Today B Lab released the first ‘Best for the World’ lists recognizing companies creating the most positive overall social and environmental impact.  The ‘Best for the World’ companies score 50% higher than nearly 2,000 other sustainable businesses, and in the top 10% among more than 500 Certified B Corporations, in the most comprehensive and independent assessment of overall corporate impact.  B Lab also released separate lists of the ‘Best for the Environment’, ‘Best for the Community’, and ‘Best for Workers’.

“These companies are leading a global movement to redefine success in business,” said Jay Coen Gilbert, co founder of B Lab, the nonprofit organization that certifies B Corporations and governs the independent third party standard used to generate the comparable assessment of corporate impact.  “These companies are the best in the world at being the best for the world,” Coen Gilbert added.

The ‘Best for the World’ lists are featured in the just released 2012 B Corp Annual Report.  Businesses recognized for their extraordinary performance include:

- For Overall Impact: Better World Books, Global Green Energy Corp, Green Building Services, Larry’s Beans, Method Home Products, Moving Forward Education, Namaste Solar, New Resource Bank, Next Street, Partnership Capital Growth, Piedmont Biofuels, PREM Group, Re:Vision Architecture, RecycleBank, South Mountain Company, Southern Energy Management, SQA Pharmacy Services, The Redwoods Group, and Virginia Community Capital.

- For the Environment: Brightworks, Bullfrog Power, Ecovations, gDiapers, Global Green Energy Corp., GoLite, Green Building Services, Guayaki Sustainable Rainforest Products, IceStone, Larry’s Beans, Method Products, Namaste Solar, New Leaf Paper, Patagonia, Piedmont Biofuels, Preserve, Re:Vision Architecture, Salt Spring Coffee, Southern Energy Management, and Sustainable Solutions Unlimited.

- For the Community: Agora Management Corporation, Cap Global, Care2.com, Change.org, Ecovations, FMYI, Hershey Cause, Ideal Network, Mal Warwick Associates, Moving Forward Education, New Resource Bank, Next Street, PeaceWorks Technology Solutions, Prem Group, SQA Pharmacy Services, thedatabank, The Redwoods Group, and Virginia Community Capital.  

- For Workers: Change.org, Exponent Partners, First Affirmative Financial Network, First Rate, Inc., Heller Consulting, King Arthur Flour Company, Namaste Solar, Partnership Capital Growth, PeaceWorks Technology Solutions, Rally Software, Re:Vision Architecture, Relevance, South Mountain Company, Sungevity, The Caprock Group, and thedatabank, inc.  

Six companies were recognized as ‘Best for the World’ in multiple impact areas: Namaste Solar (Environment and Workers); Re:Vision Architecture (Environment and Workers); Change.org (Community and Workers); PeaceWorks Technology Solutions (Community and Workers); thedatabank (Community and Workers); and Ecovations (Environment and Community).

B Lab is a nonprofit organization dedicated to using the power of business to solve social and environmental problems.  B Lab drives systemic change through three interrelated initiatives: 1) building a community of Certified B Corporations to make it easier for all of us to tell the difference between “good companies” and just good marketing; 2) accelerating the growth of the impact investing asset class through use of B Lab’s GIIRS impact rating system by institutional investors; and 3) promoting legislation creating a new corporate form that meets higher standards of purpose, accountability and transparency.  To earn certification, B Corporations must achieve a minimum score on the B Impact Assessment, which measures a company’s impact on its workforce, suppliers, consumers, community, and the environment, and are legally required to consider the interests of these stakeholders, not just shareholders, when making decisions. Learn more at bcorporation.net, benefitcorp.net, and giirs.org.

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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