What is a benefit corporation?

A benefit corporation is a for-profit business that has made a legal commitment to more than just making money. It is a business structure, recognized by most U.S. states, that requires companies to consider how their business decisions affect people and the planet, not just their bottom line. In a traditional corporation, shareholders are typically prioritized. A benefit corporation legally requires consideration of employees, customers, community, and the environment in business decisions.

What is the difference between a B Corp and a benefit corporation?

A benefit corporation is a legal business structure, like an LLC or a sole proprietorship, created by filing paperwork with a state. A B Corp is a certification issued by the nonprofit B Lab after a review of a company's social and environmental practices. Benefit Corporations for Good certification is also a third-party certification, similar to B Corp, but built with small businesses in mind. BCFG is one of only four standards recognized by the Oregon Secretary of State and is the only one based in Oregon.

Why did we start Benefit Corporations for Good?

Benefit Corporations for Good was created because small businesses deserve a way to prove what they stand for. Many purpose-driven business owners are already doing right by their people and their community, but need a trusted and recognizable way to show it. BCFG was created as a certification that is meaningful enough to matter while being built for real small businesses, not only large companies with full-time sustainability teams.

Who is certification for?

Certification is for small businesses that care about their employees, their neighborhood, and the wider world they operate in. Certified businesses include law firms, solar companies, marketing agencies, wine bars, and other industries. Applicants do not need to be perfect, but they need to be serious about their commitment. The process includes a 60-question assessment across eight standards, followed by a short interview. For businesses with five or fewer full-time equivalent employees, the fee is $299.

What Values Must a Benefit Corporation Demonstrate?

What Values Does a Benefit Corporation Have to Demonstrate?

Benefit Corporation leaders gathering at Happy Hour for Good.

The Values of Benefit Corporations standard is one of the 8 standards BCFG evaluates, and it’s the one most directly tied to what makes a benefit corporation a benefit corporation in the first place legally and philosophically.

What this standard evaluates

BCFG asks applicants to be aware of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to understand benefit corporation legislation requirements, including:

Familiarity with the SDGs most relevant to the business
Understanding what benefit corporation status legally requires
Producing the annual benefit report that status requires

Why it matters

Benefit corporation status isn’t just a label. It’s a legal commitment with ongoing reporting obligations attached. This standard checks that a business actually understands what it signed up for, not just that it filed the paperwork once.

Where does BCFG fit?

This standard sits closest to BCFG’s founding purpose: certifying that a business’s stated values, its people, planet, and profit commitments, hold up against both a global framework (the SDGs) and its own state’s legal requirements.

If you’re certifying outside Oregon, your state’s benefit corporation statute may differ in its specifics, but the expectation to understand and report against it is the same everywhere.

Ready to learn more?

Compare this standard with the rest on the certification standards overview, or get certified directly. Members of the BCFG community can help if you’re unsure how to connect your SDG priorities to your annual report.