Why I'm Going to Blue Earth Summit 2026

Next week I'm heading to Blue Earth Summit at Woolwich Works, 14 to 16 October, to spend three days with the purpose-led organisations building what comes next. I'm going to listen, to learn, and to work out what our B Corp commitments should look like in practice over the next year.

Why this year matters to me

Back in 2022, I had a chat with Alex from Climbing Trees about whether B Corp was something we should explore as an organisation.

That conversation led to an initial assessment, a year of learning through 2023, and eventually an application to B Lab. In March 2025, Steadfast Collective became a certified B Corp.

What I didn't fully appreciate back then is how much of the value sits after the certificate arrives.

Getting certified is about meeting a standard. Staying true to it is a daily set of decisions about who we hire, which projects we take on, how we build, and what we choose not to do. I wrote about why B Corp certification matters when choosing a digital partner, and the honest answer is that it only matters if it changes how you behave.

The voices I'm looking forward to

The full speaker line-up is on the Blue Earth Summit website, so rather than repeat it here, this is what I'll be listening for across the three days.

The founders who have done the hard version of the thing. I'm less interested in big visions and more interested in the operational detail: the trade-offs, what they got wrong, and how they kept going.

The organisations who rely on a community to grow. So much of our work is with membership bodies and associations, and the best ideas often come from outside that world entirely.

At Louder Than Words in Oxford, I heard from Mary Portas, Charmian Love, Nigel Pocklington, Patrick Grant and Ruth Turner. It was the afternoon conversations between sessions, with people who were genuinely trying to work out how to turn their words into action.

Hopefully, we'll get a lot of the similar energy and conversation at Blue Earth.

Good events are as much about the corridor as the stage (something I've thought about a lot when it comes to what makes a good community event).

How it connects to the work we do

At Steadfast Colletive, we set out to build a business where success flows outward, one that cares for its team and prioritises the planet.

For a team that designs and builds membership websites and community platforms, that has to show up in the work, not just on our about page.

It means building sustainable technology that outlasts our involvement, so organisations aren't forced into a costly rebuild every few years.

It means helping membership organisations turn audiences into advocates, because people who feel connected to something tend to stay, contribute and bring others with them.

And it means trying to leave the internet a better place than we found it.

Every project asks a slightly different question of us, and I'd much rather be learning from people further along the road than assuming we've got it figured out. The B Corp movement is at its best when businesses share what's working openly, and Blue Earth is one of the few places where that happens across so many sectors at once.

If you're at Woolwich Works between 14 and 16 October, come and find me. I'd love to hear what you're building.