-world stories and questions that have emerged from navigating difficult trade-offs in business. Trade-offs between ideals and practicality. Between sustainability and affordability. Between being right and staying in the right relationship.
Abdullah Ramay
Pablo & Rusty’s Coffee Roasters
José Bishop
Certification Oceania
Alana Theodor
Future Group
9:30am — 10:15am, ASSEMBLE
Clear eyes, hearts forward
Location: The Hearth Fire
Theme: Shifting systems | Cracking echo chambers | Changing climate
Day two of Assembly 2025 dawns with clarity, vision, and possibility. To begin, we are guided by two remarkable voices. Together, they bring intellect and imagination, heart and voice, vision and invitation.
In this session, our speakers will share the futures they want to inherit, the paths they see ahead, and the reflections they hope each of us will carry into the day’s work. Their presence reminds us that Assembly is not only about gathering ideas, but about shaping them into living commitments—of responsibility, of creativity, of futures beginning now.
This is not a wake-up call of alarm, but of awakening: to see with clear eyes, move with open hearts, and walk together toward the horizon.
Ruby Rodgers
Musician and Future Council Founding Member
Tishiko King
Just Futures Collab
Tamsin Jones
Small Giants Academy
10:15am — 10:30am, FLOW
10:30am — 11:15am, CONFLUENCE, breakout sessions
With four or more sessions running in parallel, CONFLUENCE is your chance to set your own course. Some are vigorous conversations, others are hands-on workshops, playful experiments, or reflective dialogues. Each one offers a different kind of encounter — sometimes swift and energising, sometimes calmer and more contemplative — but all are designed to spark connection and move ideas forward.
At Assembly 25, you don’t just attend. You set your course. You step into the current. And in CONFLUENCE, you help shape the flow of change.
Beating them at their own game
Location: The Assembly Hall
Theme: Shifting systems
Format: In conversation, a fireside chat or panel with Q&A
What does it take to outpace traditional business while staying true to B Corp values?
B Corps can’t rely on ideals alone — success means proving purpose and profit work together. Richard Evans (Talent Nation) with leaders from different industries share how their organisations outperform conventional players while giving back. From ethical funds delivering stronger returns to agencies donating revenue and still winning clients, this panel explores what it looks like to win on mainstream terms without losing sight of impact.
Richard Evans
Talent Nation
Jade McKenzie
Talent Nation
Michael Richards
Who Gives a Crap
Henrique Turra
Radish Events
Holding space for climate emotions: A path to effective action
Location: The Loft
Theme: Changing climate
Format: Workshop, an interactive, activity-focused session
Working in the field of climate change, many individuals experience a range of emotions – from fear and grief to hope and determination.
This workshop offers a safe space for participants to explore and articulate these complex emotions, building shared language and skills that support mutual understanding. We’ll focus on the importance of connecting with others at this critical time for action, exploring the links between emotional expression, group connection and resilience.
Transforming the economy to centre people and planet
Location: The Tool Shed
Theme: Shifting systems
Format: Workshop, an interactive, activity-focused session
Explore how businesses can drive a Wellbeing Economy, shaping systems change through leadership, collaboration, and policy advocacy to embed wellbeing values at the heart of commerce.
At this workshop we will set the scene for why economic systems change is vital and relevant to B Corps. We will then workshop both ways businesses, as agents for change, can lead this transformation, as well as how the wider economic system could better enable businesses to embody wellbeing economy values and practices.
Sally Hett
Wellbeing Economy Alliance Aotearoa
Embracing difficult conversations to create meaningful change
Location: The Roundhouse
Theme: Shifting systems
Format: In conversation, a fireside chat or panel with Q&A
We often speak about echo chambers. But what if we’re stuck in some of our own?
This session explores how purpose-driven leaders and businesses can hold their values while staying open to criticism, curiosity, and complexity.
As purpose-led businesses, we often get caught in our own momentum. We build strong convictions. We believe in doing good. But sometimes, we stop asking questions. We stop listening. We forget that there is more than one way to drive change.
This session is not about who has the right answers. It’s a conversation about how we ask better questions. About holding space for tension without needing to resolve it too quickly. About the risks of falling into groupthink, even in values-driven spaces.
We will share real-world stories and questions that have emerged from navigating difficult trade-offs in business. Trade-offs between ideals and practicality. Between sustainability and affordability. Between being right and staying in the right relationship.
Abdullah Ramay
Pablo & Rusty’s Coffee Roasters
José Bishop
Certification Oceania
Alana Theodor
Future Group
11:15am — 11:45am, FLOW, morning tea
11:45am — 12:30pm, CONFLUENCE, breakout sessions
Collective action is not optional: Do businesses have a moral obligation to act?
Location: The Assembly Hall
Theme: Shifting systems
Format: In conversation, a fireside chat or panel with Q&A
With new B Corp standards on the horizon, collective action is no longer a nice-to-have; it’s a necessity. This panel brings together leaders from across the B Corp community who are tackling these issues head-on and using their voice to shape public policy, shift corporate norms, and push for urgent climate action.
This conversation will unpack the shift in B Lab’s standards from individual impact to collective responsibility and what that means for every business in the room. Whether you’re just starting out or already on the frontlines, you’ll gain practical insight into what authentic climate action looks like and how to build momentum across sectors.
To help turn words into action, we’ll set up a climate action pledge wall where attendees can write down one commitment and take a photo to share on social media — a simple way to go public, stay accountable, and inspire others. Inspired by the Global Summit, this stand encourages all of us to lead out loud.
Sara King
Intrepid Travel
Hilary McAllister
Ben & Jerry’s Australia
Jane Kern
Bank Australia
Word (im)perfect: How perfectionism is holding us back
An in-conversation session on inclusive communications and speaking up when you’re afraid of messing up
Location: The Loft
Theme: Cracking echo chambers
Format: In conversation, a fireside chat or panel with Q&A
We all want to say and do the right thing. But in purpose-led business, where values and accountability are front and centre, the fear of saying the wrong thing can stop us from saying (or doing) anything at all.
This session is for the overthinkers, the well-meaning worriers, and the brands sitting on the sidelines of important conversations because they’re scared of stuffing it up.
Bringing together creatives, communicators, and business leaders, we take a refreshing and honest look at what it means to create genuinely inclusive branding, marketing and communications, without the virtue signalling and tokenism.
Carmen Hawker
CARMENGETIT!
Erin Morris
Young Folks
Laura Thompson
Clothing the Gaps
Beyond the legal requirement: Using the law to future-proof your vision
Proactive Legal Tools for Regenerative Growth
Location: The Tool Shed
Theme: Shifting systems
Format: Workshop, an interactive, activity-focused session
As B Corps, we’re reshaping business with purpose at the core — but vision alone isn’t enough. Hidden risks and outdated legal systems can quietly erode impact as your business grows.
This interactive session reframes legal strategy as a vital toolkit for resilient, purpose-led growth. Using real-world examples, myth-busting, and collaborative activities (yes, even a lively Kahoot), you’ll discover how proactive legal frameworks can protect your mission, anticipate risks, and future-proof your business.
Founders, legal leaders, and changemakers alike will leave with practical tools to embed integrity, adapt to change, and ensure their impact endures.
The legal systems we build today determine how deeply our businesses can serve tomorrow. This session will show you how to make sure yours are built to last — and to lead.
Erin Vasallo
Law Team
Alice Klettner
University of Sydney Business School
Moving forward: Is sustainable fashion an oxymoron?
Location: The Roundhouse
Theme: Shifting systems
Format: Fishbowl, an open facilitated conversation
With 92 million tonnes of textile waste produced annually, how can we co-create a pathway to a sustainable fashion future?
Fashion is a complex industry with an enormous environmental impact, but this also presents a tremendous opportunity for change. This conversation will go beyond the critique of the industry and explore how fashion brands, small to big, can work together to create meaningful change.
Clare Press
The Wardrobe Crisis
Rosanna Iacono
The Growth Activists
Athena Savvas
DISSH
12:30pm — 2:00pm, FLOW, lunch
2:00pm — 2:45pm, CONFLUENCE, breakout sessions
So long fat cats… where to from here?
Location: The Assembly Hall
Theme: Raising the bar
Format: In conversation, a fireside chat or panel with Q&A
We’ve called time on outdated business models rooted in profit at any cost in our first major B Corp awareness campaign across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. So now that we’ve said ‘So long, fat cats – there’s a better way to do business’, what comes next?
As we gather at Assembly, our major awareness campaign will have just finished. Join this panel and Q&A discussion to learn about the campaign origin, execution and success with data-driven insights from the campaign research, and behind-the-scenes intel from the creatives and leaders who brought it to our screens.
What’s the opportunity to build on increased awareness now that we’ve declared a new era of business? What is the role of B Corps and B Lab in driving this collective message and action? How do we position B Corp in a way that drives the behaviour change we need to see?
You’ll leave this session having learned from the campaign’s successes (and mistakes!), identified opportunities for further collective action, and gained ideas on how to frame your own B Corp story and impact communications.
Check out the campaign website to find out more ahead of this session: betterbusiness.works
Angie Farrugia
B Lab AANZ
Jules Hall
The Hallway
Emma Grainge
Australian Ethical
Phil Benedictus
Benedictus Media
From staying silent to saying what you mean: a practical workshop
Location: The Loft
Theme: Cracking echo chambers
Format: Workshop, an interactive, activity-focused session
Purpose-led businesses love to talk about values — but talking isn’t the same as acting. Our feeds are getting increasingly noisy, and the loudest voices aren’t always the ones that deserve the most airtime and attention. When the stakes are this high, it’s not enough to be right, righteous, or reactive. If we’re serious about cracking echo chambers, we need to get braver — and a whole lot more practical.
This hands-on workshop is for comms professionals, founders, and marketers who want to do better, not just say better. We’ll unpack real-world examples, practical tools, and build a live comms framework for you to take away, so you can communicate with courage, clarity, and accountability — even when things go pear-shaped.
Carmen Hawker
CARMEN GET IT!
Erin Morris
Young Folks
You don’t need to be an influencer to influence: your role in shaping climate narratives
Location: The Tool Shed
Theme: Changing climate
Format: Workshop, an interactive, activity-focused session
This hands-on workshop explores what it really means to ‘influence’, and how individuals, communities, creators, and brands can generate ripple effects that compound into lasting impact.
The climate is changing—but every fraction of a degree of warming we avoid matters. While the scale of global transformation required can feel overwhelming, we have power through the stories we tell and amplify. By shifting narratives, we can move new futures into our collective imagination, build political pressure, and catalyse the high impact action that’s within our reach.
Led by the team behind Build a Ballot, Lizzie Hedding and Tegan Lerm, the session introduces a practical framework for understanding your role as an ‘influencer’. Together, we will map our collective ‘influencer ecology’ to understand how we can empower people to spark ripple effects in wider networks.
Tegan Lerm
Project Planet
Lizzie Hedding
Project Planet
The leadership power shift: From control to co-creation
Location: The Roundhouse
Theme: Shifting systems
Format: Fishbowl, an open facilitated conversation
What happens when leaders or founders let go of control and lead with trust?
Explore how traditional models of leadership, rooted in control and hierarchy, no longer serve us and how we can reimagine leadership as co-creative, trust-based and self-led. Challenge the ‘lone-hero’ or ‘genius founder’ model and discover real-world experiences of collective power in action.
Jennifer McMahon
Modern People
Alison Michalk
Quipp
Matthew Nation
Nation Partners
Climate café
Location: The Hearth Fire
Theme: Changing climate
Format: Workshop, an interactive, activity-focused session
At our Café there is no guest speaker, no advice given, no call for action. Instead, you’ll find a supportive, facilitated gathering where you can voice concerns that may not be welcomed or echoed elsewhere in your daily life. You’re invited to share with interested others how you’re really feeling at this challenging time.
There may be laughter, there may be tears. There may be fear, there may be anger. Whatever you’re feeling is okay and valued. And it’s fine just to listen. Sharing, listening and being quiet together are all part of our Café.
This session will run for 90 minutes.
2:45pm — 3:00pm, FLOW
3:00pm — 3:45pm, CONFLUENCE, breakout sessions
Authenticity at scale: Can the B Corp movement stay true to its mission as it grows?
Location: The Assembly Hall
Theme: Raising the bar
Format: In conversation, a fireside chat or panel with Q&A
Over the past decade, the B Corp movement globally, including here in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, has been defined by smaller, purpose-led pioneers. Today, larger, more traditional businesses are certifying, signalling a shift in the movement’s makeup. This evolution presents both opportunities and tension. Is this the natural next step in the B Lab theory of change—influencing mainstream business from within? Or does it risk diluting what B Corp stands for?
In this open, no-BS conversation, we’ll address the elephants in the room, share experiences from both ends of the spectrum, and explore how we hold each other—and the movement—accountable. We’ll ask: What does authentic change look like at scale? How do we keep our values intact while embracing growth? Let’s talk openly about impact, authenticity, and keeping our theory of change alive at scale.
Kira Day
B Lab AANZ
Rebecca Loch
Lion
Jonny Clow
Silver Lining Agency
Andrea Spencer-Cooke
One Stone Advisors
Surprise new B Corp
The human side of governance: How to build healthy board dynamics and strong board-management relationships
Location: The Loft
Theme: Cracking echo chambers
Format: Workshop, an interactive, activity-focused session
Effective governance today is human, diverse, and adaptive.
In the Intelligent Age, the human dimension of governance matters more than ever. Boards need specific skills, experience, and attributes to navigate increasing speed, complexity, and uncertainty. This session will explore strategies to improve the board-management relationship, enhance board dynamics and performance and foster cognitive diversity, drawing on case studies of purpose-driven organisations to reframe effective decision-making and governance.
Join Geraldine Chin Moody (Directors Australia) as she shares insights on building strong board–management relationships in complex times. This workshop explores strategies for enhancing board dynamics, fostering cognitive diversity, and reframing governance for the Intelligent Age.
Geraldine Chin Moody
Directors Australia
Beyond carbon: practical steps to become nature positive
Location: The Tool Shed
Theme: Changing climate
Format: Workshop, an interactive, activity-focused session
Many businesses want to “do better for nature”—but where do you start, and how do you move beyond carbon? This workshop makes biodiversity real, accessible, and directly connected to your business reality — bringing nature into the room in a tangible, practical way.
Guided by the Business of Biodiversity (BoB) framework, you’ll journey through four steps: grounding, assessing, imagining, and committing. We’ll begin with a clear, jargon-free introduction to why biodiversity matters and how nature-based solutions can unlock both climate and nature goals. You’ll then complete a quick baseline assessment to see where your business currently stands, before moving into a creative visioning exercise that helps you picture what a nature-positive future could truly look like.
Together we’ll reflect, share insights, and identify practical next steps. By the end, you’ll leave with three powerful takeaways: your biodiversity baseline, a vivid vision for your business, and a pathway forward that feels ambitious yet achievable.
Marnie Hawson
Business of Biodiversity
There’s no need for greenwashing or social washing: Your worst performance results are your most valuable
Location: The Roundhouse
Theme: Changing climate
Format: Fishbowl, an open facilitated conversation
Reality check. For lots of reasons, not all impact measurement results in a positive outcome. Unprepared and/or unaccepting, brands often then fumble and stumble between the practice of greenwashing or social washing to save face, creating a tsunami of damage with consumers and stakeholders alike (and let’s not forget the planet!).
With the stakes so high and transparency no longer becoming a choice, how do we convince our decision makers that a negative impact outcome can be a positive and why it’s important to authentically measure impact regardless? Join us for an all-in grassroots discussion that challenges what we think we know about impact measurement – the good, the bad and the ugly and how we navigate it in our everyday.
Rebecca Blinco
Carbon Creative
Edwina Gilmour
Carbon Creative
Timothy Rosenlund-O’Brien
Purpose Made
3:45pm — 4:15pm, FLOW, afternoon tea
4:15pm — 5:15pm, ASSEMBLE
Answering the call: building a future with courage and care
Location: The Assembly Hall
Theme: Shifting systems | Cracking echo chambers | Changing climate
“Care must be built into any system that seeks to do good.” Andrew Kassoy’s words echo like a steady drumbeat, urging us forward.
At the end of a long day comes a moment of pause and possibility. With Dr Matt Beard, Program Director of the Vincent Fairfax Fellowship at the Cranlana Centre for Ethical Leadership, and voices from the global B Corp community, we will trace the threads of courage and care that bind generations together. We have heard from those who came before, and we feel the call of those yet to come.
What does it mean to hold care not as sentiment, but as structure? To carry courage not as posture, but as practice? Together, in dialogue, we will weave stories and commitments into the fabric of a new economy—rooted in care, sustained by courage, and alive with the promise of tomorrow.
Dr Matt Beard
Cranlana Centre for
Ethical Leadership
Andrew Davies
B Lab AANZ
Helen Paul-Smith
ŌKU New Zealand
5:15pm — 6:30pm, FLOW
6:30pm — 11:30pm, LUMINATE
Location: The Hearth Fire
Join us for dinner and drinks as the sun goes down as well as a special performance by our evening entertainment.
Coterie
7:00am — 9:30am, LUMINATE, shared activities
You’ll have the opportunity to choose from a range of activities — including hiking, journaling, meditation, and yoga — or join our LUMINATE session for a guided workshop.
7:45am — 9:30am, LUMINATE, shared activities
Early morning sessions for the early risers — LUMINATE is a constellation of experiences that light up Assembly. From ceremony and performance to story, music, and reflection, these sessions sparks imagination, grounds us in culture, and weaves connection through wonder. These are the moments that shine long after we part. LUMINATE sessions run at varying times, so please double-check the schedule before you arrive.
Approaching the new B Lab standards and what it means for you
8:30am — 9:15am
Location: The Assembly Hall
Theme: Raising the Bar
Format: Workshop, an interactive, activity-focused session
The biggest shift in B Lab standards in a decade—here’s what it means.
Led by Luana Messena (Senior Manager, Standards & Strategy at B Lab Global), Andreea Pafaluta (Senior Sustainability Specialist Large Enterprise/Multi-National Corporation at B Lab Global) and Mindy Leow (Director of Certification, Growth and Programs B Lab AANZ), this session offers a clear overview of the new B Corp standards, why they’ve changed, and how businesses can adapt. In a workshop format, participants will join the conversation on opportunities, challenges, and how to meet rising expectations.
Mindy Leow
B Lab AANZ
Luana Messena
B Lab Global
Andreea Pafaluta
B Lab Global
Breakfast with B Lab: Connect globally
8:30am — 9:00am
Location: The Hearth Fire
Theme: Raising the Bar
Format: Fishbowl, an open facilitated conversation
Start the day with stories, connection, and coffee around the fire with the B Lab Board and B Council.
Another chance to gather informally with colleagues for a fireside breakfast conversation. An easy moment for connection, reflection, and exchange before the final day of Assembly.
9:30am — 11:00am, IMMERSE, breakout sessions
IMMERSE is where we dive deeper. These longer-form sessions invite you to roll up your sleeves, test ideas, and step into collective inquiry.
Each IMMERSE is designed for those who want to go beyond inspiration—into practice, tools, and collaboration. With formats ranging from workshops to open summits and fishbowl dialogues, IMMERSE offers space to engage with complexity, experiment with new approaches, and leave with tangible actions to carry forward.
B Corp community open space
Location: The Hearth Fire
Theme: Shifting systems | Cracking echo chambers | Changing climate
Format: Open space
The B Corp community is full of energy, ideas, and experiments for change. This open-space style summit provides a rare opportunity to self-organise around the issues that matter most. Guided by the collective wisdom in the room, participants will co-create the agenda and follow the conversations that spark action. Expect open dialogue, emergent insights, and meaningful connections that extend well beyond Assembly 2025.
From compliance to advocacy:
Opportunities to lead with the new standards
Location: The Assembly Hall
Theme: Raising the bar
Workshop, an interactive, activity-focused session
The new standards offer a chance to shift from compliance to advocacy. Explore how collective action is playing out globally, and create a plan to use the new standards to implement locally.
Irving Chan Gomez
B Lab Global
Luana Messena
B Lab Global
Mimi Chien
MacroHi Co. Ltd
Susanne Etti
Intrepid Travel, BCCC
Design Declares: The weight of our web
Location: The Loft
Theme: Changing climate
Format: Fishbowl, an open facilitated conversation
This session will introduce attendees to the concept of a digital footprint, the weight of a website, and the environmental impacts of other digital tools such as generative AI.
Ben Rennie
Reny Studios
Nicola Rennie
Design Declares
Navigating complexity: Breaking the patterns that limit your thinking and action
Location: The Tool Shed
Theme: Cracking echo chambers
Format: Workshop, An interactive, activity-focused session
Join Cultivating Leadership in this thought-provoking session and expand your capacity to navigate uncertainty with courage, clarity, and curiosity. Explore how our minds—designed for a simpler world—struggle with the challenges of modern complexity. When navigating systemic problems, we often fall into mind traps: invisible patterns of thought that narrow our vision and limit our choices.
This session introduces powerful models to illuminate the traps we encounter and reveal fresh possibilities for action. Rather than offering quick fixes, you’ll gain practical tools to notice these patterns, loosen their grip, and choose responses that align with complexity rather than fight against it. By cultivating awareness and flexibility, you can begin to transform not just how you think, but how you lead and create change—from within.
Anna Russell
Cultivating Leadership
Jim Wicks
Cultivating Leadership
We can’t shift the system alone: Re-imagining the B Corp model for collective action
Location: The Roundhouse
Theme: Shifting systems
Format: Fishbowl, an open facilitated conversation
Across our network, we’ve seen it: the great pilot that doesn’t scale. The values-aligned partnership that fizzles out. The meeting that starts with energy and ends with silence when it comes to allocating roles and responsibilities. It’s not because people don’t care—it’s because our default ways of working together aren’t fit for the complexity of the moment we’re in.
We are, as systems theorist Margaret Wheatley describes, in the “messy middle”—the point at which an old system is beginning to collapse, but the new one has not yet emerged. This is the space between loops. And in this moment, collaboration isn’t a nice-to-have—it’s the bridge.
Get jump-started with four provocateurs and co-design ideas for tools, behaviours, and business models that can exponentially enable collaboration to be done differently, exploring ownership, shared accountability, and collective impact for the B Corp community.
Louise Nash
Circularity
Andreea Pafaluta
B Lab Global
Wayne Denning
Carbon Creative
Helen Paul-Smith
ŌKU New Zealand
Climate café
Location: The Hearth Fire
Theme: Changing climate
Format: Workshop, an interactive, activity-focused session
At our Café there is no guest speaker, no advice given, no call for action. Instead, you’ll find a supportive, facilitated gathering where you can voice concerns that may not be welcomed or echoed elsewhere in your daily life. You’re invited to share with interested others how you’re really feeling at this challenging time.
There may be laughter, there may be tears. There may be fear, there may be anger. Whatever you’re feeling is okay and valued. And it’s fine just to listen. Sharing, listening and being quiet together are all part of our Café.
Christie Wilson
Psychology For A Safe Climate
Dr Beth Hill
Psychology For A Safe Climate
11:00am — 11:30am, FLOW, pack up
11:30am — 12:30pm, SEED PODS
Location: The Hearth Fire
Theme: Shifting systems | Cracking echo chambers | Changing climate
Close out your time at Assembly 2025 by reflecting on where we have been, and where we are going.
12:30pm — 2:00pm, FLOW, lunch and departure
Check out from glamping pods will be at 10am.