BROOKLYN, New York (December 5, 2011) – Runatarpuna Exportadora S.A., the Ecuadorian Subsidiary of Runa LLC – a social enterprise that produces a unique, energizing Amazonian tea – recently received a $500,000 equity investment from the Build Ecuador Fund (CreEcuador”, a socially responsible investment fund created by Ecuador’s Ministry of Production.) Runa is an Amazonian [...]

1. You’re creating a new class of corporation. The Benefit Corporation benefits society as well as shareholders. Unlike traditional corporations, Benefit Corporations must create a material positive impact on society and the environment; consider how decisions affect workers, community and the environment; and publicly report their social and environmental performance using established third party standards. [...]

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 [...]

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. [...]

In 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 [...]

Over 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 [...]

Ambiguity is not an option. For any company that seriously intends to harness the power of the marketplace to crack society’s biggest challenges, authenticity—the capacity to do what you say you’ll do—is a core, non-negotiable attribute. And that presents a problem.

I would encourage you to read the recent interview of President Obama in the New York Times magazine.  (Full interview, click here.)  The first part of the interview is entitled “The Future of Finance.”  The President has some encouraging things to say, but I can’t help feeling disappointed in the overall tone and substance of [...]

B Corporations have voluntarily adopted a higher standard of legal accountability than their traditional corporate counterparts. B Corps are required to take into ‘due consideration’ the impact of their decisions not only on their shareholders, but also on non-shareholder interests, such as their employees, suppliers, community, and environment.   B Corp Legal Framework ‘Due consideration’.  What [...]