The document outlines the B Corp certification process, emphasizing its role in promoting businesses that balance profit and purpose for social and environmental good. It describes the benefits of certification, including enhanced accountability, employee engagement, and community impact, while highlighting real-world examples like Happy Family and Patagonia. Additionally, it provides a step-by-step guide for companies looking to pursue certification, reinforcing the idea that business success should involve consideration for all stakeholders.

1. Andy Fyfe, B Lab
Hosted by:
Jessica Friesen, B Lab
Featuring:
Emily Erickson, Happy Family
The Case for
B Corp Certification
with Happy Family

2. 1. Overview of B Lab & Vision
2. Certified B Corporation
– Spotlight:
3. Why certify as a B Corporation
4. How to Get Started
Agenda

3. B Lab is serving a global movement of
People Using Business as a Force for Good
So that one day all companies compete to be
Best for the World
And society enjoys a
shared and durable prosperity.

4. Evolution of Business

5. • A certification conferred by the non-
profit B Lab
• A company that meets a high level of
social and environmental performance
AND makes a legal commitment to
consider all stakeholders
• Any for-profit company in any country
can pursue certification (LLC’s included)
• A corporate form (taxed like a C-corp
or an S-corp) that has a higher level
of transparency, accountability and
purpose
• A legal entity that has protection and
permission to consider its impact on
all stakeholders, not just
shareholders
• Available in 31 states in the U.S.
Certified B Corp vs. Benefit Corporation

6. People are Demanding Better

8. Poll:
How interested are you in B Corp Certification?
• I’m doing it
• Interested, but something is standing in the way
• I’m curious, but need to be convinced
• Not interested
• N/A

9. B Corporations
The B Corporation certification
is to business what
Fair Trade is to coffee or
USDA Organic is to milk.

10. 1. Social & Environmental
Performance
2. Transparency 3. Accountability
Companies using business as a force for good.
They meet verified higher levels of:
“By committing to
accountability and
transparency in our
own business practices,
we’re joining in the
global movement to
change the way that
businesses operate.”
What is a B Corporation?

11. B Corp Community = Good Company to Keep

12. • New York, NY (and Boise, ID!)
Organic Baby & Toddler Food
✓ Mission: Changing the way we
feed our children
✓ Health insurance offered to all
employees. *New 12 wk. paid
maternity leave
✓ >10% profits donated to charity
✓ >60% of suppliers have third party
social/environmental certification.
B Corp Community = Good Company to Keep

13. Happy Family: Green Team
• Mission: provide education and opportunities to employees in pursuit
of creating a cleaner, happier planet.
“Walking our talk”
• Zero Waste goal
○ Composting & recy.
• Office purchase guide
• Wellness Challenges
• Tracking employee air
travel
• Coffee club

14. Danone - Target Zero
Net Carbon
Create a baseline for
carbon footprint
Compare to industry
standards
Happy Family: Environmental Stewardship

15. Recent Developments

17. “There’s a lot more authenticity in the process today and there’s a lot
more strategy around long-term shareholder value.
- Dave Stangis, VP Corporate Affairs and Social Responsibility,
Campbell Soup Co.
B Corps in the Public Market

18. Storytelling and Retail Success

19. B2B & Consumer Awareness

20. Community & Fun

21. Collaboration

22. “The B Corp movement is one of the most important of our lifetime,
built on the simple fact that business impacts and serves more than just
shareholders – it has an equal responsibility to the community and to the
planet.
Patagonia has been a 40-year experiment in what it means to be a
responsible company, and becoming a B Corp has ensured that our
experiment will keep pushing forward.”
- Rose Marcario, Patagonia CEO
Lead a Movement

23. The Case for Certification

24. B Corp Certification helps companies:
1. Maintain Mission
2. Differentiate from Pretenders
3. Benchmark and Improve Performance
4. Attract and Engage Talent
5. Collaborate with Peers
6. Save Money and Access Services
7. Generate press
8. Raise Capital
Learn more here: http://www.bcorporation.net/become-a-b-corp/why-become-a-b-corp
Why Certify?

25. Why are you interested in becoming a B Corp?
• Maintain Mission
• Differentiate from Pretenders
• Benchmark and Improve Performance
• Attract and Engage Talent
• Other
Poll:

26. Adopting the B Corp legal standards:
• Bakes the values of the company into its
legal DNA
• Gives protection and permission to consider
non-financial stakeholders (community,
employees, suppliers, environment)
• Ensures that mission can survive through
new management, succession, or ownership
Yvon Chouinard, Patagonia
First to register as a benefit corporation in CA
January, 2011
“Benefit corporation legislation creates the legal
framework to enable mission-driven companies like
Patagonia to stay mission-driven through succession,
capital raises, and even changes in ownership, by
institutionalizing the values, culture, processes, and
high standards put in place by founding
entrepreneurs.” – Yvon Chouinard
1. Maintain Mission

27. 2. Differentiate from Pretenders

28. Jennifer McKaig
“The biggest surprise to me was realizing that our employees deeply
cared about the things the B Impact Assessment measured.”
3. Benchmark & Improve Performance

29. • B Corp certification provides a platform to engage current staff and give
employees more meaning in their work
4. Attract & Engage Talent
Guinness Book of World
Records:
Lined up more than 10,000
packages of baby food in
the park, building a 1.2 mile
chain.
Donated to local charities like
Ronald McDonald House,
the Idaho Foodbank, and
City Light Rescue Mission.

30. 5. Collaborate with Peers: The Hive

31. Access to a suite of partnerships and discounts
• NetSuite – ERP software discount
• Salesforce – Software discount
• TrustLaw – Legal advice
• Intuit – Software discount
• B Corp Jobs Board – Free postings
Tuition Discounts / Forgiveness
• Yale School of Management
• NYU Stern School of Business
• Presidio Graduate School
• Golden Gate University
6. Save Money & Access Services

32. 7. Generate Press: Examples

33. 8. Raise Capital

34. The Path to Certification

35. • For-Profit Companies of Any Size
• Any Industry / Geography
• Customized assessment based on industry, size,
geography
• Any Legal Structure (sole proprietors, LLC’s,
Corporations, etc.)*
• Companies over 1 year old – special Pending B
Corp program for start-ups*
Who Can Certify?

36. Step 1: Meet Performance Requirement
Complete the B Impact Assessment and earn a
reviewed minimum score of 80 out
of 200 points
Step 2: Meet Legal Requirement
Determine the path for your corporate structure
and state of incorporation
Step 3: Make it Official
Sign the Declaration of Interdependence, pay
certification fees and and put a profile up on
bcorporation.net
To learn more, visit:
www.bcorporation.net/become-a-b-corp/how-
to-become-a-b-corp
How Does a Company Certify?

37. Governance
• Transparency
• Ownership
Workers
• Job Growth
• Compensation &
Benefits
• Employment Practices
• Work Environment
Community
• Suppliers
• Local
• Diversity
• Charity /
Volunteerism
Environment
• Energy Use
• Facilities
+ Impact Business
Models
• Direct Impact
Products /Services
• Targeting
Underserved
Communities
• High Impact Supply
Chain
Step 1: Meet Performance Requirement

38. Adopting the B Corp legal standards:
• Bakes the values of the company into
its legal DNA
• Gives protection and permission to
consider non-financial stakeholders
(community, employees, suppliers,
environment)
• Ensures that mission can survive over
time
Step 2: Meet Legal Requirement

39. Legal RequirementsTerm Sheet & Certification
Fees
❑ Sign B Lab Term Sheet
▪ Certification term is 2-years
▪ Participate in on-site review if randomly
selected (10% of Certified B Corps
randomly selected each year)
❑ Sign the Declaration of Interdependence,
❑ Pay certification fees
▪ Annual certification fees based on the tiered
structure
❑ Put a profile up on bcorporation.net
Step 3: Term Sheet & Fee

40. What’s your next step for moving forward?
• Start or complete the B Impact Assessment
• Improve my score to be over 80
• Preserve my mission
• Complete documentation
• Other
Poll:

41. Explore the Handbook

42. ▪ B Impact Assessment: http://bimpactassessment.net/
▪ How to Certify as a B Corp: http://www.bcorporation.net/become-a-b-corp/how-to-
become-a-b-corp
▪ Legal Requirements: http://www.bcorporation.net/become-a-b-corp/why-become-a-
b-corp/protect-your-mission
▪ FAQ for Investors & Directors: http://www.bcorporation.
net/sites/all/themes/adaptivetheme/bcorp/pdfs/faqs_investors_and_directors4.pdf
▪ Pending B Corp Status for Start Ups: http://www.bcorporation.net/become-a-b-
corp/how-to-become-a-b-corp/steps-start-ups
▪ Case Studies: http://bimpactassessment.net/case-studies
▪ B Corp Press: http://www.bcorporation.net/news-media
Resources
Jessica Friesen
B Lab: Community Team
jessica@bcorporation.net

43. Redefine success in business.
Help create the new economy.
Build a better business.
Compete to be not only
the best in the world,
but the best for the world.
Join us.