The B Corp Handbook: How You Can Use Business as a Force for Good

"This book shows how using business as a force for good, not just pursuing short-term profits, can be better for consumers, employees, local communities, the environment, and your company's long-term bottom line." --Tony Hsieh, New York Times bestselling author of Delivering Happiness and CEO, Zappos.com, Inc. B Corps are a global movement of more than 2,700 companies in 60 countries--like Patagonia, Ben & Jerry's, Kickstarter, Danone North America, and Eileen Fisher--that are using the power of business as a force for good. B Corps have been certified to have met rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. This book is the authoritative guide to the what, why, and how of B Corp certification. Coauthors Ryan Honeyman and Dr. Tiffany Jana spoke with the leaders of over 200 B Corps from around the world to get their insights on becoming a Certified B Corp, improving their social and environmental performance, and building a more inclusive economy. The second edition has been completely revised and updated to include a much stronger focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). These changes are important because DEI can no longer be a side conversation--it must be a core value for any company that aspires to make money and make a difference. While this book is framed around the B Corp movement, any company, regardless of size, industry, or location, can use the tools contained here to learn how to build a better business. As the authors vividly demonstrate, using business as a force for good can help you attract and retain the best talent, distinguish your company in a crowded market, and increase trust in your brand.

ldquo;The B Corp Handbook shows that an economic agenda that serves people's needs while respecting planetary boundaries is compatible, and ultimately even necessary, for financial success.”
—Paul Polman, CEO, Unilever

“Every business owner interested in creating a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive economy should read this book.”
—Dawn Sherman, CEO, Native American Natural Foods

“In an increasingly complex world, big brands and companies are fundamentally challenged as to whose interests they really serve. We joined the B Corp movement because we are convinced that addressing this challenge directly is the best way to reinforce trust with our stakeholders.”
—Emmanuel Faber, CEO, Danone

“The B Corp principles of social, environmental, and economic justice are deeply aligned with the mission and core values of our worker-owned cooperative.”
—Adria Powell, CEO, Cooperative Home Care Associates

"Our holistic vision for the company centers around our clothing, mindful business practices, and supporting every employee's purpose. Being a B Corp allows us to fulfill our purpose in a bold way with other like-minded companies. The B Corp Handbook serves as a guide for using business as a force for good."
—**Eileen Fisher, Founder and President, EILEEN FISHER

“I hope that five years from now, ten years from now, we’ll look back and say B Corporations were the start of the revolution. The existing paradigm isn’t working anymore--this is the future.”
—Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia
 
“The B Corp Handbook provides an essential teaching resource in preparing the next generation of business leaders to build a more sustainable and inclusive economy.”
—Jessica Thomas, Director, Business Sustainability Collaborative, North Carolina State University
 
“We became a Certified B Corp because it closely aligns with our purpose-driven business model of community reinvestment, entrepreneurship, women’s empowerment, education, and wellness.”
—Emmet Dennis, Chief Marketing Officer, Sundial Brands

“The second edition of The B Corp Handbook goes beyond the first edition by helping companies make progress on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Don’t just wait for economic justice; make it happen!”
—Naomi Vickers, Chief Operating Officer, BLK Capital Management

“I think B Corporations will make more profits than other types of companies.”
—Robert Shiller, winner of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Economics and Professor of Economics, Yale University

“The B Corp Handbook shows how using business as a force for good, not just pursuing short-term profits, can be better for consumers, employees, local communities, the environment, and your company’s long-term bottom line.”
—Tony Hsieh, New York Times bestselling author of Delivering Happiness and CEO, Zappos.com

“B Corporations recast the goals of the traditional business enterprise. They are becoming more prevalent as a new breed of businessperson seeks purpose with the fervor that traditional economic theory says entrepreneurs seek profit.”
—Daniel Pink, New York Times bestselling author of When and Drive

“A must-read for every for-profit enterprise that aims to create social impact.”
—Cathy Clark, Adjunct Professor and Director, CASE i3, Fuqua School of Business, Duke University

“The B Corp Handbook proves that any company can be pro-community, pro-business, and pro-environment—at the same time. Ryan Honeyman and Tiffany Jana show that there does not have to be any tradeoff between profitability and creating positive social change.”
—Suzanne DiBianca, Executive Vice President of Corporate Relations and Chief Philanthropy Officer, Salesforce

“In contrast to the plethora of books that discuss only the problems facing society, The B Corp Handbook offers a concrete, positive, market-based, and scalable systemic solution to addressing our greatest social and environmental challenges.”
—Marshall Goldsmith, New York Times bestselling author of What Got You Here Won’t Get You There

Auteur

Ryan Honeyman is a partner/worker-owner at LIFT Economy. LIFT is an impact consulting firm whose mission is to create, model, and share an inclusive and locally self-reliant economy that works for the benefit of all life. Tiffany Jana is CEO and president of TMI Consulting, the first diversity consultancy to be chartered as a benefit corporation and certified as a B Corp. Dr. Jana was awarded a 2017 Enterprising Woman of the Year Award from Enterprising Women magazine and is the coauthor of Overcoming Bias and Erasing Institutional Bias.