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What is a B Corp? And why as a consumers should we care?
The ultimate goal for a consumer brand, in my mind as a seasoned marketing executive, is recognition and respect. Enough recognition and respect that ultimately garnishes your brand as everyone’s first choice in your category of offerings.
In today’s consumer centric marketplace, we as consumers are influenced to identify ourselves by the products we buy. It’s not just a logo on our coffee cup or t-shirt. It represents how we think of ourselves, and how we want others to think of us, to categorize us.
This is nothing new, not an idea I came up with this a.m. while sipping my coffee (local coffee shop logo on my cup) ;) No, this is embedded in the psychology of brands and advertising since that first Madison Ave. meet-up.
So what is a B Corp and how does this all relate?
A B Corp is a company, not only consumer goods, but all kinds of companies; it is essentially people using business as a force for good. https://bcorporation.net/about-b-corps
Direct definition from the organizations website: “B Corps are certified companies that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose.”
The ultimate goal is to build a more inclusive and sustainable economy through business. I personally, want to self-identify with these types of companies. I want to use my purchasing power to support companies that demonstrate “their use of profits and growth as a means to a greater end.”
A New Kind of Business that Balances
Purpose and Profit
I don’t currently work for a B Corp ( but I’d like to) but I purchase from B Corps as much as I can. By forming this group I hope to bring together like-minded individuals who are also interested in the B Corp mentality of using business and profits towards reducing inequality, lower levels of poverty, a healthier environment, strong communities, and the creation of more high quality jobs with dignity and purpose. Don’t we all want a society where profits and growth are not a bad thing but rather make a positive impact on our communities as a whole?
That is the kind of world I strive for. Please join me in this journey as we set out to inform others of what a B Corp economy looks like and can achieve together. Let’s use business as a force for good.
“B Corporations are businesses that are legally required to consider the impact of their decisions on their workers, customers, community, and environment. Certified B Corporations have met the highest standards of verified performance and transparency.”
Some excerpts from the B Corp’s Declaration of Interdependence:
Which is purpose-driven and creates benefit for all stakeholders, not just shareholders.
As B Corporations and leaders of this emerging economy, we believe:
• That we must be the change we seek in the world.
• That all business ought to be conducted as if people and place mattered.
• That, through their products, practices, and profits, businesses should aspire to do no harm and benefit all.
• To do so requires that we act with the understanding that we are each dependent upon another and thus responsible for each other and future generations.
Curious what companies are already Certified B Corps?
Check out this directory:
https://bcorporation.net/directory
