INTRODUCTION

I first found out about B Corporations while baking cookies. The flour I was using—King Arthur’s unbleached all-purpose flour—had a Certified B Corporation logo on the side of the package. “That seems silly,” I thought. “Wouldn’t you want to be an A Corporation and not a B Corporation?” The carton of eggs I was using was rated AA. I was obviously missing something.

An online search revealed that the B logo was not a scarlet letter for secondrate baking products. B Corporations, I found, were part of a dynamic and exciting movement to redefine success in business by using their innovation, speed, and capacity for growth not only to make money but also to help alleviate poverty, build stronger communities, restore the environment, and inspire us to work for a higher purpose. The B stands for “benefit,” and as a community, B Corporations want to build a new sector of the economy in which the race to the top isn’t to be the best in the world but to be the best for the world.

Since my cookie-inspired discovery, I have watched the B Corp movement grow rapidly and globally. In addition to King Arthur Flour, big-name B Corps include companies like Ben & Jerry’s, Cabot Creamery, Dansko, Etsy, Method, Patagonia, and Seventh Generation. There are now Certified B Corporations in more than thirty countries around the globe, including Afghanistan, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Kenya, and Mongolia (to name a few). Thought leaders such as former president Bill Clinton and Robert Shiller, the winner of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Economics, have taken an interest in the B Corp movement. Inc. magazine has called B Corp certification “the highest standard for socially responsible businesses,” and the New York Times has said, “B Corp provides what is lacking elsewhere: proof.”

You ought to look at these B Corporations. … We’ve got to get back to a stakeholder society that doesn’t give one class of stakeholders an inordinate advantage over others.

Bill Clinton, former president of the United States

I think B Corporations will make more profits than other types of companies.

Robert Shiller, Nobel laureate in economics

In a time of unfortunate political gridlock, the B Corporation is an idea that has generated incredible bipartisan support. In the United States, legislation to create benefit corporations—a new corporate structure based on the B Corp idea—has been passed in “red” states like Louisiana and South Carolina, “blue” states like California and New York, swing states like Colorado and Pennsylvania, and even in Delaware, the home of corporate law, where more than 63 percent of the Fortune 500 are incorporated. It is not hard to see why this idea receives strong bipartisan support. B Corps are pro-business, pro-environment, pro-market, and pro-community.

I decided to write this book because in my work as a sustainability consultant I have found that many business owners and CEOs are intrigued and excited by the idea of B Corporations, but until now there has been no single step-by-step resource that could explain the what, why, and how of the B Corp movement. Accordingly, the first two sections of this book will outline the business case for using your business as a force for good, offer a brief history of the B Corp movement, provide a description of what B Corps are and why they are important, and highlight ten benefits of becoming a B Corp.

The third section describes the B Impact Assessment, a comprehensive tool that helps turn the desire to use business as a force for good into a series of concrete, measurable, and actionable steps. This section is a great resource, whether you want to become a Certified B Corporation or you are unsure about becoming a B Corp but want a free tool to assess, compare, and implement improvements that are good for workers, good for the environment, good for communities, good for the long term, and good to the core. Whichever path you choose, this section will give you the insight, resources, and best practices necessary to make the most of your efforts.

For those who are fired up and ready to go, the Quick Start Guide in the final section outlines a six-week, step-by-step action plan to help you move forward on your journey as efficiently as possible. Like the section on the B Impact Assessment, the Quick Start Guide is designed to be useful both for businesses that want to become a Certified B Corporation and for companies that are interested in improving their social and environmental performance but are not necessarily interested in formally certifying as a B Corporation.

Most importantly, I made sure to tap into the collective wisdom of the B Corp community to help me write this book. I interviewed more than one hundred CEOs, sustainability directors, impact investors, marketing executives, human resources directors, and others from an international cohort of Certified B Corporations. The goal of these interviews was to get a wide range of opinions—directly from the B Corp community—about the business benefits of B Corp certification and the challenges that typically arise during the certification process. I also asked them to provide advice for companies that are considering whether to certify. In fact, one of the most powerful aspects of this book is the opportunity to hear fellow business leaders describe, in their own words, why their company became a B Corp and why they think B Corps matter.

In addition, you’ll find that my website has downloads on a range of business, management, and leadership topics about which B Corps have something particularly useful to share. Topics include organizational strategy, creating a culture of innovation, attracting investment capital, legal considerations, and the latest tips on effective branding and marketing.

There are two final things that I want you to know. First, B Corp offers a framework that any company in any state or country in the world can use to build a better business. This framework is relevant whether you are a B2B or B2C business, a local sole proprietor or a global brand, a start-up or a third-generation family business, a limited liability company or a partnership, an employeeowned company or a cooperative, a C corporation or an S corporation, or even if you are still deciding on the right structure for a new business.

Second, B Corp is relevant to you personally, whether you are attracted or repelled by such terms as green, socially responsible, or sustainable; whether you consider yourself conservative or progressive; whether you are a student, a young entrepreneur, or an experienced businessperson. If you have ever thought about how you could make a living and make a difference, about your legacy and the example you set for your kids, or about leading a purpose-driven life—and especially if you’ve thought about how you could use business as a force for good—the B Corp movement is for you.

Welcome to the future of business. Let’s get started.

Ryan Honeyman

San Francisco