Giving Compass' Take:

• Rick Wartzman reports that, while B Corps have generally seen a force for good, some advocates are concerned about the separation between B Corps and the mainstream.

• How can funders help to bring B Corp practices into mainstream business? What are the challenges that this shift presents? 

• Learn about the investment opportunities of B Corps and Benefit Corporations. 

Given the magnitude of the challenges that we face–think global warming and the grossly unequal sharing of prosperity–it’s not surprising that consumers, employees, and the capital markets are all pressing business to stop being so much of the problem and to start becoming more of the solution.
All of which makes B Corps–some 2,600 companies certified for meeting the highest environmental and social standards–especially attractive as places to buy from, work for, and invest in. Among the biggest and best known are Patagonia, Danone North America, Laureate Education, Natura (parent of The Body Shop), Kickstarter, and Ben & Jerry’s (a subsidiary of Unilever).

Does a company need to be a B Corp to properly “balance profit and purpose,” as B Lab describes it? Is it even possible that by setting up a distinct designation, it could make it harder to induce non-B Corp companies to have a positive impact?

“I admire so much about B Corps–what they’ve done intellectually and how quickly they’ve established themselves,” says Adam Zurofsky, who oversees energy policy and financial regulation for the state of New York and also teaches corporate law at Fordham University. “But I do worry that having this separate silo could do more harm than good. Shouldn’t this be happening in the mainstream?”

Read the full article about B Corps by Rick Wartzman at Fast Company.