With well-known companies such as Patagonia și Ben & Jerry’s deținând certificarea, termenul „B Corporation” has become widely recognised around the world. But how did this movement grow to become such an influential force in modern business?
The B Corp movement began in 2006 when three entrepreneurs — Jay Coen Gilbert, Bart Houlahan and Andrew Kassoy — set out to create a new way of holding companies accountable for their impact on employees, communities and the environment. They founded B Lab, a nonprofit organisation that developed an independent certification system to recognise businesses meeting high standards of social and environmental performance.
In 2007, the first 82 companies were certified as B Corporations. Since then, the movement has grown rapidly, with thousands of B Corp businesses now operating across a wide range of industries worldwide.