B Corps

Firms with benefits

A new sort of caring, sharing company gathers momentum

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Readers' comments


Patrick Hehir

The Economist is THE best business magazine in the world PERIOD. How they function by not naming their writers for their articles is an example of a rule (similar to rules of B Corporations) that ensures that the people are very CLEAR ABOUT THEIR MISSION and their personal exposure or Ego motives do not get in the way...Please keep watching and supporting the progress of the B Corp movement. I know a small that have been 3 years working on a Balanced Stakeholder Management System approach that supports B Corp functioning, but also works for regular C and S Corporations. They expect to publish a paper by end of Feburary www.bvgintl.com

Oriental Rain

I think it's a good phenomenon.The market needs some companies which work for social benefits.However,whether these companies can survive after competition is still under debate.I deem government should supply some advantageous policies to these companies.After all,in a degree,these companies can help the government in some aspects.

Robert North

The journalist here should outline what the legal differences are between a Bcorp and an ordinary company, instead of saying...'there are differences and thats wonderfully golly/etc'. After all Ive worked for ordinary companies who have justified expenditure in qualitative terms (eg: inhouse jacuzzi/library/pool room) and there are plenty of dotcom companies which do all of the goal setting etc you mention and more (thanks to their boards permission and mgnt pursuasion), so what exactly does a Co operating under BCorp legislation gain? Is it that Shareholder rights are limited if a Bcorp can justifiably show expenditure goes towards filling its nonquantifiable charter? Again an ordinary company could do this if the shareholders were on side anyway (think of the startups that lose money year after year on research or startup related expenditure..)....some depth please, yours confusedly.


Pennsylvania, too, is considering such legislation -- State Sen. Daylin Leach, in the Philadelphia suburbs, is sponsoring and pushing for a B Corp. bill.

Don CA.

Read Mr Chouinard's Let My People go Surfing and loved it. He says successful companies of the future will be medium-sized and, due to pressure from consumers, will have to benefit society or the environment. glad to see a legal structure put in place to make it easier for businesses to practice profit and philanthropy.


California is the sixth state to allow Benefit Corporations. B Corps actually already exist in around 35: http://www.bcorporation.net/community/search. A key distinction overlooked here is that B Corp is simply a certification while the legal entity is called a Benefit Corporation.

Paulina_SE in reply to jlyoung

Thanks! I picked up on that too. Frankly I'm a little disappointed in the Economist for not taking the time to conduct a thorough research and yet, characteristically of its other writings, makes a cynical "let's wait and see" conclusion. True, the difference between a BCorp (the certification) vs. Benefit Corporation (the legal designation) is confusing to many, I hope the folks at BLab are doing something about it, but one would expect a bit more from the Economist. That said, I'm happy to see the B movement acknowledged in the Economist. 


I like the idea. Companies that are for profit working for profit and companies that are not for profite working for other social purposes. That makes it easier for investors to decide in which company thay want to invest in depending on their own preferences.



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