Most entrepreneurs are familiar with common business structures like S Corporation and LLC (Limited Liability Company). Even if they aren’t familiar with all of the details, they’ve at least heard of them. Contrarily, you may be less familiar with B Corps.
Certified B Corps, or Benefit Corporations, help to combine the spirit of a non-profit with the capitalization of a traditional for-profit. B Lab describes a B Corp, saying that a “B Corp is to business what Fair Trade certification is to coffee or USDA Organic certification is to milk.”
B Lab, a non-profit organization driven to create change through giving, certifies for-profit companies with the B Corp seal of approval once they meet “rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency.”
With a growing desire for change in entrepreneurship all across the nation, the B Corp certification feels like the non-profit of tomorrow.
Currently, fewer than 2,000 B Corps exist in the world. They are spread across 50 countries, in over 130 industries. Some big name B Corps that you might be familiar with include Tom’s Shoes, Ben and Jerry’s, Hootsuite, Patagonia, and Etsy.
Learn more about becoming B Corp Certified.