Did you feel that..?

That was what members of the Delaware Bar and Court of Chancery called a 'seismic shift' in U.S. corporate law when yesterday Delaware Governor Jack Markell enacted benefit corporation legislation.

Delaware is the 18th state (plus D.C.!) to pass benefit corp legislation, but the one that matters most to business leaders and investors who seek access to venture capital, private equity, and public capital markets.  Building a global movement to redefine success in business requires capital for those businesses to scale.  Delaware is a big step toward achieving our collective vision.

Read Governor Markell's press release

Watch remarks at the signing from Albert Wenger of Union Square Ventures

See some photos of how the day unfolded at the signing, the event at the World Economic Forum, and at the post-WEF celebration. 

Read B Lab's take published by Forbes and Skoll World Forum -- ‘The Evolution of Capitalism’

A huge thank you to all whose ideas and hard work made this historic moment possible.

Now for the hard part: adoption!  More on that soon:)

B the Change,

Andrew, Bart, Jay, and the rest of the B Lab team

Outdoor Retailer Winter Market 2013 Expo

Salt Lake City, Utah is where you'll find the leaders in Corporate Responsibility. Here's the best in the business ;)

Driving innovation through collaboration, to let business be the solution to environmental problems & keeping earth in business...

Simply a better way to do business, here's links to the best of the best...

http://www.onepercentfortheplanet.org/en/

http://www.bcorporation.net/index.php

http://www.kleankanteen.com/index.php

http://www.patagonia.com/international

http://www.outdoorretailer.com/winter_market/

ECOBOARD Project - Launch Party Nov 8th 2012

 

ECOBOARD Project LAUNCH PARTY
A Fundraiser for Sustainable Surf

Thursday November 8th

VIP Event - 6pm to 7pm

General Admission - 7pm to 10pm

501 York St San Framcisco, CA

 

Here’s what to expect at the event: 

• Music, Local Sustainable Food & Drinks – Live DJ spinning beats, great local beer & wine from Berkley based Trumer Pils and others, and gourmet sustainable food truck fare available from Little Green Cyclo at the event.
• Live Surfboard Glassing Demo – Come watch the pros from Entropy Resins and E-Tech Glassing as they transform the latest in sustainable, non-toxic, and recycled surfboard materials, into a visually stunning surfboard in front of the live crowd. If you have never seen how a surfboard is really made, you don’t want to miss this!
• Meet-A-Shaper Booth – Pick the brains of leading local surfboard craftsman from Stretch Surfboards and others, about high performance board design, greener material choices (and even the usefulness of deck channels!). Become inspired to make your next surfboard a sustainable one, and order your new ECOBOARD Project “verified” surfboard right there at the event!
• Silent Auction and Raffle – You’ll have a chance to win an amazing raffle package, and to bid on One of a kind silent auction items during the event. Featuring hot off the press ECOBOARD Project labeled boards from top board brands like LOST, FIREWIRE, Stretch, Timmy Patterson and Pearson Arrow, surf gear from Patagonia and others, and lots more.
• Styrofoam drive – Bring us a chunk of your unwanted EPS (ie. “styrofoam) packaging foam to be recycled through our Waste to Waves program. EPS foam collected at the event will be kept out of the landfill and will get a shot at becoming a new, recycled surf blank from Marko Foam in it’s next life!
• VIP Party – Spend an exclusive hour before the main event connecting with the movers and shakers at our VIP party. Enjoy great sustainable food and drink options sourced from our local Bay area, and get a special gift bag too.  Spots at the VIP event are very limited, so get those while they last!

Headlining all of this activity will be a stellar  panel of top thought leaders, entrepreneurs and change makers from businesses and organizations that are leading the charge to integrate the worlds of surf biz and sustainable biz. Listen in and ask questions as these leaders discuss their own sustainability initiatives, and how all these actions ultimately connect together in the ecosystem of the surfing culture. With Saatchi & Saatchi S’s own head surfer Adam Werbach moderating the panel, we expect a lively debate about the role that surfing has as a positive, Eco-friendly lifestyle choice, and it’s unique opportunity to make sustainability “cool” within the broader pop culture.

It’s going to be a great night so buy your tickets early, because space is limited we expect this event to sell out!

Klean Kanteen Receives Esteemed B Corp Certification

 

Klean Kanteen, an industry leader at providing sustainable solutions to single-use plastic, recently completed requirements including an in-depth assessment process to become a certified Benefit Corporation. Certified B Corporations are progressive businesses focused on, above all else, solving social and environmental problems. The comprehensive assessment through B Lab, a nonprofit organization that certifies B Corps, vets all aspects of company structure from human resources and codes of conduct for the supply chain, to sustainability efforts. Klean Kanteen's mission lives true in the definition of a B Corp and the company is proud to be part of this growing and cutting-edge movement.

"Everything from our global production process and our fair labor and environmental standards, to our company structure and shared individual responsibility both inside and outside of the office is grounded in the same fundamental values from which B Corp was conceptualized", says Danielle Cresswell, Director of Sustainability at Klean Kanteen.

Klean Kanteen products are not just a feel good choice, they are progressive, functional designs that perform a task much better than the paper, plastic and aluminum options. Not all alternatives to single use products are created equal— it is paramount to the Klean Kanteen mission to offer only Responsible Solutions that are designed with health, safety and sustainability front of mind.

"Working to earn a spot within the emergent B Corp community is not simply a badge of honor for our company," stated Scott McGuire, Director of Sales and Marketing, "but the assessment process became a systematic way for us to enhance our already established processes and procedures while also setting a foundational structure for intentional growth in the future."

As an industry leader, it is Klean Kanteen's hope that stricter standards on corporate transparency as well as the growing demand for safe, healthy alternatives to plastic will help drive the industry forward. Growing consumer awareness for the hazards of everyday toxins will lead to the identification of greener chemistry and a broader range of safe, sustainable alternatives for all single-use products.

B CORP goes Global...

The B Corporation Movement Goes Global at CGI 2012

B Lab Commits to Certifying 100 B Corps Internationally and Announces Partnership with Sistema B in South America

September 25, 2012: New York, NY

Today, on the main stage at the 2012 Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Annual Meeting, B Lab announced its commitment to certify 100 B Corporations outside the U.S. in 2013, responding to demand from entrepreneurs around the world to join the B Corp movement.

“Impact requires scale and global reach; by extending the B Corp movement into emerging markets in South America, India, Asia, and Africa, the B Corp movement will have dramatic impact on the development of more inclusive and sustainable economies,” said Andrew Kassoy, B Lab Co-founder.

As part of the launch, B Lab formally announced their first international partnership, working with Sistema B to build the B Corp movement in South America. Together they will build a founding class of 100 South American B Corps by the end of 2013. B Lab also commits to expand the community to other regions of the world, with the goal of having B Corps in 20 countries on six continents, and of reaching a total of 750 Certified B Corps globally.

“Quarterly shareholder value should not be the only benchmark by which we judge corporations. It’s worth investing in something with a slightly longer time horizon,” said President Clinton at Resource 2012 at Oxford University.

Certified B Corporations are a new type of corporation which uses the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. To grow outside the US, B Lab will establish partnerships with organizations that have regional presence and expertise and leverage financial and technical support provided by the Inter American Development Bank, the Rockefeller Foundation, Halloran Philanthropies, Prudential Foundation, Linklaters, the Ford Foundation, the Avina Foundation, InnovaChile CORFO and Deloitte LLP.

______________

B Lab: is a nonprofit organization dedicated to using the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. B Lab drives systemic change through three interrelated initiatives: 1) building a community of Certified B Corporations to make it easier for all of us to tell the difference between “good companies” and just good marketing; 2) accelerating the growth of the impact investing asset class through use of B Lab’s GIIRS impact rating system by institutional investors; and 3) passing benefit corporation legislation in all fifty states. For more information, see www.bcorporation.net

Sistema B: is a global platform that promotes and facilitates the scaling of businesses that redefine success in business and in our societies by using the power of the market to solve social and environmental problems. It aspires to achieve this by building a strong regional community of B Corporations, enabling a dynamic support ecosystem and promoting the necessary public policies and instruments. Sistema B is currently inspiring and connecting this new generation of entrepreneurs in Argentina, Chile and Colombia and aspires to formally launch in Brazil in early 2013. For more information, see www.sistemab.org.

About the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI): Established in 2005 by President Bill Clinton, the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) convenes global leaders to create and implement innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges. CGI Annual Meetings have brought together more than 150 heads of state, 20 Nobel Prize laureates, and hundreds of leading CEOs, heads of foundations and NGOs, major philanthropists, and members of the media. To date CGI members have made more than 2,100 commitments, which are already improving the lives of nearly 400 million people in more than 180 countries. When fully funded and implemented, these commitments will be valued at $69.2 billion. CGI’s Annual Meeting is held each September in New York City. CGI also convenes CGI America, a meeting focused on collaborative solutions to economic recovery in the United States, and CGI University (CGI U), which brings together undergraduate and graduate students to address pressing challenges in their community or around the world. For more information, visit clintonglobalinitiative.org and follow us on Twitter @ClintonGlobal and Facebook at facebook.com/clintonglobalinitiative.

 

ISM: Inspired by Slow Money

It's not an ISM (as in capitalism, socialism, consumerism, market fundamentalism...). http://www.slowmoney.org/

But it is a new way of connecting investors to local food systems, catalyzing new forms of social investing and philanthropy for the 21st century. Join the emerging network of investors, donors, entrepreneurs, farmers, and activists who are giving birth to the nurture capital industry.

Sign the Slow Money Principles: http://www.slowmoney.org/principles 
And Join as a Member: http://bit.ly/joinSM

The Magic Canoe

As founder and president of Ecotrust in Portland, Oregon, Spencer Beebe is a leader in environmental and economic sustainability. Spencer believes that by addressing the fundamental needs of people — and the ecosystems that sustain them — we can create a different kind of economic prosperity that can endure for generations. Spencer's book, Cache: Creating Natural Economies (Ecotrust, 2010), recounts his 40-year journey with economics and the environmental movement and provides fresh thinking about the road ahead.

http://www.ecotrust.org/

President Clinton Talks B Corps

Former United States President Bill Clinton speaks about B Corporations and the importance of shared value after his keynote speech at Resource 2012 at Oxford University. See this full video in its original form here: http://www.reversethefuture.org/discussions/40/closing-keynote/