Who are B Corp companies?
Certified B Corporations, or B Corps, are companies verified by B Lab to meet high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. Use our map to explore the growing community of companies using business as a force for good. You need to enable Javascript to view the map. But what does being a B Corp really mean? The B Corp logo is the mark of a business that has been independently certified to go beyond business as usual to proactively meet high standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency.The B Corp Definition Certified B Corporations are businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose.You may have seen the “Circle B” logo, but what does it mean? The logo can only be displayed by a Certified B Corporation. These are companies that have achieved a minimum score on an evaluation of their corporate governance, community, employee, and environmental benefits.Can sole proprietors get B Corp Certified? Yes! There’s no minimum size for B Corp Certification.
What is the average score of a company which first applies for B Corp?
B Corp Certification is not designed to be easy or quick. The median score on the B Impact Assessment is 55, while B Corp Certification requires 80. The 80 point bar that companies try to achieve (and then exceed) is based on an intricate set of social and environmental standards. Becoming a Certified B Corporation is a rigorous and rewarding journey. By completing the B Impact Assessment (BIA), meeting legal requirements, and submitting documentation for review, you’ll become part of a global community using business as a force for good. Learn more about the certification process.Being a ‘good’ B Corp B Corps recertify by updating their B Impact Assessment and ensuring all the information is accurate and up to date. This is important as the BIA itself is updated every three years to stay relevant to evolving best practice in social and environmental standards.
What does being ab corp mean?
Certified B Corporations are businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. Yes! Existing Certified B Corporations have gone public, like Lemonade, Vital Farms, Warby Parker, and Silver Chef. Publicly-traded companies have also achieved B Corp Certification, such as Natura.However, B Lab does require certified B Corps to follow the legal requirement to become a PBC in their state, if the designation exists; not all states have a PBC legal structure available. A company can be both a PBC and a B Corp.
What is one advantage of operating as an AB corporation?
By becoming a B Corporation, entrepreneurs can protect their mission by elevating their company’s core social and environmental values to the status of law, meaning that new investors and a new board would be obligated to consider both shareholders and stakeholders when making decisions in the future. Being a B Corp means that prospective employees—just like consumers and business partners—will know you’re honestly committed to creating real environmental and/or societal benefits. This can help you attract employees who are already committed to issues of sustainability and/or social change.What are the advantages of operating a business as a partnership rather than as a corporation?An advantage of a business partnership is the collective resources put toward running and financing a company. Partners could pay less in tax. Since profits and losses pass through a partnership, rather than to a corporation, business taxes are typically avoided. Partnership structures provide options. A company functioning without a Partnership Agreement takes significant legal and financial risks. This can lead to disputes over responsibilities, profit sharing, and other issues that lead to litigation, ultimately draining resources and damaging the business’s reputation.