GACA2: How to use the Collective Action workbook

The Government Affairs and Collective Action (GACA) Impact Topic in B Lab’s Standards requires companies to collaborate with external stakeholders and broader systems to magnify their impact. The GACA 2 requirement focuses on companies working together to advance collective social or environmental impacts, also known as collective action. Companies can use the Collective Action workbook to describe and organize their chosen collective actions.  

About the Collective Action workbook

The Collective Action workbook covers the collective action options under GACA 2, including mentorship, external research, multi-stakeholder collaboration, public policy/advocacy, or thought leadership.

The workbook is intended to help your company:

• Indicate its selected action(s), 

• Explain what the initiative is, 

• How your company participated, 

• What contributions were made, and 

• How any outputs, outcomes, or lessons learned were integrated into company activities. 

The completed workbook may be submitted alongside evidence documentation like company records, communications, and other primary documents. See a list of more evidence examples for GACA. The workbook includes dedicated spaces to link other primary evidence (in the cells labeled Evidence link and reference page).

How to use the workbook

To use the workbook, first download it as an XLXS file. The workbook has a tab for each of the five collective action types – mentorship, external research, multi-stakeholder collaboration, public policy, and thought leadership. Please use the tab that corresponds to the collective action initiative(s) you want to document. 

Complete one tab for each collective action initiative you want to document. Use the template as a tracklog of your company’s participation, not as the only evidence of participation.

When completing it, focus on clear and concrete information. Briefly describe:

• The initiative and stakeholders involved

• Your company’s role and participation period

• The main contributions made

• How the initiative influenced your company’s strategy, policies, operations, decision-making, advocacy, or other activities

You should also gather supporting documentation that helps demonstrate active and meaningful participation. This may include:

• Meeting notes or agendas

• Email correspondence

• Presentations or agreements

• Public outputs or policy submissions

• Internal documents showing follow-up actions

Preparing for the audit 

When submitting information for the audit, you may use the completed workbook to organize and explain your collective action evidence. Please also include supporting evidence that backs up what is described in the workbook.

This workbook serves as guidance and does not confirm that a requirement has been met nor guarantee a particular audit outcome. Final audit decisions are made independently by B Lab’s Assurance Providers.

Important Notice: The guidance in this article is not a part of B Lab's Standards and should be used for informational purposes only. It does not guarantee a favorable audit outcome. All final audit decisions are made independently by B Lab’s Assurance Providers. B Lab assumes no liability for the actions, decisions, or omissions of these independent providers.