Carolyn McMaster | May 6, 2014
In just a few days there will be 1,000 certified B Corporations worldwide.
That’s pretty amazing progress—there were only 300-plus when we became a certified B Corp in 2010. It feels like the movement is gaining real momentum and emerging from obscurity. Hitting the 1,000-company milestone is just one sign. Here are a few others from the tally presented April 30 at the quarterly “State of the B” presentation by B Lab (the nonprofit that certifies B Corps):
- About 100 B Corps have been certified just this year. The 997 current B Corps are based in 32 countries and represent about 60 industries. B Lab is opening a Colorado office, and there are hubs in Europe and South America.
- More than 6,000 companies have used the B Impact Assessment tool to measure their social and environmental impacts.
- In March, B Lab was honored with a Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship, which provides $1.25 million over three years to “transformative leaders who are disrupting the status quo, driving large-scale change, and are poised to make an even greater impact on the world.” (There’s a nice video here.)
- Twenty-six states have adopted benefit corporation legislation, and more than 600 companies are benefit corporations. This is a corporate form, separate from B Corp certification, that allows companies to pursue social and environmental benefits even if doing so reduces profits. (Thinkshift is a California benefit corporation.) Benefit corporation laws are under consideration in 11 more states: Alabama, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin, plus the Canadian province of Ontario. Several others are also working on legislation.
- One of B Lab’s goals is to help drive investments in B Corps. The crowdfunding platform CircleUp has created a fund for investing in B Corps that have more than $1 million in annual revenue.
- More than 100 stories about B Corps have appeared in the media so far this year, including articles in Forbes, Bloomberg and Fast Company.
We are proud to be part of this movement and community, which is redefining success in business and empowering companies that are working to solve social and environmental problems. Learn more about it at bcorporation.net. You can read about why we became a B Corp here and how we became one of the first California benefit corporations here.
