Berwyn-based B Lab is working to change the economy by ending shareholder primacy on businesses and promoting benefit corporations, write Keith Mestrich and Mark Pinsky for Inc. magazine.

The nonprofit is dedicated to the concept that business has to be a force for good, rather than just for profit. The B in its name stands for “benefit,” or the social purpose businesses should serve.

B Lab awards certification to for-profit companies that are doing all they can to offer social benefits in addition to good financial performance. Companies seeking B Lab certification have to complete and meet the conditions of the B Impact Assessment and make statements in their charts and bylaws that are a legally binding commitment to maintaining their B certification.

Additionally, they have to operate transparently and work together with other B-certified corporations.

“The B economy is bigger than B Corporations,” said B Lab co-founder Jay Coen Gilbert. “The issue is whether B Corporations are part of an economy that is creating a more inclusive and sustainable business world.”

The movement currently numbers 60,000 companies globally. Last September, nearly 700 attendees gathered at the B Lab Champions Retreat to honor its great performers.

Read more about B Lab in Inc. magazine here.

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