By Janine Kubert, Director of Operations, iReuse “…[T]he goal of sustainability is to increase long-term shareholder and social value, while decreasing industry’s use of materials and reducing negative impacts on the environment.” (Source: EPA) Changing Incentives I was in a meeting with a property management client recently, giving the lead engineer a report on the [...]

Whether it’s preventing drownings or ensuring the best possible workenvironment, The Redwoods Group is all about people. Speaking with a wide-cross section of employees, it’s impossible to miss that these are top-quality professionals who have chosen to commit themselves to a business with a higher mission than money. Jim Fryling, General Counsel and Sr. VP of [...]

Started in a small Oakland, CA apartment, Numi Organic Tea has grown from one sister-brother duo’s imagination to a nationally distributed, organic, fair-trade tea company. Just like their original flowering teas, this B Corp has blossomed to become a symbol of good products and business practices. In addition to their dedication to organic and fair [...]

C. K. Prahalad’s death a few weeks ago caused some reflection on my “for-benefit” business education. Some may not have known the author of “The Fortune At The Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty Through Profits,” and the man that Business Week called “a brilliant teacher at the University of Michigan, [someone who] may well [...]

We all know the importance of our purchasing decisions but sometimes it can be down-right overwhelming. We now have thousands of choices and need PhDs just to understand all the labels and certifications. Luckily, there’s GoodGuide to take care that. Created to empower the public with better information on the environmental, social and health performance [...]

Yesterday, June 28th 2010, Senator Jamie Raskin of the Maryland State Senate talked about Benefit Corporations on the Kojo Nnamdi Show of WAMU 88.5 FM in DC. The Senator was joined by  Jeffrey Hollender, Co-founder of Seventh Generation, and Will Wilkinson, Research Fellow at the Cato Institute. They discussed Corporate Social Responsibility, the Benefit Corp [...]

Diana Aviv, president of Independent Sector a coalition of charities and foundations, recently expressed her concern over socially minded corporations, like B Corps, being granted tax exemptions. In a video posted at Philanthropy.com, she notes that this may take resources away from nonprofits and weaken our nation’s budget. As the co-founders of B Lab, the [...]

Who says being green doesn’t pay? Recyclebank has found a great way to motivate people to recycle: Reward them. By becoming a long-term contractor with various cities, this B Corp can track and measure a household’s recycling and quantify it into RecycleBank Points. These can then be used to shop with over 2,000 different businesses. [...]

B Lab: In April, Maryland became the first state in the nation to pass Benefit Corporation legislation, creating a new class of corporation which is legally obligated to create benefit for society, as well as shareholders.  We’re here with Maryland State Senator Jamie Raskin.  Sen. Raskin was the sponsor of Benefit Corp legislation in Maryland. [...]