The Natural Evolution Of Business: Introducing the B Corp
By Greg Berry
Filed Under Conscious Commerce |
Historically, progressive business leaders had a few different ways to create companies. The Limited Liability Corporation (LLC), ‘S’ Corporation, and ‘C’ Corporation are the most common legal forms of business. Some of the most socially minded business people have chosen to start ‘earned-income non-profit corporations.’ Without devolving into a Latin-laden deconstruction of these choices, each of the existing options includes some major flaws for this generation’s greatest heroes, the social entrepreneurs.
Our friends at B Lab have set out to change that, with the formation of the B Corporation (B Corp). The ‘B’ here stands for Beneficial. B Corp provides a comprehensive ratings system and certification to help both businesses and buyers distinguish “good companies” from “good marketing.” Founding B Corporations include eConscious Market, Method, Seventh Generation, and Dansko. We spoke to Andrew Kassoy, one of the B Lab founders, who explained their purpose as a way to support “the power of business to create benefit, and to ‘be the change.’”
The socially conscious business movement is by no means limited to a handful of lefties in Boulder and San Francisco. According to Kassoy, there are approximately 60 million ‘green consumers’ in the US today (roughly 20% of the population), 30-40,000 businesses that identify themselves as socially-driven businesses, and over 2.5 trillion dollars has been assigned to “more conscious investments” which span a diverse group of investors and strategies.
For this huge and ever-expanding community, B Corporation provides “a transparent ratings system that measures the net impact of business on society,” Kassoy explains, “and ultimately allows a corporate mission of peace.” B Corp can “change the DNA of your business by expanding the responsibilities of your corporation to take into consideration the interests of all stakeholders, not just shareholders.” B Lab provides a complete ‘Legal Road Map‘ to help companies navigate the potentially confusing state-by-state legal frameworks of becoming a B Corp. They hope to one day move this philosophy into a federal structure, a lofty goal that Kassoy acknowledges will take some time to achieve.
By carving out a Triple Bottom Line-based corporate structure, B Corporation has trailblazed a road for evolved business practices in the 21st Century. Just in time.
There are many ways to support B Corporations, including:
- Ask your employer and favorite businesses to become a B Corporation
- Check out this list of B Corporations and shop with them, including our obvious favorite, eConsciousMarket.com
- Learn about environmental entrepreneurs, a group of socially conscious entrepreneurs associated with the National Resources Defense Council
Posted on May 6, 2008 |
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