Designing the DNA of Belonging with Andy Hawkins

Most of us can name the moment we realized something was missing. For Love Not Fear host Tine Bieber, it is the quiet of a city street where people rush past each other without saying hello. For her guest Andy Hawkins, it was coming home to Bristol after six years in Africa and finding that the sense of community he had grown up with had, in his words, “effectively evaporated.”

Andy is a B Corp coach, a B Leader with B Lab UK and the founder of Business on Purpose. His work connects two things: helping businesses become a force for good, and helping a brand new Bristol neighborhood become a place where people belong. In this episode, he and Tine explore what it takes to design belonging on purpose, in our streets and in our organizations.

Poor materially, rich relationally

Andy’s story starts with a gap year that became six years. He and his family went to Africa to work with children born HIV positive, and stayed to run football programs, health education, parenting workshops and small business training. When he came back to the UK around 2010, the contrast struck him.

The people he had worked with in Africa were, as he puts it, “poor financially and materially, but rich relationally and spiritually.” Back home, he saw the opposite. People were comfortable on paper, but comparably poor in connection. That experience shaped a simple question that runs through the whole conversation: what if we treated relationships and community as the real wealth worth building?

Moving into a brand new neighborhood on purpose

When Andy and his wife were deciding where to live next, they made an unusual choice. Instead of moving into an established street, where they would always be “the new kid on the block,” they chose a brand new development on the old Bristol runway where Concorde was originally built and where his dad worked for 43 years.

The idea was to be a catalyst from the very beginning. “We could have the opportunity to try and shape the DNA and the culture of that community from the get go,” Andy explains. They were house number three to move in, in May 2021.

Nearly five years on, the neighborhood has around 300 occupied homes and residents from more than 25 nationalities, including many families who moved from Hong Kong. Andy describes it as one of the best communities he has ever experienced. That did not happen by accident. It took time, investment and relationships.

Small acts that fast track belonging

What does designing belonging actually look like? In Andy’s community, it looks surprisingly ordinary:

• An annual community festival with barbecues, face painting and a band
• A Chinese tea ceremony led by a tea expert, where neighbors slowed down together
• Monthly meals out, a game of padel on a Sunday, parent and toddler groups
• Street champions who act as friendly points of contact for 10 or 20 houses at a time

One story stands out. A woman moved in from Singapore and needed curtains. Neighbors took her to the shop, and the next day Andy’s next door neighbor went round and put the curtain tracks up. A small thing, but for a newcomer it is the first experience of how neighbors treat you. The goal is for people to feel at home within weeks, not after a year of polite nods.

Tine adds her own perspective from Amsterdam. She noticed that when something exceptional happens, like a rare snowfall or a fire in her building, people suddenly greet each other and check in. “It feels like we have unlearned a great part of that,” she reflects. The good news is that micro moments of connection are always within reach. Saying hello to a neighbor is already a small change.

Andy’s view is hopeful and practical: “We can’t influence some of those things, but we can influence what happens within our neighborhood.” He also believes good community rarely appears on its own. “It does need that intentionality.”

From better neighborhoods to better business

The same thinking carries into Andy’s work with companies. Governments come and go, he says, but businesses have a long shelf life and enormous influence, so they need to play their part in tackling the world’s challenges.

To explain B Corp, he uses a memorable comparison: B Corp is to a business what fair trade is to a jar of coffee. It is an independent signal that a company balances people and planet with profit, verified by an external audit and renewed every three years.

Andy has coached more than 500 businesses using a ten step approach he likens to “couch to 5k.” Teams commit an hour or two a week for a few months. Even if they never certify, they come out with better processes and a clearer sense of how to listen to their workers, suppliers and communities.

Cost, investment and a better time that never comes

When Tine asks about the biggest obstacle, Andy is honest. Many businesses are struggling, and they see anything social or environmental as a pure cost. His experience points the other way. Going through the B Corp journey helps companies attract and retain good talent, spot risks, appeal to investors and win customers who care.

The second obstacle is timing. Plenty of leaders like the idea and plan to do it next year. Andy’s response is clear: “A quieter time, a better time is never coming.” The best time to become a fitter, stronger business is now.

Underneath it all is a belief that ties both halves of the conversation together. “There’s good in all of us,” Andy says. Most people want to do the right thing, whether that means helping a neighbor through a fire, putting up curtains or choosing to buy from businesses they can trust.

Key takeaways

• Belonging can be designed. Early, intentional acts shape the culture of a community or a company.
• Small gestures matter more than big programs. A greeting or a helping hand is often where connection starts.
• Doing good is an investment, not just a cost, for neighborhoods and for businesses.
• There is no perfect moment to begin. Start small, and start now.

Listen and Connect

Andy Hawkins is the founder and C-3PO (Chief People, Planet and Purpose Officer) of Business on Purpose and a B Leader with B Lab UK. You can find him on LinkedIn.

For more conversations like this, visit lovenotfear.com and subscribe to the Love Not Fear Podcast wherever you listen.