The initiative driven by Barcelona+B, the B Corp movement’s community for change, aims to make Barcelona a benchmark for inclusion, diversity, and talent.
Private companies, public and educational entities, consortia, and social organizations are committed to creating work environments and selection processes where inclusivity is a priority.
The B Lab Spain Foundation, which leads the B Corp movement, signed a collaboration agreement this Tuesday, April 30, with the IMPD (Municipal Institute for People with Disabilities) to strengthen its commitment to promoting labor inclusion in the city through initiatives stemming from Barcelona+B.
Barcelona, April 29, 2024. – Barcelona+B, the community for change driven by the B Corp movement to promote a more prosperous, sustainable, and inclusive city through alliances with Barcelona’s main stakeholders, has launched an initiative encouraging Barcelona companies to commit to fostering labor inclusion in the city. This is the Treballem+B initiative, which this May, coinciding with European Diversity Month, has reached the milestone of over 100 companies and entities signing its manifesto—an achievement that confirms the commitment of the city’s various actors to moving toward a more inclusive city.
At Treballem+B, diverse organizations that share the goal of improving labor inclusion in Barcelona come together to share knowledge and establish connections that foster continuous improvement within companies in this field. The next meeting will be held on May 9, and any company that joins the manifesto on the initiative’s website is invited to participate.
Through this initiative, Barcelona+B brings together companies and social entities with a clear desire to contribute to SDG No. 8 on Decent Work and Economic Growth, which is one of the top concerns for Barcelona citizens, as indicated by the results of the B Citizen Lab project diagnosis conducted by the initiative’s promoters in 2021. This is also confirmed by the latest edition of the Barcelona Barometer, which ranks social exclusion (poverty/inequality) as the 10th most serious problem facing the city, and unemployment and working conditions as the 14th.
Images: First meeting with the organizations signing the manifesto
Elena Damiá, Director of Barcelona+B at B Lab Spain, explains that “beyond a manifesto, Treballem+B serves to connect companies and entities that want to commit to or improve their inclusion. Furthermore, it serves to share lessons on convincing company decision-makers about the importance of investing in diversity, creating inclusive work environments, promoting the generation of job offers and selection processes where this aspect is a priority, or driving awareness among work teams in this area. We observe that inclusion can be addressed transversally throughout the entire organization, keeping in mind the multiple dimensions of human diversity with an intersectional perspective on the social factors that can intervene: age, gender, abilities, ethnicity, origin, etc.”
Thanks to these sessions, synergies are established between participating companies and entities, and specific improvement goals are set. In this regard, it should be noted that the Treballem+B manifesto was developed based on the conclusions drawn from a co-creation process coordinated by Barcelona+B, with the participation of around twenty entities such as the Barcelona City Council, through Barcelona Activa, and local B Corp companies.
Images: Co-creation process coordinated by Barcelona+B
Regarding the private companies that have signed, there are organizations from various fields such as, for example, sustainability consultancies (Roots for Sustainability, Anthesis Lavola) and inclusion and talent recruitment firms (Ethikos, Specialisterne…), marketing and design agencies (APPLE TREE, Roman…), or companies in the food and beverage sector (Ecoveritas, Flax & Kale), textiles and accessories (Buff, Tropicfeel…), and other products and services (Holaluz, Ferrer, Worldline…). As for public entities and consortia, notable signatories include the Municipal Institute for People with Disabilities (IMPD) of the Barcelona City Council; the Health and Social Consortium of Catalonia, the Barcelona Labor Inclusion Network (XIB), and the Technological Circle of Catalonia. The initiative also has the support of educational entities such as EADA Business School and Escola Pia de Catalunya, and social organizations like the Adecco Foundation; the Eurofirms Foundation; the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation; the Catalan Down Syndrome Foundation (FCSD), or the Mental Health Forum, among others. Check the entities adhering to the manifesto here.
Photo: Raimon Puigjaner, President of B Lab Spain, and Marta Obdulia Gomez, Manager of the IMPD.
The non-profit organization leading the B Corp movement in Spain, B Lab Spain, signed a collaboration agreement this Tuesday, April 30, with the IMPD (the Municipal Institute for People with Disabilities) to reinforce its commitment to promoting labor inclusion in the city through initiatives stemming from Barcelona+B, such as Treballem+B.
B Lab Spain, along with EADA Business School, Ferrer, and the Barcelona City Council through its economic promotion agency Barcelona Activa, are the strategic partners that have made the deployment of Barcelona+B possible—the B Corp movement’s community for change in the city.
Barcelona+B works constantly to ensure the Catalan capital becomes a benchmark for inclusion, diversity, and talent, and therefore launches public awareness campaigns. In fact, at the end of last year, it publicly launched the manifesto by unveiling an urban art mural of over 300m2 at the Glòries Tower in the 22@ District, a strategic location due to the high concentration of businesses. The work was titled “Diversity” and was a large-scale mural featuring portraits of city residents who have experienced good labor inclusion practices. The design was carried out in collaboration with La Casa de Carlota, the world’s first design studio to incorporate workers with intellectual disabilities.
Along the same lines, Barcelona+B has also recently launched an awareness campaign through digital channels, sharing inspiring stories with testimonials that exemplify how good labor inclusion practices in Barcelona are a reality. The collaboration with the thirteen inclusion entities and services that are members of the XIB has been key to identifying these stories.
