B Good Corporations

Jennifer Flynn
Bcorporationsmall.jpg

A coalition of businesses, the B Corporation, is now helping consumers to sort through all of the so called 'green' and 'socially responsible' advertising with which consumers are inundated. The 'B' stands for beneficial and that is what this new certification body is looking to promote in for-profit organizations.

The B Corporation is a new marketing and education campaign that is taking the corporate world by storm. The idea is to create a trustworthy label and membership group which promotes true social, environmental and community responsibility within the business world. To become a B Corporation a business must incorporate stakeholder interests and meet requirements of the survey on social and environmental responsibility.

Doubtful that we will see major banks or chemical companies joining this group, though B Corporation hopes that the market force will influence the behavior or large corporations. However, as consumers we have another source of information for supporting the "good" guys. B Corporation also offers marketing advice, promotional assistance and networking opportunities for similarly minded entrepreneurs.

Comments

the concept is the problem

Submitted by vivifidal on Wed, 06/18/2008 - 19:42.
the concept of Corporation is one that serves to mitigate risk by shielding participants from blame in the event of a mistake. I think the time for that has passed and we should move on to peer to peer economics where responsibility is shared rather than rarefied to the point of dissolution. So? what firm are you doing PR for?

well. . .

Submitted by Jarett S on Thu, 06/19/2008 - 01:56.
I don't necessarily agree that is all that a corporation is. A corp is only as good as it's leadership and this definitely is a step in the right direction. This sort of transparency and concern with real feedback from stakeholders and others(such as the environment) is at least a good sign if not the next big thing. It would not seem out of place if this does become a more and more popular trend in the corporate world. I do agree that things should be more localized, but being as entrenched as we are as a society with corporatism and the system that engenders that, we really do have a task at hand to influence these corporate structures in a more positive, co-intelligent direction, because let's face it, the corporations aren't going anywhere as far as we can tell! The more people do begin more localized peer to peer networking in the business/economic spheres, the more it will also work to influence the higher up corporations and such. At least, that's what I think of it. Although I've been reading a lot of Tom Atlee's and Co. articles over at the Co-Intelligence Institute, which talks about this sort of venturing, so check that out and see what you think.

if gives credence to the very notion, its the wrong direction...

Submitted by vivifidal on Thu, 06/19/2008 - 04:20.
Corporations are artificially intelligent constructs of group behavior that eventually overpower their creators and render any attempt at controlling them moot. I'm not just talking crazy here, their time has passed and now they are just plain a priori dangerous soul sucking institutions of greed detached from humanity. You can't make a tiger into a housecat and you can't limit the profit motive; if its not exercised consciously it it will subtly slip into the dynamic on an unconscious level. Do not be fooled by wolves in sheep's clothing like all the other little sheeples these charlatans amuse themselves by ensnaring and manipulating.

burn it down or not

Submitted by Adam Beavers on Thu, 06/19/2008 - 08:31.

There is a big difference between social reform and revolution. If we choose reform it will be a gradual process taking years to deconstruct the models we have come to rely upon. This would be the less destructive and disruptive path to the next society. If we choose revolution, we choose violence, chaos, and possible loss of all the knowledge and positive things we have gained over thousands of years. (Basic Human Rights, The US Constitution, although these aren't perfect they are better than anything else we currently have)

I mean just think of all the knowledge lost or misplaced after the fall of the Roman Empire. Think how far along we would be if the Roman Empire didn't fall but evolved into a better society. (Just an easily understood example off the top of my head)

So my question is would we rather burn it all down and risk starting over from scratch or try to keep the best of our world and patiently reform what we think needs to be changed?

Yeah, vivifidal, I think

Submitted by Jarett S on Thu, 06/19/2008 - 12:12.
Yeah, vivifidal, I think you're being a bit too cynical on this one. Like I said, corporations in and of themselves are not evil greed machines but rather an organizational structure found in the socio-economic realm. It's the leadership at the top of these corporations that control what direction it goes, and while profit motive is always a given, that does not mean that it has to always be considered above other things like environmental impact, societal impact, relevance to life in general, etc.
I think you really should check out the Co-Intelligence Institute I mentioned and read some of the articles there, might I recommend this one:
http://www.co-intelligence.org/CIPol_SocChAgenda.html

I understand your jadedness as we all have/are being fucked by corporations in one way or another, but we're just as much being fucked by our fellow neighbors who allow these things to go on and don't empower themselves enough to do anything about it. Basically it comes down to our own personal responsibility and when people start to recognize that at the corporate level then that when changes in the corporate world take place and for the better. There's nothing wrong with trying to make money and to provide goods and services to people, just as long as there is some sort of holistic ethic behind the company then things can be fine.
Corporations are not artificially intelligent, that's an absurd notion, but they can be co-intelligent, which is what this article is pointing towards. Usually, though, corporations display co-stupidity and so we are left with a bad taste in our mouth.

And believe me, I'm far from being a sheeple, far from it.

you just can't verify this stuff

Submitted by vivifidal on Fri, 06/27/2008 - 20:08.
and yes corporations have data cores and defense mechanisms that slipstream past human discernment, I'm totally harsh on this and you are naive slave fodder.BAAAAH!Ok, maybe a bit harsh, burn a little groom a little, but there are SO MANY different benchmarks to establish befor this can even begin to makes sense. Living wage for all employees and all employees of all products and services used by the B corp, how can you even begin to track this? I'm sticking w/ the P2P paradigm...