February’s Spotlight of the Month: B Corporations

It’s a green new way to certify your company. It’s called a B Corporation, and it’s beginning to catch on.

It started back in June 2006 with something called B Lab. 3 entrepreneurs – Coen Gilbert, Bart Houlahan, and Andrew Kassoy – who had founded and sold larger successful corporations in the past, but all three had become interested in businesses that saw social and environmental goals as part of their core mission. They noticed an opportunity – and although it started with green business, it wasn’t about creating another one. It was about making a difference to the entire industry.

Here was an opportunity to take a growing activity – the green industry – and help structure and define standards, a definition of ‘responsible, sustainable, green business”, and of course, obliterate the lack of legal structures reflecting the values of these new enterprises. And so began the B Corporation, with B standing for “beneficial”, which bounced off nomenclature of well-known C corporations and S corporations named after sections of the federal tax code.

From their website, B Corporations embody these three important qualities:

1) Meet comprehensive and transparent social and environmental performance standards;
2) Legally expand the responsibilities of the corporation to include stakeholder interests;
3) Build collective voice through the power of the unifying B Corporation brand.

Now, with over 168 corporations certified in over 31 industries, the B Corporation certification is growing at a steady pace. The roster includes companies you probably have heard of, such as Method Home in San Francisco and Numi Tea in Oakland. Check out all of the currently certified B Corporations in their roster. Just as the site states: The next time you see green, responsible, sustainable marketing campaigns, take a closer look. B Corporation is the new corporate standard for social and environmental performance.

To learn more about B Corporations, visit their website.
Image from the B Corporation website.