B Lab, the nonprofit that certifies B Corporations ("B" is for benefit), will publish the first B Corporation Annual Report in collaboration with Sustainable Industries, the business source for leaders of the New Economy. The report will include a summary of B Lab's progress to date in building a new sector of the economy through the growing community of certified B Corps, creation of a new corporate form, and a new rating system for impact investors.

In a time when many are looking for concrete, market-based solutions to systemic problems made plain by the financial meltdown, the B Corp community has grown 80 percent in the past year and thousands of businesses, large institutional investors and policy makers at every level of government have adopted the performance and legal standards outlined by the B Rating System.

Two characteristics distinguish B Corporations:

• B Corporations' legal structure expands corporate accountability to consider employees, community and environment, not just shareholders, helping them to grow and raise money while maintaining mission
• The transparent, comprehensive B Corporation performance standards empower consumers to support businesses that align with their values, investors to drive capital to higher impact investments, and governments and multinational corporations to implement sustainable procurement policies. Today, there are 220 B Corporations in 28 states representing 54 industries

"This report will explain why B Corps matter and why now is the time to address fundamental, systemic problems with systemic solutions that go beyond window dressing and pleas for more regulation," said Jay Coen Gilbert, one of the three founders of B Lab. "We hope readers will walk away inspired by the impact B Corporations are having and better equipped to forge their own path to build a new, more inclusive and sustainable new economy in which businesses serve society as well as shareholders."

The B Corp Annual Report includes:

• Summary data on community growth, diversity and impact comparing B Corps and non-B Corps
• Profiles of B Corps achieving high impact in each area assessed by the B Impact Rating System (Employee, Environment, Community, Consumer). B Corps profiled include: Seventh Generation, IceStone, Cardinal Resources, ShoreBank, SABEResPODER, Indigenous Designs, Sustainable Harvest, Greyston Bakery, Dansko, King Arthur Flour, Method, Plum Organics
A directory of 205 Certified B Corps arranged by industry, and profiles of innovations that can be used as a resource for journalists covering social entrepreneurship, and business owners and entrepreneurs interested in learning more about running a purpose-driven company

B Lab is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to create a new sector of the economy that harnesses the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. This sector will be comprised of a new type of corporation-the B Corporation "“ which creates economic opportunity, builds strong communities and preserves a healthy environment. B Corps meet higher standards of accountability, transparency, and social and environmental performance. As of September 2009, there are over 220 certified B Corporations from over 50 industries with more than $1 billion in revenues and $7 billion in assets under management.

B Lab's objective is to help B Corps become legally recognized by the states, tax preferred by the IRS, and valued by employees, investors, and consumers. B Lab also re-purposes the standards used to certify B Corps to help investors make high impact investments and governments implement policies to support sustainable business.

Sustainable Industries is an independent, award-winning media company serving business leaders on the West Coast and beyond. With news, tools and analysis focused on the environmental and social components of business, Sustainable Industries connects the dots between key sectors such as Clean Energy, Green Building, Technology and Food to raise the stakes in a working definition of Sustainable Industries. For more information, visit www.sustainableindustries.com

B Lab

B Lab

B Lab is a nonprofit organization that serves a global movement to redefine success in business. It's vision is that one day all companies will compete not only to be the best in the world, but best for the world.

B Lab drives this systemic change through a number of interrelated initiatives: 1) building a community of Certified B Corporations who lead this movement and make it easier to tell the difference between “good companies” and good marketing; 2) passing benefit corporation legislation to create a new kind of corporation legally required to create value for society, not just shareholders; 3) helping investors invest for impact through use of the B Analytics data platform; and 4) helping businesses measure, compare and improve their social and environmental performance through use of the B Impact Assessment as a free powerful educational tool.

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