The B Corp movement, which brings together companies that generate a positive impact on people and the planet through their activity, is gaining more and more ground in the business landscape. This past October, it already reached 1,000 B Corp companies across Europe, a figure that demonstrates the strength of the community on the old continent.
These companies meet the highest standards of social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability, and also work to move from individual impact to collective change.
A thousand-fold impact that is causing an unprecedented ripple effect, involving more than 85,000 B Corps employees across Europe, spread across 26 countries, transforming more than 150 industries and generating an amplifying effect on customers and suppliers.
Last Saturday was Saturday was World Human Rights Day. In honor of the day, B Corp UK shared a conversation we had with Fifty Eight, a “Best For The World” honouree that's using technology to help businesses tackle modern slavery in supply chains.
This is not at odds with economic performance, as B Corps companies improve their annual economic results by an average of 30%, according to data from a sample of 700 of the 1,000 European companies belonging to the community. Brands that currently benefit from B Corp Brand status are Athleta, Saks Fifth Avenue, Mud Jeans, Ganni, and Eileen Fisher.
B Corp: The Most Prestigious global standard that recognizes Purpose-Driven Companies
Being B Corp goes beyond the certification of a product or service. B Corp is a new business model and the only global standard that measures the social and environmental performance of the entire company, while defining its identity.
To do so, it uses the : an online, free and confidential tool that evaluates the positive impact that companies generate on workers, the community, the environment, and customers. To ensure that this impact is real and to establish incentives for continuous improvement, B Corp companies meet rigorous transparency and legal accountability requirements and undergo a re-evaluation every three years.
Being a B Corp also means adopting the legal commitment to consider all stakeholders in decision-making; as well as joining an active community of people and companies committed to sharing best practices, learning, and opportunities for businesses.
A Global Impact
B Corp continues to grow and is already a reference in Spain, where 160 of the 1,000 European companies are located, that is, 16% of the total, with an accumulated turnover of more than 6,000 million euros.
Globally, this movement, which works collectively towards an inclusive, equitable and regenerative economy, already has a total of 5,811 companies - 31 of which are listed on the stock exchange - from 85 countries, which are part of a community that already brings together more than 466,000 workers and 158 different sectors. In addition, there are already more than 200,000 registered users of the "B Impact Assessment" measurement tool.
All of them add up to a turnover of more than 1.8 trillion on an international scale, of which 20 billion come from European B Corps. Companies that strive to benefit all people and the planet and that, in addition to wanting to be the best in the world, also aspire to be the best "for" the world.
Being B Corp goes beyond the certification of a product or service. B Corp is a new business model and the only global standard that measures the social and environmental performance of the entire company while defining its identity.
To do so, it uses the B Impact Assessment: an online, free and confidential tool that evaluates the positive impact that companies generate on workers, the community, the environment, and customers. To ensure that this impact is real and to establish incentives for continuous improvement, B Corp companies meet rigorous transparency and legal accountability requirements and undergo a re-evaluation every three years.
Being a B Corp also means adopting the legal commitment to consider all stakeholders in decision-making; as well as joining an active community of people and companies committed to sharing best practices, learning, and opportunities for businesses.