Benefit Corporations, or Certified B Corps, are for-profit organizations with a socially responsible mission. They accomplish goodwill through applying the B Corp legal organization to their agency in order to make a change. One example of a B Corp that you might be familiar with is Patagonia. Patagonia is a popular outdoor apparel company specializing in clothing made for activities like hiking and snowsports. Although Patagonia is a successful for-profit corporation with quality products, they also spend a lot of time and money working towards environmental justice through their efforts as a Certified Benefit Corporation.
The company makes efforts to benefit activism and awareness through many different means. By qualifying as a Benefit Corporation, the company has more resources to promote activism, as well as more transparency and accountability to confirm that a positive impact is being made. One way that Patagonia performs its activism is through social media campaigns, films, and articles. They have content creators dedicated to informing and inspiring the public about the environmental crisis and how to help. They even spotlight some of their content creators and activists on their social media and website.
They also do their part for the environment by taxing themselves to support nonprofit organizations around the world working for environmental justice. The nonprofits they support are passionate and active regarding clean air and energy. This is done through their involvement in the 1% for the Planet Program. By participating in and being a part of 1% for the Planet, Patagonia is able to donate time and money towards causes like land, water, climate, community, and biodiversity conservation. The program allows consumers to be more mindful of their spending and is a big part of Patagonia’s efforts towards activism and environmental conservation.
Patagonia also works hard to encourage and inspire environmental activism through their Patagonia Action Works program. Available on their website, consumers can go to the Patagonia Action Works page and be connected to local activists and activist groups that are passionate about the same issues as the consumer. Through all of these programs and campaigns, Patagonia as a corporation works tirelessly for environmental justice, and all of its efforts are possible through its status as a Certified Benefit Corporation.
Patagonia Works has been a Certified B Corp since December of 2011, and since then have dedicated themselves to upholding their core values. Patagonia’s goals are to build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, protect nature through business, and be unbound by convention. They accomplish these goals through all of their activist campaigns and programs and are very accomplished as a B Corp. They hold an overall B impact score of 151 – which is about 3 times the average score of an ordinary business, and almost twice the minimum score to qualify as a Certified Benefit Corporation. B Impact scores evaluate a company’s ability to create positive change through its business model.
Patagonia is just one example of a fantastic Benefit Corporation dedicated to making positive change in both local and global communities. For-profit companies who work hard for social justice and change tend to be quite successful in their efforts through the B Corps program. Being a B Corp allows for more transparency, accountability, and higher performance, and these companies make real change. If you’re interested in learning more about B Corps and the benefits of working for them, check out the Careers for the Common Good page for more information.
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