B Corporation

For those of you who know me, you know that I am a proponent of business being a tool in the process of change. I do not believe it is a dirty word that insinuates capitalist, environmental destroying, corporate thug companies. I believe that is the people that run them and that if we hope to change the world we need to change the character of the people who run business.

This shift has certainly begun to take place with the rise in popularity for Corporate Social Responsibility guidelines for most every corporation, the rise in Social Enterprises entering the market place and making a real go of it, and the rise in MBA programs integrating environmental ethics, CSR, and non-profit management courses into the core program.

The next step may be in the works. I came across this great new website called the B Corporation . It is an association of businesses that stand for social change. They have to go through a grading process in order to join the association which then markets the businesses as being good and doing well. The tag line reads, "Setting the new corporate standard for social and environmental performance."

The founding members are companies like Seventh Generation, a household and personal care product brand, Better World Books, a book business with a triple bottom line, and Moka Joe Coffee, a wholesaler of 100% fair trade, organic coffee, amongst other things.

All the businesses associated with B Corporation are seeking a shift, and to create change within the business world. While none of these businesses may become the next Ikea, or Apple, they represent possibility. I have said it before but I will say it again, we are approaching a tipping point - one that I am not sure yet which way it will tip. We could move towards a world where the existence of B Corporation is unnecessary because every company will approach business with a double or triple bottom line approach, OR companies could continue to degrade the environment, and break every moral and ethical code we can design in the pursuit of the almighty dollar.

It is up to us, the consumer, to push this one way or the other. We can choose to support the 'B Corporation' or we can choose to support the 'Corporation'. I for one am glad to see the choice and distinction. The world we dream of does not have to be a dream and I hope that everyone wakes up to a new, better, reality.