In a major advance for the B Corp movement, Delaware Governor Jack Markell signed benefit corporation legislation into law, opening the door for business leaders of the more than one million entities that call Delaware their legal home to change their company’s legal structure to a for-profit structure that benefits the public and planet Benefit corporation status ensures that corporations are not only beholden to shareholder profits, but also to other stakeholders recognized in company by-laws, including workers, communities and the environment. Delaware is home to 50% of all public companies and 2/3 of all Fortune 500 companies. According to B Lab, the non-profit organization behind the 3rd-party assessment and B Corp certification of for-profit companies with high social and environmental standards, “Every 500 years or so, there is a tipping point in the evolution of capitalism. This is it.”

1. Delaware
Recognizes
Benefit
Corporations
– A
Conversation
With the Early
Adopters

2.
Who We Are: “Part of Method’s mission is to show that business can
be a force for social and environmental good. Delaware benefit
corporation law enables responsible businesses like Method to
practice a more enlightened form of corporate governance that
includes not only financial objectives, but social and environmental
objectives.”
The Future: “Our hope is that this legislation spurs the development
of a robust sector of our economy comprised of businesses that do
well by doing good, paving the way for more progressive policy,
and ultimately, a more symbiotic relationship between business and
society.”
– Adam Lowry, Co-Founder and Chief Greenskeeper,
Method Products

3. Who We Are: "Our hope for the next 10
years is to bring the very best nutrition to
every highchair and lunchbox in
America, and to make a dent on infant
and toddler food insecurity here in the
US by providing little ones with a
healthy start in life. “
The Future: “As a certified B Corp of nearly six years,
and now a PBC, we are even more committed to our
core values and to being in service to our consumer in a
very transparent and deliberate way."
- Neil Grimmer, Co-founder & President, Plum
Organics

4. Who We Are: “The soul of Alter Eco is global
transformation through ethical relationships with small-
scale farmers, and an integral sustainability orientation
at every point of the supply chain.”
The Future: “Our hope is that more and more
entrepreneurs will plan and build their businesses around
serving the public interest and common good, and
place the mission at the center of their company’s
purpose.”
- Mathieu Senard, Cofounder and CEO

5. Who We Are: “The Farmigo team is dedicated to
accelerating the adoption of a better food system by
enabling families to eat healthier and delivering locally grown
food to households across the country. Our decisions and
success is driven by what is best for our consumers, farmers on
our network, and our employees.”
The Future: “B Corp provides the legal legitimacy to make
decisions based on our values as well as sends a clear signal
to our community that our perspective is their long term
benefit and not short term financial gain. In the next ten
years, the most successful IPOs will be companies founded by
social entrepreneurs.”
- Benzi Ronen, CEO/Founder

6. Who We Are: “It is our mission to inspire a fundamental shift toward
sustainability in the paper industry. Use of New Leaf papers extends
the highest sustainable environmental values into the world of fine
commercial and publication print as well as in office, business, and
copier paper product paper consumption. We will continue to set the
bar of sustainable papers.”
The Future: “Legislation alone cannot change behavior; rather they
can support and make it easier for a new community of private
enterprise companies to step up and change the culture by creating
a responsible new economy based on doing what is right for both the
local community and society at large without harm to the earth. It is
our hope that the next ten years will see the private sector make a
fundamental shift in overall cultural values through a growing and
successful B Corp movement.”
- Jeff Mendelsohn, Founder

7. Who We Are: “Grassroots exists to create opportunities for investors, big
and small, to better align their savings and investments with their
values. Alongside our votes, community participation and consumer
choices, our financial resources are an important — and underutilized
— tool for us to express our vision for the future and build a more just
and sustainable world. Investing money in institutions that don't share --
or work actively against — our values goes a long way toward
offsetting all the good we may try to do through our other choices.”
The Future: “Public Benefit Corps offer investors another way, together
with their purchasing power, to support companies that have explicitly
aligned their objectives and values. As PBCs proliferate, we see
investors reconnecting with corporations that act in their name but
often against their values and interests. Given the global reach and
power of corporations, there is no more effective way to build the
world we want.”
- Paul DiLeo, President

8. Who We Are: “RSF offers investing, lending, and giving
services that generate positive social and environmental
impact while fostering community and collaboration among
participants. This legislation helps us identify the types of
companies that RSF Social Finance seeks to fund: those that
are genuinely dedicated to positive social and
environmental impact.”
The Future: “As the number of benefit corporations grows, so
will the number of investors and finance organizations like
RSF. In ten years, we expect to see this market take off,
meaning more players entering the market and more money
flowing through business communities that benefit both
people and planet.”
- Don Schaffer, President and CEO

9. Who We Are: “Our purpose is to connect
people with meaningful work. The problem: at
present, there are more people seeking
“meaningful work” than there are companies
who provide it.”
The Future: “Our hope is that as companies
begin to adopt higher standards of
transparency, accountability and purpose – this
will lead to a more just, prosperous and
meaningful work environment for all.”
- Tim Masson, CEO

10. Who We Are: “Our mission is to scale a new-economy
professional services firm that operates profitably at
the intersection of our Quad Bottom Line -- Social,
Environmental, Spiritual, and Financial -- while serving
as a model of leadership for knowledge firms that
leverage their talents for value creation. ”
The Future: “We hope that Delaware's enactment of
benefit corporation law will enable us to inspire a new
standard of corporate stewardship that turns
awareness into meaningful action.”
- Christopher Marston, Esq., CEO, Exemplar Companies

12. For more CSR and
Sustainability
News, visit
CSRwire.com.