In a competitive world where companies need to stand out, some businesses want to stand out for one reason: doing good. The growing number of so-called B Corp businesses are showing us that using business to solve social and environmental problems is not just good for the world, but it is great for business too. Who are these B Corporations and what does it mean to be one?
B Corp certified businesses come in different shapes and forms. Whatever the industry, these for-profit companies share one unifying motto: ‘people using business as a force for good‘. Indeed, to get the B Corp certification, these companies have their social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency, rigorously assessed by B Lab, the US non-profit organisation behind the B Corp mark. B Lab’s vision is a future in which companies strive not just to be the best in, but the best for the world.
How is B Lab Turning Their Vision Into a Reality?
B Lab works towards building a global community of Certified B Corporations, that is corporations who are verified to meet high social, environmental, transparency and accountability standards. Through their free B Impact Assessment online tool – which includes some 300 performance indicators – companies are assessed and ranked in five impact areas: governance, environment, community, customers, workers. Questions are weighted according to company’s sector and size, and companies must achieve a minimum of 80 points out of 200 available points to receive certification.
Another tool, B Analytics, aggregates and analyses B Impact Assessment data, and allows companies to track their performance against goals, across time and against similar businesses. Businesses can also see how they compare against top Certified B Corporations, and benchmark against some 40,000 businesses around the world.
And through a multimedia story-telling platform, B the Change, B Lab provides not only fascinating news about business ideas, and new enterprises, but they keep us up to date with B Corp certifications, events, reports, and successful B Corp stories.
What Are the Benefits of a B Corp Certification?
Certification can bring companies a range of benefits, such as: attracting talent and investors, saving money and improving operations, increasing sales revenues, benchmarking performance, and generating press coverage through the B Corp media platforms and partners. All the while reducing their enviromental impact and increasing social returns (thanks to fairer wages, greater transparency and accountability) for the communities in which they operate.
Who Are the B Corporations and Which Sector Do They Operate In?
From beer makers to digital-tree planting platforms, from healthy-food producers to mobile phone manufacturers, from garden suppliers to cosmetics purveyors, from bee-keepers to solar powered lamps enterprises, some 130 industry sectors are represented within the 1897 companies currently certified, in some 50 countries. Check out the B Corp directory to see where and who they are, and how they score.
And here you can watch a video from the B Lab Europe launch event.
