Tim Jones (Grow Good) explains who can pursue B Corp certification: broadly any for-profit business of any size or structure that has been operating for at least 12 months, with caveats. Major exclusions include firms in listed "controversial industries" (e.g., mining/extractive industries, casinos, trade in endangered species) and companies based in Russia or Belarus (as of late 2022). Very large multinationals may certify by regional business unit (examples: Danone Asia Pacific, Danone North America, Unilever Australia/New Zealand). Charities with a distinct for-profit social enterprise structure may be eligible through a nuanced pathway. The presenter emphasizes that mindset and intent matter and that practical barriers often arise from limited internal time/resources or difficulty getting colleagues' input.
Questions this video answers
November 11, 2022.
More than 12 months (some regions allow 'B Corp Pending' before 12 months).
Russia and Belarus.
Mining/extractive industries, casinos, trade in endangered species (explicitly cited).
Danone (Danone Asia Pacific; Danone North America) and Unilever Australia/New Zealand.
Chapters
So who can certify as a B Corp? We get this question quite often when we're talking to clients. Some people think that it's only for really big companies and some big companies then think it's only for really small companies. Well, really the answer is it's kind of for almost for anyone, not quite for everyone. We'll talk about that in a second. But really, size and scale makes little difference. Quite often for smaller companies it's harder to get on the B corp journey just because you lack time and resource. If it's just you in the business and you do everything, then, you know, just finding the time to actually go through the process can be the hardest thing in a larger business. Quite often the challenge is getting everyone on board for the journey. And typically you will be delayed because there's one person in some business unit somewhere in the world that you need to get hold of and you just can't get hold of them for that one piece of information that you need to submit your assessment. So yeah, size and scale isn't really a barrier unless you're like really, really like super, super big companies like Danone that you can see here on the, on the little slidey thing. Danone was so big that they've had to go through and certify as regional business units. So Danone Asia Pacific is a B Corp. Danone North America is B Corp. Just recently Unilever Australia, New Zealand has become a B corp. So some of the really, really big companies are having to kind of chunk the elephant down and eat it into smaller parts. There are some areas and some organizations that will really struggle to become a B corp and some that basically cannot become a B corp. So there is what's called the controversial industries list. So if you are in the mining or extractive industries, if you are in casinos, clearly if you're doing like really dodgy things like selling endangered species, then it's kind of impossible for you to be the best socially and environmentally responsible company doing really, really bad stuff. So some of those industries are just a clear. No, there are other industries that are on the controversial list that there will be a high threshold that you would need to meet. So for example, sale or marketing of breast milk substit. In New Zealand we have a company, Senle, and a large amount of their products that they make are, you know, milk powder substitutes or powdered milk. So some of those companies can certify, but there are extra, I guess, like hurdles that they would have to get over other than that essentially. Well, actually the other area geographical restrictions currently as of this video going out in late 2022 would, would be companies based in Russia and Belarusia. So other than controversial industries, other than companies in Russia and Belarusia, pretty much you can be any type of organizational structure as long as you are a for profit business. Now that being said, there is a bit of a caveat. If you are a charity that can prove that you have a social enterprise set up. So typically you need to have some kind of limited company with a charitable status roughly then you potentially can certify. But if that's you, just give me a call and we'll work on that separately because it's, it's a little bit of a nuanced area. So basically you need to be a for profit business in operation for more than 12 months. Some regions do have what's called a B Corp pending, so the US and the UK have these. So you can basically start going through the process before you've had 12 months of operational data and on your 12 month anniversary of being in business you can click submit. So some regions of the B Corp pending, so for profit business, any structure. So you can be a co op, you can be a sole trader, you can be a limited company operation more than 12 months, pretty much any geography, pretty much any industry apart from the ones we've talked about.
Other than that, like I say, really it's about mindset and intent. If you are a business that wants to prove that you're doing good and you want to have an impact guide as to how you can do more good, then B Corp could be for you. And if you think it is, let me know, we can have a chat. Hey, it's Tim here, that B Corp bloke from Grow Good. If you want more content on purpose, B Corp how to do more good in the world as an individual or a business, then you know the drill. Hit the like and subscribe. Check out some of my other videos, they're probably floating around here somewhere. You know how it works. Thank you so much, see you next time.
