Originally published on bcorporation.net
As the gap between haves and have nots grows and the climate crisis accelerates, business leaders can seize the opportunity to address economic disparity and take climate action by adopting a model for a new economy — stakeholder capitalism — and pursuing benefit corporation status to embed their company’s purpose and ensure a positive legacy.
Through the legal structure of benefit corporations, businesses can expand their focus beyond shareholder primacy, the tenet of traditional capitalism that demands profits for shareholders be the sole focus of a corporation, and instead consider the impact of corporate actions on a number of stakeholders: workers, customers, community, environment, and shareholders. Yes, the bottom line remains important, but the business also must deliver value to this broader group and take responsibility for the negative impacts it creates. By using business as a force for good, benefit corporations uplift the people who contribute to their success and protect the environment for future generations.
The community of Certified B Corporations — more than 3,500 businesses around the world, including Patagonia, Ben & Jerry’s, Allbirds, and Beautycounter — are leading the way by tackling pressing global challenges and building a new economy led by stakeholder capitalism. To help other business leaders navigate the journey to adopt benefit corporation status as a requirement of B Corp Certification, B Lab is releasing a new downloadable resource, the Board Playbook, to lay out the process and demystify the risks. This article shares highlights and testimonials from the playbook.
“Only when stakeholder governance becomes normative and institutional will this be accessible for the companies with limited resources but unlimited passion to serve their communities and their workers,” says Andy Fyfe, Growth Catalyst, B Lab U.S. & Canada. “This playbook levels the playing field as the most practical guide to date for companies to adopt the highest form of stakeholder governance.”
In the playbook’s introductory letter, Allbirds Co-Founder Joey Zwillinger shares why the company pursued benefit corporation status and how that decision has shaped and will drive the business for the long term:
“Adopting this governance framework has legal tradeoffs. On one hand, it provides broader latitude to executives to act on behalf of public beneficiaries in addition to shareholders. On the other hand, it also creates liabilities for companies and its executives such that investors can hold the company accountable to achieving the public benefits it has chartered in its governance documents. This is flexibility and accountability. Great leaders should have both, but it takes courage and a sense of responsibility for what the executive’s role is in the world.”
A New Way of Doing Business
To help business leaders navigate the journey to adopt benefit corporation status as a requirement of B Corp Certification, B Lab U.S. & Canada is releasing a new downloadable resource, the Board Playbook, to lay out the process and demystify the risks.
Operating with Purpose and Transparency
By law, benefit corporations have the same protections and permissions as other for-profit corporations but have a higher level of transparency, accountability, and purpose. This means benefit corporations must account for the negative impacts of their operations on all stakeholders rather than maximizing wealth for shareholders and imposing costs on others.
In the last decade, benefit corporation statutes have been enacted in 39 states in the U.S. The movement is growing internationally as well: In 2020, the first Canadian benefit corporation law became effective in British Columbia, adding to prior adoption in the United States, Italy, Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador.
https://blab-mktg-bcorporation-production.s3.amazonaws.com/BCorp_benefitcorp.png
The more than 10,000 benefit corporations are changing the purpose of business by leaving behind shareholder primacy. Here are a few ways these leaders are demonstrating that responsible business can be successful business:
- Lemonade, an innovative insurance broker backed by SoftBank, Sequoia and other venture capital funds, completed the most successful IPO of 2020, raising 139% on its first day of trading (after pricing above the underwriters’ range).“This isn’t just ‘do good’ stuff, it’s about aligning interests. So I don’t make money by denying your claims, and you’ll think twice before embellishing your claims, and hopefully we’ll turn what is today a two-player game, a conflicted relationship between two players, into a trilateral relationship by involving nonprofits as well. … It’s allowed us to climb the ranks to be the number one most trusted and loved brand in insurance, and we’ve only been in the market for three years.” — Lemonade CEO Daniel Schreiber
- Vital Farms, which markets pasture-raised eggs and butter, followed suit in 2020 with an IPO earning a market cap of $1.3 billion at close while receiving a valuation of $136 million just two years earlier.“I was always looking for the exit. Instead of looking to get rich, I realized I could build a company where I was focused on employees, customers, shareholders, and the environment. It’s so much more fun than focusing on profit.” — Vital Farms Founder Matt O’Hayer
- Veeva Systems, a provider of cloud-based software products with a $40 billion market cap, is the first publicly traded company to adopt benefit corporation status — receiving 99% approval from its shareholders in January 2021.“We met with our top 20 investors, other influencers, and proxy advisory firms. For a significant cross-section of investors — especially those that are more ESG-focused, that have been thinking about multi-stakeholderism or writing about the importance of purpose — I would describe the reaction as almost pent-up demand. There was almost a sense of relief — finally someone’s doing this. That was a pretty significant proportion of the shareholders that we spoke to.” — Veeva Systems Senior Vice President and General Counsel Josh Faddis
A Compelling Case for Benefit Corporations
Benefit corporations will have growing relevance for the future, as more people prefer jobs with purpose and stability. This legal status gives prospective and current employees confidence that the company is legally committed to its mission and long-term legacy.
As benefit corporations, public companies can attract investors with a longer-term perspective and build management credibility by making decisions with extended positive impact. They can avoid short-term pressures from shareholders because directors must make decisions based on building shared and durable value for all stakeholders, rather than just trying to increase the current share price.
As more large companies and investors realize that the pursuit of shareholder profits lies at the root of many systemic challenges — health, economic, and racial equity among them — businesses that are accountable to balancing interests across all stakeholders have greater flexibility to adapt and survive during difficult times.
The benefit corporation structure also gives directors additional options and protections under the law, when making decisions rather than defaulting to the option that creates the most value for shareholders.
The final sections of the playbook include information about the legal aspects of the certification process, produced in partnership with Freshfields, an international law firm; and a “tough questions” section, produced in partnership with Mayer Brown LLP, a global law firm advising the world’s leading companies and financial institutions, including public benefit companies on Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) and other socially minded matters.
Pamela L. Marcogliese, a partner at Freshfields, says the playbook is a timely resource for businesses developing or deepening their stakeholder framework.
“Now, more than ever, companies are focused on a wide range of ESG issues, driven by concerns from their stakeholders, including their employees, their customers, members of their communities, and their stockholders,” she says. “B Corp Certification, and eventual conversion to a public benefit corporation, crystallizes a company’s commitment to these important constituencies.”
Stephanie Hurst, an associate with Mayer Brown, says clients pursuing ESG-related matters, including becoming a B Corp or benefit corporation, have many questions about how the market may view that change and whether it could increase their personal liability.
“In the fast-evolving ESG landscape, with many areas of first impression, these considerations can be multifaceted and, at times, feel overwhelming,” she says. “We think that the Board Playbook, the initiative spearheaded by B Lab, is an excellent resource for companies seeking B Corp Certification or benefit corporation status that provides practical insights and guidance to address the key considerations, and we are happy to have collaborated with B Lab on this important project.”
A New Way of Doing Business
To help business leaders navigate the journey to adopt benefit corporation status as a requirement of B Corp Certification, B Lab U.S. & Canada is releasing a new downloadable resource, the Board Playbook, to lay out the process and demystify the risks.
Originally posted: February 11th, 2021
Originally published on giantmachines.com. Written by Stephen Tober
Giant Machines Joins the Pledge 1% Movement and Pledges to Donate 1% of Time/Product/Profit to the Community
Giant Machines announced today that it has joined Pledge 1%, a global movement to create a new normal for companies of all sizes and stages to have a positive social impact through their business. Giant Machines is joining over 12,000 companies around the world who have committed to Pledge 1% of either their product, profit, equity, and/or staff time to a charity of their choosing.
Our Values & Mission
Giant Machines is committed to a thriving society with a focus on racial justice, gender equality, social justice, and more sustainable communities.
We as an organization will continuously learn, practice, and contribute to our stated mission. We learn, so that we can have a deeper understanding of the issues at hand and the most effective way to promote change. We put into practice our learnings so we can create an organization that lives by this mission. We contribute to our communities by setting aside 1% of our profits and our time to causes and charitable organizations that share this social mission.
Despite our small size as a company, we have always valued the diversity of backgrounds and experiences of our team members. Across our team we have degrees ranging from computer science to engineering, fine arts, design, anthropology, music, and politics. Members hail from diverse cultural backgrounds, have lived abroad, collectively speak over a dozen languages, and include software boot camp grads, entrepreneurs, parents, athletes, cooks, artists, and world travelers. We take great pride in the multifarious nature of both our team and our company culture.
Giant Machines believes that diversity and inclusion are not only the right thing to do but the right thing for business. Innovation thrives when teams are diverse, and there are a variety of perspectives and approaches that the company takes to achieve this goal.
Giant Machines has comprehensive diversity initiatives for a company of our age and size. We are continually evaluating and evolving our strategies and believe this leads to a safer and happier work environment.
Giant Machines pledges to do its part to do more, to be part of the solution, to be anti-racist. We endeavor to take the resources at our disposal, including our financial resources, our people, our experience, and our humanity and marshal them toward the greater good. The recent — and not so recent — events of the nation call for more action, more impact, more activism.
Giant Machines is proud to join the Pledge 1% community and encourages other companies to take the pledge and leverage their business as a force for good.
About Pledge 1%
Pledge 1% is a global movement that inspires, educates, and empowers every entrepreneur, company, and employee to be a force for good. Over 12,000 members around the world have used Pledge 1%’s flexible framework to ignite half a billion dollars in new philanthropy. To learn more about Pledge 1% and to take the pledge visit www.pledge1percent.org.
Originally posted: February 3rd, 2021
Yesterday, Pledge 1% and the Tides Foundation cohosted the first Corporate Impact Leaders Forum of 2021. Our speakers discussed how they are using the many lessons of 2020 to expand their impact programs, and shared predictions for where they believe the future of social impact is headed. In case you missed it, below is quick roundup of this enlightening discussion.
While we continue to battle an unpredictable 2021, one thing is for certain–corporate social impact programs are on the rise! All of our speakers noted a dramatic increase in both interest and demand from their employees to offer philanthropic initiatives and opportunities. Companies today are no longer separating social interest issues and business matters; but rather incorporating both when structuring their business.
These are our 4 top takeaways from the event:
- When in doubt, just get started! There is always room to build and adjust your impact program as you go. However, the earlier you start, the better equipped you are to make a lasting impact.
- Hire experienced ESG leaders within your leadership team that can help you prioritize impact.
- Having a robust corporate social impact program is a serious cultural advantage that works to attract and retain top talent.
- Publish diversity stats to hold yourself accountable. This also allows you to take stock of what you are doing, and what you can do more of.
Here are some top tips from our speakers!
Originally posted: January 28th, 2021
Originally published on fastly.com
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (Jan. 19, 2021) – Fastly, Inc. (NYSE: FSLY) announced today that it has joined Pledge 1%, a corporate philanthropy movement dedicated to making the community a key stakeholder in every business. In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Fastly’s commitment to corporate giving, Fastly is kicking off the new year with its inaugural Global Week of Service, running from Jan. 18 to Jan. 24, empowering its worldwide workforce to volunteer virtually and safely. This event will kick off a greater focus in 2021 on expanding corporate philanthropy and volunteerism efforts.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, corporate volunteer hours declined by 58% from the same time period in 2019. Fastly has set a goal of 2,000 employee volunteer hours during the Global Week of Service. The week will be an opportunity for the global Fastly workforce to come together and serve our employees’ respective communities during a once-a-century public health and economic crisis. To encourage employees to volunteer safely and abide by the health and safety guidelines in their area, the Fastly team has shared a variety of virtual volunteer opportunities with their team, including The Peace Crane Project, Amnesty Decoders, and Be My Eyes.
“In 2021, we’re working to make sure our corporate giving program is as impactful as possible,” said Doniel Sutton, Chief People Officer of Fastly. “We believe that volunteering is one of the best ways to deliver real impact to communities. There is a powerful multiplier effect that takes place when people are united in service to something greater than themselves, and that’s what this week will ignite. Plus, we know that volunteering will have a positive impact on our Fastly community as well. Although virtual, the social contact aspect of helping and working with others can have a profound effect on our team’s well-being, and relieve stress through meaningful connection with other people. Feeling intentionally engaged in social good is proven to have an appreciable positive impact on employees. This year will build the foundation for us to explore more sustainable employee volunteer programs and activities. Through the ongoing efforts of volunteers, remarkable change can occur.”
As part of the Pledge 1% movement, Fastly is joining an impressive network of entrepreneurs and companies across the globe that have committed to philanthropic efforts such as Salesforce, Atlassian, and Rally. Though this year marks Fastly’s first Global Week of Service, Fastly has long demonstrated a commitment to philanthropic leadership through its Open Source and Nonprofit Program. Through the program, Fastly supports a wide range of organizations: internationally-recognized nonprofits focusing on causes such as human rights and journalistic freedom, open-source foundations, and open-source projects at various maturity levels. As the COVID-19 pandemic surged globally and the world turned to the internet to stay connected, the Open Source and Nonprofit Program doubled its free services donations, increasing the value of free services from $25M to $50M. Fastly provides free services to organizations like Khan Academy, Doctors Without Borders, and Tech for Good.
“Fastly has an excellent nonprofit program,” said Srivishnu Piratla, CEO of Tech for Good, a nonprofit that provides technology solutions to underrepresented communities. “One of our main projects at Tech for Good is working to bring internet connectivity to rural areas all over the world, starting with India. Cost is a primary concern with this project, so we are building a network that will offload all daytime requests into nighttime hours when satellite internet is at its cheapest. We are using Fastly to do that, getting as close to the edge of the network and our users as possible. Through their Open Source and Nonprofit Program, those services are free.”
For more information about our 1% pledge, our Open Source & Nonprofit Program, or Fastly’s commitment to corporate philanthropy email community@fastly.com.
About Pledge 1%
Pledge 1% is an effort spearheaded by Atlassian, Rally, Salesforce and Tides to accelerate their shared vision around integrating philanthropy into businesses around the world. Pledge 1% encourages and challenges individuals and companies to pledge 1% of equity, profit, product and/or employee time for their communities, because pledging a small portion of future success can have a huge impact on tomorrow. Pledge 1% offers companies turnkey tools and best practices, making it accessible for any company to incorporate philanthropy into their business model. To learn more or to take the pledge, please visit www.pledge1percent.org.
About Fastly
Fastly helps people stay better connected with the things they love. Fastly’s edge cloud platform enables customers to create great digital experiences quickly, securely, and reliably by processing, serving, and securing our customers’ applications as close to their end-users as possible — at the edge of the internet. Fastly’s platform is designed to take advantage of the modern internet, to be programmable, and to support agile software development with unmatched visibility and minimal latency, empowering developers to innovate with both performance and security. Fastly’s customers include many of the world’s most prominent companies, including Vimeo, Pinterest, The New York Times, and GitHub.
Originally posted: January 22nd, 2021
Originally published on prnewswire.com
AutoAccident.com, a Sacramento based law firm, is offering an art-based, $1000 scholarship exclusively to Sacramento residents. Taking an artistic approach, applicants are required to create a work of art that captures “The Art of Healing.”
AutoAccident.com is inspired by the talented artists in Sacramento and wants to support young artists in the community.
Additionally, many in the Sacramento community view 2021 as an opportunity to heal and move forward. The objective of the submission is to focus on healing through creative expression.
Additional Scholarship Information available here.
Award: One student will be awarded $1,000; (nonrenewable) to be paid directly to their college or university admissions office.
Deadline: May 14, 2021.
Eligibility: Sacramento Senior (High School); 3.0 GPA or higher
AutoAccident.com is a personal injury law firm serving clients in Sacramento, California. Founded in 1982 by injury attorney, Edward A. Smith, our legal team is dedicated to helping those hurt or who have lost loved ones due to the negligence of others.
Originally posted: January 14th, 2021
Originally published on growthanimals.com. Written by Chris Thornhill
Growth Animals joins the Pledge 1% Movement and Pledges to Donate a minimum of 1% of Time and Product to Charities
Growth Animals announced today that it has joined Pledge 1%, a global movement to create a new normal for companies of all sizes and stages to have a positive social impact through their business. Growth Animals is joining thousands of companies around the world who have committed to Pledge 1% of either their product, profit, equity, and/or staff time to a charity of their choosing. Growth Animals is proud to announce its commitment to donate 1% of Time and Product to a wide range of charity partners. Co-Founder and CEO, Chris Thornhill, explains what that partnership means and how it’s only the beginning of the company’s social impact journey.
What will the partnership mean in practice?
Every member of Growth Animals has made a commitment to provide free expertise to at least one charity per year. That means pledging a minimum of 1% of our Time and Product to pro bono charity consulting. This will provide invaluable marketing support to charities looking to grow awareness and donations to their cause. Furthermore, each member of the team will have the freedom to choose which charities they want to partner with and support.
What gave you the idea to Pledge 1%?
I’ve been actively involved with Dementia Support for over a year now and in my position as Trustee, have become a strong advocate for corporate philanthropy. I’ve experienced firsthand the benefits of pledging time and expertise to charity and am excited for the whole team to get a taster of that too. Doing so through Pledge 1% seemed like a brilliant way of formalising our commitment, with an organisation that has a track record of encouraging other companies to take the pledge and leverage their business as a force for good. Contributing to this relatively small proportion of time and product feels like a no-brainer. The charities will really gain from my team’s wealth of experience and the team will feel incredibly proud and empowered.
What’s next in your ethical marketing journey?
Over the coming weeks, we’ll be revealing more partnerships that we’ve been working on, that will further extend our ethical credentials with some of the most exciting and innovative organisations in the world. This will include pledges across climate change, social impact and of course, ethical marketing. As an ethical marketing consultancy, we believe in establishing a new standard of marketing in which everyone wins, enabling clients to accelerate business growth through clever and conscious ethical marketing which helps and inspires, as opposed to persuades and psychologically manipulates. To help clients do that, we’ll shortly be launching our Ethical Marketing Healthcheck. Based upon our existing and highly popular Growth Healthcheck, it will give businesses a snapshot of where they currently stand from an ethical marketing point of view and provide useful tips and tactics they can employ to drive their growth, while doing so in a positive and ethical manner.
About Pledge 1%
Pledge 1% is a global movement that inspires, educates, and empowers every entrepreneur, company, and employee to be a force for good. Over 12,000 members around the world have used Pledge 1%’s flexible framework to ignite half a billion dollars in new philanthropy. To learn more about Pledge 1% and to take the pledge visit www.pledge1percent.org.
Originally posted: January 12th, 2021
Originally published on cosmeticsdesign-asia.com. Written by Amanda Lim.
In today’s market, the notion of creating an organic product would not bat an eyelid. But when Cecily Pan and Jimmy Wang set out to develop an organic-certified sheet mask five years ago, the pair had to contend with an industry that did not even understand how to make that dream possible.
“At that time, there was not even one factory in Taiwan that was certified, and people didn’t know how to get it certified. We had to survey more than 20 manufacturers and ask if they want to join the journey with us,” said Wang, the co-founder of Taiwanese beauty brand Inna Organic.
Furthermore, their organic vision was rebuffed by naysayers who did not believe the Asian market was ready for organic products.
“Before we went into the market, I consulted people with experience in the industry and they kept telling us not to go for it, that the market was too small, and that people didn’t really care about organic products,” said Wang.
Despite the obstacles, the business partners pushed ahead with their goals.
“At that moment, we decided to do what we really wanted to do. This was the only way that could drive us to make things the best because we were on the path to pursue our dream and goals,” said Wang.
Today, Wang is excited about the introduction of many new and existing brands on the market that are launching their own organic sheet masks.
“With more brands in the market, this helps to boosts the customers’ awareness. At the same time, it’s also a driving force to inspire us not to be satisfied… we have to keep the momentum to make ourselves better, make our products better.”
As a pioneer in this space, Wang said sharing the company’s story would hopefully help another brand on their own journey in the organic cosmetics space.
“As a pioneer, we share with other brands in Taiwan about how to get products certified organic. We believe that if we are only one in the market doing this, we can’t create public awareness. And ingredient developers can also see the market is growing and will be more willing to develop quality ingredients.”
Aside from creating organic beauty products, the pair is passionate about giving back to organisations that champion children’s education.
The firm is a member of Pledge 1% and has contributed to charities such as Kid’s Bookhouse, Teach for Taiwan and Street Child.
“We need more people to care about children’s education so that the next generation cares about the environment. We can keep this momentum up to make the world better,” said Wang.
To learn more about Wang and Inna Organic, check out the podcast above or on Apple Podcasts. See all episodes here.
Originally posted: January 11th, 2021
Originally published on botronsoft.com. Written by Teodora.
“Imagine a world where being philanthropic is part of starting a business, and not simply the result of a successful one.”
That’s what Randall Ward, the CEO of Appfire, said after joining the Pledge 1% mission in 2015. Pledge 1% is a corporate philanthropy movement dedicated to making the community a key stakeholder in every business. It empowers companies to donate 1% of product, 1% of equity, 1% of profit, or 1% of employee time to improve communities worldwide. We support their mission and strongly believe that performing a small wholehearted action today can have a huge impact tomorrow.
That said, we are delighted to make the following announcement —
Appfire is donating $5000 to the Pledge 1% foundation on behalf of its good friends and Marketplace partner, Deviniti!
Deviniti implements Apps SPI
Recently, Deviniti dedicated time, energy, and resources of their engineers to implement Configuration Manager for Jira’s Service Provider Interface. This integration means that their customers can seamlessly incorporate and transfer Deviniti app data and configurations when they make changes in their Jira instance using Configuration Manager for Jira. As much as we believe that this program and the data capturing capabilities of Configuration Manager are a game-changing experience for all app vendors, we also know that allocating time and resources toward a new project can be challenging. And this is our way of saying “thank you” for helping improve the data migration experience for the Atlassian ecosystem.
Creating lasting change together
We are deeply thankful to all partners who approach our solutions with confidence and trust. With the Pledge 1% donation, we can extend our gratitude one step further. This additional step helps us make a difference in our data migration community and for a cause bigger than all of us. As we continue to face insurmountable challenges, companies — their employees, customers, and partners — are playing an even bigger role in being a part of the solution. Joining Pledge 1% allows companies to put their stake in the ground and show their commitment to creating lasting positive change in their communities.
To all marketplace vendors:
We understand how valuable your time and team members are. To say thanks for allocating time and energy to join the Apps SPI program, we’ll be giving away $5000 to the Pledge 1% Foundation on your behalf. Let’s drive impactful change together!
Join our data migration community and become a vital part of the improvement today!
Originally posted: December 21st, 2020
Written by Luke Michael. Originally published on probonoaustralia.com
Cashrewards has become the first ASX-listed company to pledge 1 per cent of its equity to charity, hoping to inspire other Australian businesses to take this philanthropic approach.
The e-commerce platform – which gives customers cash back when they buy products online – is part of the Pledge 1% movement, which involves companies pledging 1 per cent of their equity, product, and employee time to their communities.
Cashrewards also donates 1 per cent of every transaction on its platform to the Starlight Children’s Foundation.
The company officially listed on the ASX last Wednesday, with Starlight now one of its shareholders.
Founder Andrew Clarke told Pro Bono News he was inspired to give back to charity through Cashrewards after witnessing his child successfully battle cancer.
“I spent a lot of time in the hospital with my child and so many people helped us so much. And I saw all the benefits from the various fundraising initiatives,” Clarke said.
“Starlight was doing a lot to help us during that time so I wanted to really embed giving back into the business.”
Cashrewards has delivered more than $100 million in cash back since its inception in 2014, with more than 800,000 members and over 1,500 merchant partners including Adidas, Amazon and Apple.
Clarke said the company’s strong social purpose was a driving force behind its success.
“We would not have achieved what we’ve achieved without having purpose so built into our business,” he said.
“It’s just made such a difference. It’s really why we do what we do, and what gets our team motivated.”
Clarke said with the company’s initial public offering this week, the business was set to grow even further.
He said this would offer a major boost to Starlight, which is one of many Australian charities to struggle this year due to the COVID-19 crisis.
“This means that more and more Australians are going to save money and we’re going to help more and more kids,” he said.
“Starlight haven’t been able to run their events, and this extra boost is significant for them to round out what’s been a difficult year for them, as it has been for most charities.”
Clarke said he hoped he would now inspire other ASX-listed companies to join the 1% pledge.
He noted that he himself was inspired by the actions of the pledge’s founding partners Salesforce and Atlassian.
“In the early days I went and met [Atlassian co-founder] Scott Farquhar, who was encouraging other businesses to join,” he said.
“And that helped us because meeting with [him] and hearing about the power of purpose was just so inspiring.
“We’re looking forward to going out there and encouraging many other businesses to join the pledge as well.”
Originally posted: December 9th, 2020
