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 Does “Customer-Driven” Mean in BCFG Certification?

What Does Customer Driven Mean for Benefit Corporation Certification?

Benefit Corporation leaders gathering at Happy Hour for Good.

Customer Driven is one of the 8 standards BCFG certification evaluates, and it measures how seriously a business takes the people on the other end of every transaction.

What this standard evaluates

BCFG looks for businesses that treat customer relationships as a two way conversation, including:

Timely follow-up to emails and calls
Using accessible, plain language in customer communication
Regularly surveying customers
Including customers in planning
Personalizing the customer relationship where possible

Why it matters

Being customer driven sounds obvious, but most businesses only measure it by complaints they didn’t get, not by whether they actively ask customers what they think. This standard looks for the asking, not just the absence of problems.

Where does BCFG fit?

Customer Driven connects directly to BCFG’s Triple Bottom Line, it’s the standard most focused on whether “profit” is being earned in a way that genuinely serves people, not just extracted from them.

This standard doesn’t vary by state. Responsive, accessible customer communication is the expectation whether your customers are in Oregon or anywhere else.

Ready to learn more?

See how Customer-Driven fits with BCFG’s other 7 standards on the certification standards overview, or move forward with certification. Members of the BCFG community can share how they’ve built customer surveys into regular practice.