Why would a business want to be a B Corp?

Below are a series of reasons with questions you can ask your self to determine if B Corp could help.

Contribute To The Greater Good

Before we jump into the reasons why becoming a B Corp is good for your business, it is important to ground this in the purpose of the movement: serving something beyond the business itself. Namely, system change.

Becoming part of a movement like B Corp builds momentum and credibility for the rallying cry that change is needed, it is possible and business has an important role to play in it. It is not just a certification that creates benefits for the businesses that become one.

You don't have to be a B Corp to be a great business. But doing so can help others build the courage and credibility to do the same.

Protect Your Mission for The Longer Term

The legal requirement component strives to ensure what B Lab calls "mission lock" - the idea that the missional intent of the business is protected beyond the current ownership and leadership.

John Mackey, founder of Whole Foods, famously wishes he had made Whole Foods a B Corp prior to activist investors forcing a sale to Amazon at the very least to test their intentions.

Demonstrate Sincere Commitment

Question to ask yourself: How can you demonstrate to people you company isn't more messaging than substance?

To become a B Corp is to move from talking about being a business that is trying to do something meaningful with its role in the world to demonstrating the fact.

It is too much work to be a B Corp for marketing or PR purposes.

If you don't want to do - or be thought to do - the minimum that sounds good, B Corp is a serious option to go about that.

The mission lock element - via the legal change - enables you to protect the company’s mission.

A Framework for Benchmarking and Improvement.

Question to ask yourself: If you aren't going to the B Corp framework, do you have something equally powerful and credible to use?

For many companies, pulling together a framework and accompanying resources to help them think about how to become a more responsible business is too challenging, resource intensive or open to blind spots.

The B Impact Assessment will also allow you to measure and benchmark on an ongoing basis.

It is packed full of positive implementation ideas, educational pieces and case studies.

Talent Retention/Attraction

Question to ask yourself: How can you take the promise of a great place to work to another level?

If you want the best people you have to get real about the nature and purpose of the workplace you provide.

Just as the system is awash with statistics of people who want to buy from more sustainable companies, the same is true of employment. Even the once "elite" brands are now struggling to hold on to their best people unless they move in this direction.

"I applied because you're a B Corp" is something B Corps are regularly told.

Credibility & Trust

Question to ask yourself: Can you maintain reputation excellence without a third party keeping you challenged, honest and forward thinking?

The B Corp brand is ever increasingly a marker for quality and authenticity. If you want a business that is seen as at the top of its game, or a thought leader, then B Corp has become the creme de la creme community to be part of.

Building credibility and trust is particularly important in a marketplace where there is a saturation of differentiation by price and service.

Catapulting Forward: Making Up For Lost Time

Question to ask yourself: Would you like to make concentrated and accelerated steps forward?

An increasing number of firms start down the B Corp journey to make up for lost time in recent years where investing across environmental, social and governance issues has been lower down the list or priorities.

That lack of time spent has created a gap between where they are and where they want to be. Pursuing B Corp and the framework it offers enables those firms to catapult forward and, in many cases, overtake rivals who have slowed their progress. 

Performance

Question to ask yourself: Do you believe  the future of the marketplace involves more sustainable and purpose-led companies?

There is a wealth of data that supports the idea that businesses with a holistic approach outperform those that don't (see: "What evidence is there for a 'better', more conscientious approach to business?"). You can take this approach without being a B Corp, but the accountability, inspiration and access to resources that the B Corp community provides can put rocket fuel in your efforts.

Press & Awareness

Becoming a B Corp will provide you with something solid and meaningful to generate press and awareness. In many cases, it generates interest in a business beyond the awareness they proactively seek for their certificaiton.

Collective voice, Collaborative Community

Question to ask yourself: Would it help your stakeholders to feel part of a community that was bigger, more inspiring and more informative than the stories you can tell about yourself?

Being a B Corp puts you within a bigger story and community. It is a movement before it is a certification. This is particularly good for employees who can then find it easier to connect with what you are up to through awareness of the other B Corp brands.

It is also a highly collaborative community with an extensive quantity of idea sharing, resource pooling, problem tackling and new possibility creating at work.

Investment

Question to ask yourself: Do you want to be aligned with the direction of travel for the wider investment community and capital markets?

B Corps also attract investment, with over $2 Billion invested in them so far. Almost every major Silicon Valley investor now owns a stake in a B Corp. And there are also a growing number of public companies taking interest in B Corps - from both an acquisition and partnership perspective.

See: "How are investors engaging with B Corp?"

Market Trends & Pressure

Question to ask yourself: Do you believe global market trends are aligned with the ways of being that B Corps are in pursuit of?

The marketplace is shifting ever further towards a more conscientious approach to products and services. If the 20th Century was the age of the Shareholder, then the 21st looks well set to be that of the Stakeholder. The B Corp model is well placed to address the key areas of concern going forward, including:

• Regulatory change
• Investors
• Customer Trust

• Governance
• Sustainable Development Goals
• Employee Experience

 

 

To list the potential benefits:

Commercial durability
Future-proofing and resilience
Lower risk profile
Mission lock without asset lock
Mission clarity
Access to a global community
Competitive differentiation
Thought leadership
Mission-aligned partnership potential
Long-term sustainability
Investor attention and attraction
Increased internal transparency
Shared cost-benefit examples
Business-wide assessment tool
Benchmarking options
Risk management tool examining whole business
Opportunity to introduce environmentally friendly processes
More cost-effective practices
Operational and brand value alignment
Stronger supply chain relationships
Identify areas for improvement
Employee engagement
Access to best practice guides and templates
Collective marketing
Avoid “greenwashing” perceptions
Fresh ways to engage with the market/stakeholders
Exciting project to be involved with
Greater employee voice
More supply chain transparency
Makes responsible business a board concern
Incorporates other sustainability practices

 

But what about…?

Three of the most common FAQs at this point are:

This sounds like just another certification:
“What’s different about the B Corp certification vs the others that are available?”

This sounds like it might not be applicable to my particular context:
“Is the B Corp movement only for a particular type/size of business?”

This sounds like more of the same:
“We’re already doing lots of sustainability work: why would we want to look at the B Corp model as well?”