What is a B Corporation?
B Corporations are a new type of company which are purpose-driven and create benefit not only for shareholders, but for employees, the community, and the environment.
Why are B Corporations important?
B Corporations help us tell the difference between a “good company” and just good marketing. This is important for employees who want to find a place they can bring their whole selves to work and for consumers, suppliers, and investors who want to support companies which make a positive impact on society.
What does a business have to do to become a B Corporation?
Two things: 1) a company must achieve a passing score on the B Ratings System, a comprehensive tool to assess a company’s social and environmental performance; and 2) it must agree to legally expand the responsibilities of the corporation to include the interests of its employees, suppliers, consumers, community, and environment.
What are the benefits of becoming a B Corporation?
By becoming a B Corporation, a company:
• differentiates itself from other companies who only pay lip service to being a “good company”
• ensures that the values of the business can survive new management, a capital raise, or even a change of ownership gets access to value-added services, including discounts on business products and services like the 75% discount on Salesforce’s top of the line Enterprise Edition of its CRM platform
exercises its leadership, influencing the market beyond its own individual success.
How many B Corporations are there?
As of August 2008, there are over 120 B Corporations in over 30 industries, representing a $900 million marketplace. Over the next few years, these numbers will grow to hundreds of B Corporations and a multi-billion marketplace, all building collective voice for “good companies.”
Who are some of the other B Corporations?
The diverse community of B Corporations includes sole proprietors, national brands and global financial intermediaries, ranging from consumer product companies (Dansko, Method, Numi Organic Tea) to business suppliers (BBMG, Give Something Back, New Leaf Paper); from law firms (Hanson Bridgett, Lara Pearson) to local businesses (White Dog Café, Village Books). These companies also represent diverse areas of impact, including environmental practices (Icestone, Seventh Generation), employee engagement (King Arthur Flour, Workplace Dynamics), charitable giving (BetterWorld Books, Untours), or serving low income communities (Agora Partnerships, Indigenous Designs).
Who certifies B Corporations?
B Lab, a nonprofit organization, certifies B Corporations. B Lab’s independent Standards Advisory Council sets the legal and performance standards for what is required to become a B Corporation; it also oversees the evolution of those standards and the auditing of B Corporations. The legal and performance standards, as well as the members of the SAC, the Board, and the management team, are all transparent to the public on www.bcorporation.net.
