Milton Friedman once said that the only social responsibility of businesses is to maximise profits. However, the tides are changing and with greater understanding of the globalized world, there are many new generation enterprises who are opting for social and environmental as deliverables of an efficient business.
According to a recent study by Deloitte Millennials; more than 40% of the respondents have stated that the goal of today’s businesses should be to improve society’. Worldwide investments on impactful sectors such as clean energy grew at an average rate of 33% per year between 2004 and 2011. This notable shift in mind-set can be attributed to the growing awareness on the consequences of environmental disasters and urgent need for action.
Young enterprises are keenly looking forward to standards that would help them set benchmarks on social and environmental performances. B-Corp, a not-for-profit organization exactly does that, its independent assessment improves the company’s social and environmental performance, governance, workers, transparency, impact business models etc.
Certified B Corp needs overall third party verified social and environmental performance. Through additional transparency B Corps help consumers/investors/workers with more information that help them take an organic decision based on their interests. B Corp certified companies attract new customers/employees/investors/PR etc. along with the capacity to inspire other businesses to adopt sustainable practices.
Today, the number of B-Corps in the world has risen to 2655 companies while in India it has risen from 2 to 7 companies over the last one year and is poised to enter the double digit mark in 2019.
However, the challenge for B Corps to grow in India has been the lack of awareness of such standard and also many businesses would require hand holding to lead up to certification. To bridge this, some organizations offer a basic assessment to help understand the certification process better.
The types of businesses that have opted for B Corp Certification globally range from small businesses to multi-national corporations like Patagonia and Ben & Jerry’s.
The benefits that businesses derive by being a part of the exclusive B Corp Club are,
- It helps you to take more environmentally convincing decisions
- It increases access to private investment capital
- Helps you to build a more socially responsible business
- B-Corp label creates a positive reputation among stakeholders
- B-Corp businesses attract like-minded people who collaborate and achieve greater heights
So once you go through the certification process, you are entitled to use the below mentioned B Corp Logo on your products to communicate your commitment to your stakeholders.
– Team SAGE Sustainability