B Corporation Community Grows

Last week I attended a local B-Corporation event at The Joinery. The B-Corp community keeps growing and now includes more than 420 business organizations representing more than $2 billion in annual revenues. Oregon has 27 B-Corps.

Four states (Maryland, Virginia, Vermont, and New Jersey) have now passed B-Corp legislation. New York is on the cusp, and bills have been introduced in over half the states. According to Stephanie Ryan from B Lab, the legislation has been passed with bipartisan, and nearly unanimous support, when the final vote was taken.

I still consider the B-Corp certification as the gold standard for green minded businesses due to the rigor, transparency, scope, vision, and accountability of the B-Corp certification mark.

B-Corp is launching version 3.0 of the assessment tool later this summer. I highly recommend that every business benchmark themselves using the free assessment tool. It will help you lead a better business.

"Benefit Corp." law passes in Maryland

I've written a number of blog posts on B-Corporations. TriLibrium, the company I founded, is a certified B-Corporation and I believe, the only public accounting firm in the country that has achieved that designation.

Part of the B-Lab (The non-profit supporting the B Community) strategy was the goal to have the B-Corp designation recognized as a distinct legal entity just like C-Corps and S-Corps. Yesterday, Maryland became the first state to pass a law recognizing B-Corporations. You can read more about that in this article.

Wish I could write more but it is April 14th. Have you filed your taxes?

B Corporations and the New Economy

My company, TriLibrium, is a certified B-Corporation. I believe B-Corp certification to be the current gold standard for firms dedicated to doing well by doing good.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to participate in a "State of the B Community" update. The B Corporation community is maturing and expanding. There are now more than 250 certified B-Corps total. The community has expanded to Canada and just this week, the first one will appear in Europe. On January 1st, B Labs released the new benchmarking tool, Version 2.0.

Whether or not you want to pursue B-Corporation certification, I highly recommend using the B Corporation survey to benchmark your environmental and social performance. This is a free service that will help you assess where you stand, and how you might improve. Getting a baseline benchmark is critical for performance improvement and to measure and report on your progress.

Because it is worth sharing, here is the B Corporation Member Declaration:

Declaration of Interdependence

We envision a new sector of the economy which harnesses the power of private enterprise to create public benefit. This sector is comprised of a new type of corporation – the B Corporation™ – which is purpose-driven and creates benefit for all stakeholders, not just shareholders.

As members of this emerging sector and as entrepreneurs and investors in B Corporations™,

We hold these truths to be self-evident:

• That we must be the change we seek in the world;
• That all business ought to be conducted as if people and place mattered;
• That, through their products, practices, and profits, businesses should aspire to do no harm and benefit all.

To do so, requires that we act with the understanding that we are each dependent upon another and thus responsible for each other and future generations.

The Power to Purchase

Now that "Buy Nothing Day" has passed and we're all back to consuming, we still have the power to vote with our dollars. How are you spending yours?

I am pretty conscious about my spending, both at home and work. I take pride reducing the supply chain when I buy quality products from local vendors.

As you'll note from my blog, I advocate for a different economy. Our global economy is broken, despite the illusions and mass deceit necessary to keep the game going for the near term and to serve the interests of those at the top of the pyramid. An economy based on greed is the worst kind.

The good news is that there is another economy rising up and it cherishes your support. Every dollar you invest in the new economy makes a difference. I repeat, every dollar you invest in the new economy makes a difference.

One way to support the new economy is to support Certified B Corporations. Whether your role is investor, advocate, policy maker, worker, partner, or consumer, your support of B Corps makes another world possible.

Some of my B Corp colleagues are offering holiday specials to the B Community and our friends. Click here to check out the B Community discounts.

TriLibrium becomes a B Corporation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

TriLibrium becomes Certified B Corporation

Portland, OR – July 25, 2009 – TriLibrium, perhaps the first triple-bottom line Certified Public Accounting firm in the nation, was recently certified as a B Corporation. TriLibrium becomes the seventh B Corporation in Oregon, joining nearly 200 nationwide.

TriLibrium was founded in 2008 by Brian Setzler, MBA, CPA and Andre’ Furin, MBA, to deliver tax, accounting and business advisory services to values driven people and organizations. Both Furin and Setzler have MBAs in Sustainable Business, who along with Eric Hasham, MBA, CPA, work to deliver triple-bottom line results to TriLibrium’s clients.

B Corporations are a new type of company which use the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. B Corporations are unlike traditional responsible businesses because they:

• Meet comprehensive and transparent social and environmental performance standards.
• Institutionalize stakeholder interests.
• Build collective voice through the power of a unifying brand.

Besides measuring its traditional bottom line like every for-profit entity, TriLibrium also measures its impact on the environment as well as stakeholders within the community and works to find balance among the triple bottom lines of people, planet, and profit.

“We decided to become a B Corporation since we see that as the current gold standard for sustainably driven organizations” said Setzler. “Being a B Corporation helps us achieve even greater contributions towards creating a sustainable economy.”

Contact:
Brian C. Setzler, MBA, CPA
Brian {at} TriLibrium.com
2000 NE 42nd Street, Suite D – PMB 213
Portland, OR 97213
Ph: 503-546-2050
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