Blog
Archive for April, 2010
Take a Walk in Someone Else's Shoes: Better Know Untours
Posted by: B Lab April 30th, 2010Founded in 1975 and one of our first B Corps, Untours offers a truly unique travel experience. Rather than simply seeing the artificial face of Europe, travelers can integrate into local culture. Hotels and bus tours are replaced with apartment living and local contacts. Set schedules are tossed out in favor of personal preferences and [...]
Channeling Investment for Impact: New rating system helps investors move beyond responsibility
Posted by: Matt Krogh Sustainable Industries April 29th, 2010Alleviating global poverty and stemming environmental deterioration are not small or easy problems, but a new network of investors is willing to put their money towards this mission. The Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN)- comprised of large institutional investors such as JPMorgan Chase, TIAA-CREF, Prudential, and Rockefeller Foundation – is working with B Lab to [...]
Old is Made New Again: Better Know Eleek
Posted by: B Lab April 28th, 2010Eleek is one of the newest additions to the B Corp family. Based in Portland, OR, this sustainable design and manufacturing firm specializes in beautiful, handcrafted lighting, sinks and hardware fixtures. Additionally they offer design, light restoration and manufacturing services based in a history of pattern-making and craftsmanship. With a strong commitment to a reduced [...]
Directing Investment to Companies that are Changing the World
Posted by: Beth Richardson B Lab April 27th, 2010In 2002, I worked with small producers in a township outside of Cape Town, South Africa to help launch a small business. The official unemployment rate in Cape Town at that time was around 30% and for many of the men and woman I worked with, running their own business was the first job they [...]
hessnatur becomes a B Corp
Posted by: Wolf Luedge hessnatur April 21st, 2010One of the statements from B Corp that I consider especially powerful is, “the absence of transparent standards…makes it difficult for all of us to differentiate between a ‘good company’ and just good marketing”. In the textile industry this is sadly true with the trend toward “green” apparel. Recently, an article in The Financial Times [...]
Benefit Corporations exist in Maryland
Posted by: Andrew Kassoy April 19th, 2010Over the past three years, we’ve had a lot of those late-night-over-beers conversations that ended with “wouldn’t it be great if there was a new corporate form built to enable social benefit and shareholder value? Yeah, we should work on that.” I’m not sure how clearly we believed it was a near term possibility, but [...]
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