Bringing it Home: Michael Shuman's Challenge to Investors
Hal Brill

It’s a wonderful gift to have an insight so powerful that it stays with you for decades, guiding your work and your life. Michael Shuman has pursued the grail of local economies for many years, with influential books that include Going Local and The Small-Mart Revolution, as well as a career that has launched some of today's most important local economy networks. Many of us have eagerly awaited his new book because of its focus on local investing. So I jumped at the chance to review Local Dollars, Local Sense: How to Shift Your Money from Wall Street to Main Street and Achieve Real Prosperity.

Natural Investments LLC Recognized in First ‘Best for the World’ List

of Businesses With Less Than 10 Employees

Creating Most Overall Positive Social and Environmental Impact

‘Best for the World’ Businesses Score 50% Higher Than Nearly 2,000 Other Sustainable Businesses

in Most Comprehensive Assessment of Overall Corporate Impact

Top 10% Among Certified B Corps With Under 10 Employees

Natural Investments has been recognized as ‘Best for the World’ in a list of U.S. businesses with less than 10 employees creating the most overall positive social and environmental impact.  Natural Investments and the other ‘Best for the World’ businesses earned a score in the top 10% of all Certified B Corporations with 10 employees or less, and, on average, 50% higher than the average score of nearly 2,000 other sustainable businesses that have completed the B Impact Assessment.

The B Impact Assessment, governed by the nonprofit B Lab, is the most rigorous, comprehensive, and comparable independent assessment of overall corporate impact in the country, and shows the relative value businesses create for society by comparing nearly 200 individual metrics on corporate impact on workers, consumers, suppliers, community and the environment.

Natural Investments is a leader in the global movement to redefine success in business,” said Jay Coen Gilbert, co founder of B Lab, the organization that certifies B Corporations. “Natural Investments is among the best in the world at being the best for the world.”

“We are proud to have earned this distinction,” said Natural Investments’ said Natural Investments Director of Investment Research, Scott Secrest. “Our clients walk their talk with their investments, so it makes sense for us to operate our company with attention to high social and environmental standards.” The ‘Best for the World’ list appears in the 2012 B Corp Annual Report published today by B Lab. Learn more about w Natural Investments creates positive social and environmental impact at bcorporation.net/naturalinvestments

‘Best for the World’ businesses with less than 10 employees include: Autonomie Project, Inc., Big City Farms LLC, Co-op Power / Northeast Biodiesel, davistudio, EduCare Education, Enviro-Stewards, Fair Trade Sports, Inc., GreenLight Apparel, Hives for Lives, InVenture Fund, JustNeem, KINeSYS Inc., LEAP Organics, Little Pickle Press, mindful investors, Natural Investments LLC, New Avenue, Palmetto Ventures, Pivotal Production, SABEResPODER, Social Enterprise Associates, Social(k), Sustainability Television, The Inclusive & Sustainable Group LLC, The Sustainability Advantage, and Veterans Ink.

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Natural Investments is a national registered investment adviser with an exclusive focus on sustainable and responsible investing. Active in the field since 1985, the firm has offices in California, Colorado, Hawaii, Kentucky, Massachusetts, New York Oregon, South Carolina, Washington. Since 1992, the firm has maintained and published the first rating system that monitors the social and environmental performance of mutual funds, the NI Social Rating. The firm’s founders wrote two of the leading books on the topic, Investing from the Heart (1992) and Investing With Your Values: Making Money and Making a Difference (2000). A Founding B Corp, Natural Investments has also earned distinction as a certified green business by Green America.

B Lab is a nonprofit organization dedicated to building a new sector of the economy that uses the power of business to solve social and environmental problems.  B Lab drives systemic change through three interrelated initiatives:

1) building a community of Certified B Corporations to make it easier for all of us to tell the difference between “good companies” and just good marketing;

2) driving capital to impact investments through use of GIIRS Ratings and Analytics; and

3) advancing supportive public policies to accelerate growth of social entrepreneurship and impact investing.  To earn certification, B Corps must achieve a verified minimum score (80 out of 200) on the B Impact Assessment and amend their bylaws to legally require their directors to consider the interests of stakeholders, not just shareholders, when making decisions.

For more information, check www.bcorporation.net or contact Jay Coen Gilbert at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

How Do We Build Local Social Capital?