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Kuros
Joined: 27 Apr 2004
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 Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2012 8:10 am Post subject: B Corps |
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Corporate Law. The term conjures images of white shoe lawyers working in highrises in major international cities defending large for-profit corporations. But corporate law in America is changing.
Firms with benefits: A new sort of caring, sharing company gathers momentum
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According to Mr Chouinard, the new �benefit corporation��usually referred to as a B Corp�creates the legal framework for firms like his to remain true to their social goals. To qualify as a B Corp, a firm must have an explicit social or environmental mission, and a legally binding fiduciary responsibility to take into account the interests of workers, the community and the environment as well as its shareholders. It must also publish independently verified reports on its social and environmental impact alongside its financial results. Other than that, it can go about business as usual.
The B Corp is a deliberate effort to change the nature of business by changing corporate law, led by B Lab, a non-profit outfit based in Pennsylvania. California is the sixth state to allow B Corps; the first was Maryland, in April 2010. Patagonia was followed immediately by another 11 Californian firms, including Give Something Back Office Supplies, Green Retirement Plans and DopeHut, a clothing retailer. Across America, there are now several hundred B Corps. Before Patagonia, the best-known was probably Seventh Generation, a maker of green detergents, paper towels and other household products.
California�s B Corp legislation took effect alongside a new law creating the �flexible purpose company� (FlexC), which allows a firm to adopt a specific social or environmental goal, rather than the broader obligations of a B Corp. Another option in America is the low-profit limited-liability (LC3) company, which can raise money for socially beneficial purposes while making little or no profit. |
This is a revolutionary new legal trend. It is also one I welcome. |
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bucheon bum
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2012 8:27 am Post subject: |
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| Tell some couchsurfing people that. They're freaking out that the couchsurfing founders have "sold out" and made it into a b-corp (before it was a nonprofit). Seems to me that it was the best route for them to take. |
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Nowhere Man
Joined: 08 Feb 2004
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| Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2012 4:58 am Post subject: ... |
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| There is no tax advantage to being a B Corp, but there is to some of the new legal structures. |
I'd like to hear about the advantages.
Two predecessors come to mind:
Ben & Jerry's-maybe the B-Corp before
and
Shell- We have an environmental mission while we drill the bejeesus out of everything.
The examples listed are quite different from Shell, but is it not possible that companies like Monsanto will line up to join this type of thing despite sinister side-doings?
Who's going to regulate (uh oh) this? There's already a vast industry dedicated to publishing what deep pockets want published.
I like the idea, but let's see it survive the trial of fire. |
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