Stories from the Community
Why Become a Benefit Corporation: The Revealing Business Case
Certification as a Benefit Corporation business is what Fair Trade certification is to coffee or USDA Organic certification is to milk or LEEDs certification is to buildings. Benefit Companies and Benefit Corporations are for-profit companies certified around standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. In an era of ‘greenwashing’ and misleading labels…
5 Time-Tested Lessons for the Workplace (“Pura Vida” Anyone?)
We visited during the dry season, but that didn’t stop a few rain showers. But this is Costa Rica and it is an emerald world with frogs, butterflies, sloths, volcanoes and monkeys that enchant. This, of course, isn’t a travelogue but a blog about a word heard often in Costa Rica: Pura Vida. It’s a word …
How a Portland Creative Services Firm Found Its Big Idea in Legalese
Never underestimate the power of an idea whose time has come. And that time was just three weeks for creative wizard Julie Eickhof of Eickhof Creative Shop. You see, while changing her business structure to an LLC…
Confession from a Devoted Advocate for the Triple Bottom Line
As I begin my second year as an evangelist for the Triple Bottom Line movement, I need to clear my conscience. You see, I have not always been the greatest example of People, Planet and Profit. And I hate admitting that because I do believe you lead by example.
But my story needs to be told.
Seven years ago…
17 Uplifting Examples of Putting Soul Into Business
A year ago this week, my business partner and I introduced our book Putting Soul Into Business: How the Benefit Corporation is Transforming American Business for Good. It tells the story of the benefit corporation movement and all the reasons it’s not only right for business but it’s right for the times we live in.
Think…
10 Common Myths about Benefit Corporations
The Benefit Corporation movement has been around since 2010. Yet 9 years later, there continues to be confusion about this entity and its relation to Benefit Companies and B Corps. Here are the ten subjects most often asked about during our workshops in 2018.
2 Words To Ensure Long-Term Entrepreneur Success (Hint: Cause-Driven)
There is no magic formula for a startup. But in today’s world, it is not just about focusing on the bottom line of generating revenue and managing expenses. In 2019, customers make choices not solely on the cost and quality of a product or service, but whether the company itself is doing good. That means for entrepreneurs who want to ensure long-term success …
Why the Heck Should I Become a Benefit Corporation in 2019?
It’s a new year and you have been hearing things about this new business model. It’s called a Benefit Corporation.
Are you are intrigued?
It’s based on the principles of the triple bottom line of People Planet and Profit. Perhaps your business already practices some of the principles.
How an Oregon Website Management Company Created a Connection Way Beyond Digital
Everyone wants a solid, reliable connection to the digital world. But what if that connection was also part of building a better community and planet. Enter David and Angela Anderson of Canvas Host. Not only are they B Corp and 1% For the Planet certified, but they are a recently certified Benefit Corporation for Good.
How To Create a Sustainable Workplace and Community in 2018
Like many companies, we are always trying to be more sustainable. This is a basic tenet of the benefit corporation. But what does it mean to be sustainable and to actualize the 2nd P in the Triple Bottom Line?
5 Important Reasons To Get Certified as a Benefit Corporation
You are an entrepreneur or a small business doing all the right things.
You believe in giving back but you also want to make a profit.
And you care about the environment. For your kids and grandkids, for your community, for the world.
In sum, you believe in the triple bottom line of people, planet profit.
How a Portland Video Company Told a Powerful Story without a Camera
When done right, video creates memorable, powerful and lasting impact. The same can be said for the story founder Erik Croswell of Bridge City Media told us as he articulated the reasons why he and his company became a certified Benefit Corporation for Good…
How Benefit Corporations Understand the Secret of Innovation
Dreamers, visionaries, and out-of-the-box thinkers. These descriptive words aren’t just for bigger-than-life leaders and inventors. These words can describe each one of us. We all have the potential to dream and create.
Why a Strategic Consulting Firm Used Certification To Leave the World a Better Place
If you listen to the founder of Mighty Epiphyte, you hear a common thread in all her communication. That commonality? Leaving the world and her community a better place. As a firm believer in the Triple Bottom Line of People, Planet and Profit, Kim Allchurch Flick is a connector and collaborator who catalyzes good business.
Why a Portland Management Consulting Firm Followed Its Heart in Becoming a Certified Oregon Benefit Company
It’s difficult to listen in on a business conversation these days without hearing the word metrics. Measuring what you do is a critical component to a business’s success and longevity. And that accountability is a key reason why co-founders Trever Cartwright and Michelle Janke pursued certification as an Oregon Benefit Company.
How to Differentiate Your Brand by Taking a Stand
If your business isn’t taking a stand, the results are clear: you’re not going to be relevant to target markets. This is the reality of today’s consumer as revealed in a fresh new study from Edelman.
What’s particularly enlightening is that…
Benefit Corporations: Diversity is more than Affirmative Action
Throughout the 20th century, most businesses appeared homogenized. But over the years, huge demographic changes occurred in our workforce. The people inside today's businesses resemble nothing like those employees just a few decades ago.
The most obvious difference: You will find greater gender and ethnic diversity across most industries.And it is clearly apparent in the Benefit Corporations we have met. These businesses…
How Kayaking in the Sea of Cortez Turned a Vegan Shake Creator into an Oregon Benefit Company
Let’s say you create hand-crafted, certified vegan shake blends. They’re dairy-free, soy-free and gluten-free. Oh, yes, they also taste delicious according to the fans of said vegan shake blends. But then you also decide you want to mix in social and environmental impact.
Well that’s what has happened with David Cascadden, founder of Left Coast Raw in Bend, Oregon.