Benefit Corporations (a legal designation) and Certified B Corporations (a third-party certification) are changing the landscape of sustainable business. Here’s the latest from around the web about this important movement:

• Benefit Corporation legislation continues to sweep across the country, as Illinois, Massachusetts, and Louisiana join the ranks of states that recognize this new corporate form. As Benefit Corporations spread to the Midwest, the Non-Profit Quarterly takes note that this also signals the rise of non-profit certifiers of businesses. In Massachusetts, a state with 18 Certified B Corporations, the question of the day is: Who will be the first Benefit Corporation?
• While many companies are moving forward to become Benefit Corporations, Forbes profiles one company in Louisiana that is waiting before becoming a Benefit Corporation.
• Think positive impact comes at a cost of business growth? Think again. Of the 5,000 fastest growing private companies in the U.S. named by Inc. Magazine, 27 are B Corps!
• Would you like to find B Corps near you? Wouldn’t it be nice if there was an app for that? The new Social Impact app -  a GPS social enterprise finder – seeks to do just that, and will include social ventures that meet B Corporation criteria, among others.
• Should your business become a Benefit Corporation? Smallbiztrends.com offers three reasons to consider becoming a B Corp: 1) walking the talk, 2) continuity of commitment, and 3) standing out.
• The global B Corp movement is also moving full speed ahead. B Corps go down under as Small Giants becomes the first B Corp in Australia, Ouro Verde Amazonia becomes the first Brazilian B Corp, and  Juhudi Kilimo becomes Africa’s first B Corp!

Finally, even former President Bill Clinton takes notice of B Corps:

What are your thoughts on the latest B Corp news?

I recently wrote about the sustainability progression for East Bay businesses and how we have so many resources available here to help businesses to go green. Below, I’ve listed just 10 resources to get you started.

© Marincas_andrei | Dreamstime.com

1. Stopwaste: Stopwaste is focused on reducing the waste stream in Alameda County. How do they do this? By offering technical assistance, funding assistance, and a wealth of resources to help businesses reduce what they send to the landfill.
2. Recology: An employee-owned business that provides recycling, composting, and disposal services for businesses, Recology is a great resource. They’ll even do a free waste consultation for you to help you determine how you can save money by implementing recycling and composting services while reducing your waste pick-up.
3. Smart Lights: Would your business benefit from a free energy audit that would help you identify how you can be more energy efficient, saving both money and natural resources, while also identifying available rebate opportunities for the retrofit? If so, Smart Lights can do just that and help you if you’re in Oakland, Berkeley, Albany or parts of Contra Costa County.
4. B.E.S.T. Program: Is your business in an area not covered by Smart Lights but still interested in a free energy audit and assistance with rebates? The Business Energy Solutions Team offers a similar service to businesses in other parts of the East Bay, including San Leandro, Hayward, San Ramon, and Walnut Creek.
5. Smart Solar: Have you ever wondered if installing solar panels would be possible for your business? Smart Solar can help you answer that question. They offer free solar assessments and project assistance to businesses that are PG&E customers throughout Alameda and Contra Costa Counties.
6. Food Service Technology Center: If you’re in the restaurant industry, the Food Service Technology Center is an amazing resource for you. They specialize in promoting energy efficiency in food service and can help you with site surveys (free to PG&E customers), finding rebates for kitchen equipment (did you know you could get a $500 rebate for an energy efficient fryer?), and more.
7. Bay-Friendly Landscaping: Stopwaste is one of the sponsors of the Bay-Friendly Landscaping and Gardening Coalition, which promotes sustainable landscaping that conserves water and reduce pollution. If your business has landscaping, consider using a Bay-Friendly Qualified Professional (and be sure to use drought-tolerant, California native plants!).
8. Sustainable Business Alliance: The SBA is a business association committed to building a vibrant community of locally-owned, sustainably-minded businesses in the East Bay. SBA offers networking and business development for members, educates the public about the benefits of local economies and spending money locally, and supports public policy changes that promote sustainable economic development.
9. Green Chamber of Commerce: The Green Chamber is a growing and diverse business network dedicated to promoting the success of its members, supporting the development of sustainable business practices, and advocating for  green public policy.
10. Green Business Program: Last but most certainly not least is the Alameda County Green Business Program, which can provide your business with resources and support to receive Green Business Certification. The Green Business Program sets standards in areas such as energy efficiency and water conservation and partners with cities and utilities to help businesses to reduce their environmental impacts.

I know there are more resources out there! What would you add to this list?

Benefit Corporations (a legal designation) and Certified B Corporations (a third-party certification) are changing the landscape of sustainable business. Here’s the latest from around the web about this important movement:

• Benefit Corp legislation is still pending in Michigan, noted in this article that explains how Benefit Corps are different from regular corporations. Care2 also has an online petition supporting legislation in Michigan. In South Carolina, one of the legislators who introduced legislation in that state explains how his plan mixes doing well with doing good.
• It seems like every day there’s a new blog post trying to explain what benefit corporations are – even Bill Moyers is getting in on the action with this post.
• B Corps are driving a new ecology of commerce, as detailed in this great post that explains how to become a B Corp, why companies choose to do it, and how they’re changing the corporate playing field.
• “Advancing the benefit corporation” tops the list of 10 ways finance can be a force for good, in an interesting post by a Yale Professor of Economics and Finance.
• California is currently home to 142 of the 505 Certified B Corps nationwide, and 61% of those are in the Bay Area, as noted in this piece on Oakland North that shines the spotlight on Oakland-based Give Something Back and Berkeley-based Sun Light and Power.
• A misconception continues to persist, in some circles, that doing good comes at a price for a business. Certified B Corp Harvest Power, however, shows that’s not true as they raise $110 million to turn waste to energy.
• Certified B Corp United By Blue brings sustainable apparel to the mainstream in a big way – its first production run of t-shirts made in the US has been picked up by Nordstroms.
• Have you met Aunt Bertha? You should. This Certified B Corporation is doing something quite interesting – picking up where Uncle Sam leaves off.
• Can a new kind of corporation save us and our economy? That’s the question asked in this article on Alternet, which showcases Certified B Corp Equator Coffee as a “B Corp in Action.”
• Congrats to Dogeared Jewels & Gifts, which recently announced their official certification as a B Corp!

Finally, in a piece prompted by their original B Corp profile (included in The Latest Buzz #6), PBS takes a closer at LEED Certification:

What are your thoughts on the latest B Corp news?

© Mopic | Dreamstime.com

As a business owner in the East Bay, you are in a unique position with the sustainability options available to you.

There’s a sustainability progression that is available to East Bay businesses, and each step along the way provides an opportunity for you to establish a solid sustainability foundation for your business:

1. Get started on going green – everyone has to start somewhere, and making sure that you cover the basics is a good first step.
2. Work on Green Business Certification – meet the third-party standards of the Alameda County Green Business Program, which addresses energy efficiency, water conservation, pollution prevention, and waste reduction.
3. Work on B Corp Certification – build upon your environmental efforts through B Corp Certification, a national certification for companies that harness the power of business to solve social and environmental problems.
4. Go beyond and blaze a trail for other triple-bottom line businesses – this is the new territory in which you join other companies that are breaking new ground in reimagining business for the 21st century.

It could be argued that business owners everywhere have access to this same sustainability progression. However, there are a few features that make the East Bay unique:

1. Getting started – an abundance of resources exist here that facilitate the process of getting started in the greening process. Looking for free energy audits? Both Smart Lights and the BEST program serve Alameda County. Interested in recycling options? Stopwaste.org can assist with everything from setting up recycling programs to figuring out how to properly dispose of almost anything you can imagine. Would you like to network with other green business owners? Both the Sustainable Business Alliance and the Green Chamber of Commerce can facilitate that. The list of resources to help you go green that we have available here is quite extensive!
2. Green Business Certification – the Alameda County Green Business Program is a robust program with over 500 certified businesses. The program sets clear standards for certification and has developed strong partnerships with utilities and municipalities throughout the county that support the program. In addition, certified businesses go through an audit process that ensures that their practices meet the program standards, which strengthens the credibility for this program over others that forgo confirmation of a company’s practices.
3. B Corp Certification – while B Corps exist throughout the US and Canada, the East Bay is home to many B Corps, including Give Something Back, Green Retirement Plans, Numi Tea, Free Range Studios, Cutting Edge Capital, Sungevity, Wendel Rosen, and Scientific Certification Systems, to name just a few. Plus, the West Coast B Corp staff office is just across the Bay in San Francisco. The combination of a local office and numerous certified businesses results in an active community that can provide support to new B Corps.
4. Go beyond – the Bay Area is a hub of activity right now around sustainable business, social entrepreneurship, impact investing, clean tech, green building, progressive legislation, and numerous other factors that are paving the way towards new models for the socially and environmentally responsible businesses of the future. If any company is interested in pushing the boundaries of old business models and trying something new and innovative, this is the time and place to do it.

Do you own a business in the East Bay? Where are you in this progression?