B CORP IS JUST BETTER BUSINESS
“The B Corp movement is one of the most important of our lifetime, built on the simple fact that business impacts and serves more than just shareholders – it has an equal responsibility to the community and to the planet.”
Rose Marcario
Former CEO Patagonia
WHAT EXACTLY IS A B CORP?
Certified B Corps are a new form of business that seeks to balance purpose and profit. This means that rather than solely focusing on profit maximisation, they consider the impact of their operations on their workers, customers, suppliers, community, and the environment.
B Corps are leaders of a global movement of business as a force for good.
To get Certified, they meet the highest independently verified levels of transparency and accountability around their social and environmental performance.
It’s achieved by measuring the positive contribution that your organisation makes through the BIA or B Impact Assessment. It reviews your business against the 5 pillars of:
Governance
Workers
Community
Environment
Customer Model
The assessment is a self-assessment and is completely free to take. You only pay to have your certification verified by a B Lab Standards Assessor, however, you will need to do that to get the certification.
Fundamentally, it’s a measure of the good that your business creates from its operations and business model. The Certification tool is a formula for helping you maximise the good that you can create in and through your organisation.
Why B though? Shouldn’t we be an A Corp? Well, the B stands for Benefit. So beyond just benefitting your shareholders, what other benefit does your organisation have?