“The B Corporation”
By Scott Secrest, AAMS®
Financial Advisor
San Luis Obispo, CA 
Businesses are big players in our society. We work for them, buy from them, they’re our neighbors, and while they can’t vote, they’re often politically influential. Put all this together, and it reminds us of what we knew, businesses wield tremendous power in our society and economy. But, do they use that power only to build their own prosperity, or do they understand the powerful role they play and seek to operate in socially and environmentally responsible ways?
Due to rising public interest in a more sustainable society and economy, many businesses have taken the initiative to “green up” their products and practices. But, many of us wonder whether businesses we support and invest in, have taken substantive and meaningful measures in this direction.
Enter the “B Corporation.” Companies designated as “B Corporations” have undergone an independent assessment of the business’s level of social responsibility. A certification process requires a business to rewrite its articles of incorporation to make it clear that the business’s managers are required to consider the interests of societal stakeholders such as employees, communities and the environment, in addition to their other business.
The term “B Corporation” is a play on better known legal corporate structures such as the “S and C Corporations.” Unlike S and C corporations, B corporations do not receive any legal tax status, though there are initiatives happening to change that. In 2010, Maryland became the first state to register B Corporations in the U.S. There are presently more than 250 businesses in the U.S. who have earned the B Corporation designation.
Our socially responsible investment advisory firm, Natural Investments (www.naturalinvesting.com), is proud to have become a B Corporation in 2007. We believe that this step has only made our firm stronger through our stated commitment to principles of sustainability and social responsibility.
You can learn more about B Corporations at www.bcorporation.net. There’s no single solution to the daunting social and environmental challenges the world faces today, rather there will be hundreds of small solutions that can and will make meaningful changes. We believe better business practices will be among them, and the B Corporation is a good step.
[Click here for more articles about B corp on this site: Report on the Recent BALLE Conference]
