Talk was originally given at the RE:DESIGN Conference in Brooklyn, NY 4-28-2014 (redesignconference.com/conferences/uxd/) The demand on businesses to think “socially” is evolving at a rapid pace. What was once good marketing to include something about a social cause on your Web site is no longer as impactful as threading it into the fabric of how you do business today. Come share in this conversation about B-Corporations and the implications pursuing this designation will have on your organization.

1. Designing Better
For-Profit CompanIES
…for the Profit of Many
#bCorp
#BtheChange
#SocEnt
Human-Centered
Research
Strategy
Design
wisdom
+ craft

2. “…they are frustrated with
companies and corporate
structures that are not
evolving to allow them to
live up to their aspirations.”
“Seventy-six percent (76%) of the women and
73 percent of the men see themselves as
authentic. They are not willing to compromise
their family and personal values.”
the emerging
workforce
http://www.bentley.edu/centers/center-for-women-and-business/millennials-workplace
#bCorp
#BtheChange

3. WHY?

4. Nearly half the world lives on less
than $2 a day and the poorest 40% of
the world's population has only 5% of
the global income. (1)
An estimated 218 million children are
engaged in child labor (UNICEF).
Fair Trade
(1) http://www.planusa.org/contentmgr/showdetails.php/id/860818

5. WHY?

6. 774 million adults (15 years
and older) still cannot read
or write – two-thirds of them
(493 million) are women.
Global
Illiteracy
http://www.speakingbooks.com/impact/overview.html

7. WHY?

8. According to the World Health
Organization, most of the world’s
mortality rate in children from zero
to 59 months is in the millions of
deaths per year. Most of those
causes are preventable or treatable.
Global Health
http://apps.who.int/gho/data/node.main.CMNRREGWORLD?lang=en

9. WHY?

10. Human trafficking represents an estimated
$31.6 billion of international trade per
annum in 2010.
Human
Trafficking
http://www.humantraffickingsearch.net/index.html

11. WHY?

12. – R. Buckminster Fuller
If humanity does not opt for
integrity we are through
completely. It is absolutely
touch and go. Each one of us
could make the difference.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/r/rbuckmins153436.html#j7tfWPtGrKrH4y9S.99

13. Sustainability
(before moving on, what’s the first thing you think of?)

14. Sustainability
People
PROFITSPLANET
social
economicenvironment

15. Sustainability
People
PROFITSPLANET
social
economicenvironment
(first thing most people think of) (often not a consideration)
(forgotten, unless you’re involved)

16. Environmental full-cost accounting
Non-Direct Costs
Environmental + Social CostsTransaction Costs
Opportunity Costs
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/characteristics-full-cost-accounting-system-41699.html
Overhead and support costs
such as legal counsel,
Training, etc.
A consideration of the ripple-effect a
purchase or profit venture has on the
environment and surrounding
communities
Costs associated with
owning a product or service
after the initial expenditure.
Costs of not pursuing an expenditure in favor of
another.
Inability to pursue an investment because of the
decrease in available funds.

17. Product Stewardship
Whole-Life Cost
(Aka Cradle to Grave)
Ethical Consumerism
ensure that those who design,
manufacture, sell, and use consumer
products take responsibility for
reducing negative impacts to the
economy, environment, public health,
and worker safety
http://productstewardship.us/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=231
‘Positive Buying’ - favors the purchase of
satisfactory products and services
‘Negative Purchasing’ – avoiding products that
are unsatisfactory
And company-avoidance – avoiding companies
with offending products
http://www.ethicalconsumer.org/shoppingethically/topethicaltips/whybuyethically.aspx

18. Corporate Social
Responsibility

19. Corporate Social
Responsibility
As a concept, this sounds good and makes sense, but many companies think
Philanthropy is sufficient or it’s just Compliance & Risk Management; that is,
protecting their tails.

20. Greenwashing

21. Greenwashing
Just a Few Examples:
Hidden Trade-Offs (production of eco-friendly while destroying something else)
Misleading labels and an over abundance of labels
Irrelevance - “CFC-Free” CFCs are illegal; like saying a tree is “green”

23. Non-Profits Can’t Do it Alone
“…if we could move charitable giving from two percent
of GDP up just one step to three percent of GDP, by
investing in that growth, that would be an extra 150
billion dollars a year in contributions,
But it's never going to happen by forcing these
organizations to lower their horizons to the
demoralizing objective of keeping their overhead low.”
http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pallotta_the_way_we_think_about_charity_is_dead_wrong

24. Non-Profits Can’t Do it Alone
“…if we could move charitable giving from two percent
of GDP up just one step to three percent of GDP, by
investing in that growth, that would be an extra 150
billion dollars a year in contributions,
But it's never going to happen by forcing these
organizations to lower their horizons to the
demoralizing objective of keeping their overhead low.”
http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pallotta_the_way_we_think_about_charity_is_dead_wrong
Pallotta is saying that NPOs need permission to be more innovative
(assuming more Risk and Failure) and focus on the ability to scale,
but is that massive cultural shift really necessary? In fact, that
could potentially do more harm than good because the motivations
may become maligned and focus taken off the cause.

25. What is a B-Corp
Certified to meet rigorous standards
of social and environmental
performance, accountability, and
transparency.
Committed to the health of
relationships and interdependence
we have with our communities,
environment, vendors, and
customers.
http://www.bcorporation.net/what-are-b-corps

26. What is a B-Corp
Today, there is a growing
community of more than 950
Certified B Corps from 32 countries
and 60 industries working together
toward 1 unifying goal: to redefine
success in business.
http://www.bcorporation.net/what-are-b-corps

27. And now, Capitalists and Socialists have found Middle Ground ;-)

28. Albert Wenger of Union Square
Ventures at the recent signing of Benefit
Corporation legislation in Delaware.
At Union Square Ventures, we see more and
more entrepreneurs who are as much motivated
by wanting to make the world a better place as
motivated to wanting to make money.
Now until recently, we faced a real challenge
investing in these business...
[The Benefit Corporation] lets companies put
social objectives right up front, putting them in
their charter and right next to Shareholder
value – on equal footing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUCTL_uV0GI

29. Creating a New Kind of Corporation for a New Economy
https://www.bcorporation.net/what-are-b-corps/legislation

30. Benefit Corporation
B-Corp is the designation issued by
B-Lab, the NPO behind the
designation
Must pass an assessment and prove
that it meets the requirements
Access to services and support
from B-Lab
Legal status administered by
the state
Does not need to be certified
Protects the business by
limiting legal exposure (they
can in fact put People and the
Planet before profits)
Certified B-Corp

32. A Benefit corp is A for-profit Company
…for the Profit of Many

33. “…they are frustrated
with companies and
corporate structures
that are not evolving
to allow them to live
up to their aspirations.”
“Seventy-six percent (76%) of the women and
73 percent of the men see themselves as
authentic. They are not willing to compromise
their family and personal values.”
Collaborative Trade

34. http://apf-producers.ning.com/group/business-model-in-detail/page/collaborative-trade-model
Collaborative Trade MODEL
http://www.cameroonboyo.com/

35. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsnJdLLBCnA
• http://betterwayimports.com/
http://store.betterwayimports.com/

39. http://www.bcorporation.net/become-a-b-corp

40. Thanks! Now, Go forth And
bcorporation.net
Human-Centered
Research
Strategy
Design
wisdom
+ craft
Let’s Make a Difference Together
+ Chris Pallé
#bCorp
#BtheChange
#SocEnt
Britt Hudson