Video: Jay Coen Gilbert on B Corps

By Trish Nixon - February 03, 2012 - Comments

B Corporations have been making a lot of noise in 2012. Last month, California became the seventh U.S. state to pass benefit legislation, and high-profile outdoor apparel company Patagonia garnered attention when it stepped up to become a certified B Corp. Today, Canadian enterprises shared the spotlight, as B Lab – the non-profit behind B Corps - announced the 39 Founding Canadian B Corporations (Press Release, PDF).

B Corps emerged in 2007, and there are now over 500 B Corps in North America (and 1 in Germany). While most of these are U.S. companies, Canadian firms are rapidly joining the movement. Twenty-seven of the 39 Founding Canadian Bcorps were certified in the past year.

In previous posts, Joyce Sou, Manager of B Corporations and Social Impact Metrics at the MaRS Centre for Impact Investing, wrote about what a B Corp is, and why they matter in Canada.

SocialFinance.ca also received an email from Vale Jokisch, Director of Services, B Lab to share with the community in Canada:

Good morning Canada!

The Huffington Post Canada featured a great piece today on Canadian Certified B Corps. You can check out the full article here.

We've also attached the press release [PDF] which motivated the Huffington Post to write this article. It would be wonderful if you would both share the Huffington Post article through your social media and use the attached press release for your own blogs, media contacts, etc. If you write a company blog, you're encouraged to swap quotes specific to your company into the body of the press release.

In addition, I'd like to invite you to join the B Corps Canada group on LinkedIn, a place to connect, open up dialogue, and get the latest on the Canadian B Corp movement.

Thanks again for being leaders and making this happen!

Best,Vale, Derm, Joyce, Stephanie, and the broader B team

In this week’s video we hear from B Lab co-founder Jay Coen Gilbert, who describes how B Corps came about, their purpose, ideals, and how B Lab’s certification and rating system works to institutionalize the values that create positive social and environmental impact.

Through performance and accountability standards, and with the power of a unifying brand, B Lab is building the market infrastructure that enables the community of sustainable business and social enterprise to scale. And these leading B Corps, says Gilbert, are defining a marketplace that ultimately will create a new sector of the economy, one company at a time.

And if you are looking for some light-hearted Friday afternoon entertainment, check out this B-Corps rap I came across on YouTube! Disclaimer: May provoke laughing-out-loud and workplace disturbance.