About B Lab

Our history

B Lab began in 2006 with the idea that a different kind of economy was not only possible — it was necessary. Our founders Andrew Kassoy, Bart Houlahan, and Jay Coen Gilbert believed there was a better way to do business: better for workers, better for communities, and better for the planet. 

When our movement’s first 81 Founding B Corps signed the Declaration of Interdependence in 2007, they were not just proposing a better way of doing business. They were proposing a different definition altogether. 

What we’ve achieved 

B Lab became known for certifying B Corporations™, companies that meet verified standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. But we do much more than that. We help mobilize a global community of businesses committed to collective action on society’s most critical challenges.

In 2010, B Lab was part of successfully drafting and passing benefit corporation in Maryland, the first U.S. state to do so. This created a legal framework that allows companies to keep their values of care and community, not just shareholder value, at the forefront. Today, benefit corporation legislation is active in 52 jurisdictions around the world. 

Where we operate

Our global network of B Lab and Sistema B organizations is known as the B Global Network, an interdependent system of global, regional, and national organizations that power the B Corp movement at the local level.

We grow, engage, and mobilize our regional B Corp communities, ecosystems, and partnerships, and in turn reshape our local economies to prioritize people and the planet. Our network brings our global theory of change to life by driving policy changes with local governments, amplifying credible stories of business as a force for good, and changing the behavior of businesses in our regions.