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The B Corp Handbook, Second Edition: How You Can Use Business as a Force for Good
"This book shows how using business as a force for good, not just pursuing short-term profits, can be better for consumers, employees, local communities, the environment, and your company's long-term bottom line."
--Tony Hsieh, New York Times bestselling author of Delivering Happiness and CEO, Zappos.com, Inc.
B Corps are a global movement of more than 2,700 companies in 60 countries--like Patagonia, Ben & Jerry's, Kickstarter, Danone North America, and Eileen Fisher--that are using the power of business as a force for good. B Corps have been certified to have met rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. This book is the authoritative guide to the what, why, and how of B Corp certification.
Coauthors Ryan Honeyman and Dr. Tiffany Jana spoke with the leaders of over 200 B Corps from around the world to get their insights on becoming a Certified B Corp, improving their social and environmental performance, and building a more inclusive economy. The second edition has been completely revised and updated to include a much stronger focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). These changes are important because DEI can no longer be a side conversation--it must be a core value for any company that aspires to make money and make a difference.
While this book is framed around the B Corp movement, any company, regardless of size, industry, or location, can use the tools contained here to learn how to build a better business. As the authors vividly demonstrate, using business as a force for good can help you attract and retain the best talent, distinguish your company in a crowded market, and increase trust in your brand.
--Tony Hsieh, New York Times bestselling author of Delivering Happiness and CEO, Zappos.com, Inc.
B Corps are a global movement of more than 2,700 companies in 60 countries--like Patagonia, Ben & Jerry's, Kickstarter, Danone North America, and Eileen Fisher--that are using the power of business as a force for good. B Corps have been certified to have met rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. This book is the authoritative guide to the what, why, and how of B Corp certification.
Coauthors Ryan Honeyman and Dr. Tiffany Jana spoke with the leaders of over 200 B Corps from around the world to get their insights on becoming a Certified B Corp, improving their social and environmental performance, and building a more inclusive economy. The second edition has been completely revised and updated to include a much stronger focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). These changes are important because DEI can no longer be a side conversation--it must be a core value for any company that aspires to make money and make a difference.
While this book is framed around the B Corp movement, any company, regardless of size, industry, or location, can use the tools contained here to learn how to build a better business. As the authors vividly demonstrate, using business as a force for good can help you attract and retain the best talent, distinguish your company in a crowded market, and increase trust in your brand.
240 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2014
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599 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
April 6, 2017
“We are in the midst of the evolution of capitalism from a century focused on maximizing shareholder value to one focused on maximizing long-term shared value.”
Over the past three decades, a set of bold new ideas promoting this transition has been gaining momentum in the worlds of business and finance. Innovative ventures such as Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, Calvert Funds, The Body Shop, Stonyfield Farm, and innumerable others have demonstrated to the satisfaction of growing numbers of businesspeople and investors that businesses thrive when they seek not just to make a profit for their shareholders or owners but to benefit all their stakeholders, including customers, employees, suppliers, and the communities where they do business, as well as the environment. Variously called “socially responsible businesses,” “Triple Bottom Line companies,” “values based businesses,” or by many other labels, these ventures are proving that, in the 21st century, the only truly sustainable businesses are those that serve a mission greater than mere financial profit.
Over this same period, several organizations have sprung up to promote this perspective and serve the entrepreneurs and investors who share it: Social Venture Network (1987), Investors’ Circle and Business for Social Responsibility (1992), Net Impact (1994), and BALLE (the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, 2001) cater in different ways to this new sector of the economy. Then, in 2006, three young men who had been friends as Stanford undergraduates nearly two decades previously came together to form what may in the final analysis prove to be the most consequential organization of them all: B Lab.
B Lab, a nonprofit organization based in Philadelphia, offers an online questionnaire that thousands of businesses around the world are using to benchmark their progress toward the Triple Bottom Line of People, Planet, and Profit. Those companies that score 80 or more on the 200-question instrument may seek certification as B Corporations (B is for “benefit”). More than one thousand businesses in over 30 countries have done so. B Lab’s strategy is to enshrine the benefit corporation concept in law; 26 states plus the District of Columbia have already done so, nearly all of them with strong bipartisan legislative majorities, and bills have been introduced in another 12 states plus Puerto Rico. By registering separately with the states where they’re incorporated, B Corporations can insulate themselves from lawsuits taking them to task for making decisions on other than purely bottom-line considerations. More importantly from the perspective of those who have founded or run many B Corporations, taking this step makes it very difficult for future generations of directors and officers to reject their companies’ social and environmental mission.
Now sustainability consultant Ryan Honeyman has produced The B Corporation Handbook, a step-by-step introduction to the B Corp concept and the process of securing certification. The Handbook is well-organized and smoothly written and should prove accessible to virtually all comers. Honeyman guides the reader through the certification process, with helpful explanations along the way. If you run a business, or are even planning to start one, you owe it to yourself to read The B Corporation Handbook.
Over the past three decades, a set of bold new ideas promoting this transition has been gaining momentum in the worlds of business and finance. Innovative ventures such as Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, Calvert Funds, The Body Shop, Stonyfield Farm, and innumerable others have demonstrated to the satisfaction of growing numbers of businesspeople and investors that businesses thrive when they seek not just to make a profit for their shareholders or owners but to benefit all their stakeholders, including customers, employees, suppliers, and the communities where they do business, as well as the environment. Variously called “socially responsible businesses,” “Triple Bottom Line companies,” “values based businesses,” or by many other labels, these ventures are proving that, in the 21st century, the only truly sustainable businesses are those that serve a mission greater than mere financial profit.
Over this same period, several organizations have sprung up to promote this perspective and serve the entrepreneurs and investors who share it: Social Venture Network (1987), Investors’ Circle and Business for Social Responsibility (1992), Net Impact (1994), and BALLE (the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, 2001) cater in different ways to this new sector of the economy. Then, in 2006, three young men who had been friends as Stanford undergraduates nearly two decades previously came together to form what may in the final analysis prove to be the most consequential organization of them all: B Lab.
B Lab, a nonprofit organization based in Philadelphia, offers an online questionnaire that thousands of businesses around the world are using to benchmark their progress toward the Triple Bottom Line of People, Planet, and Profit. Those companies that score 80 or more on the 200-question instrument may seek certification as B Corporations (B is for “benefit”). More than one thousand businesses in over 30 countries have done so. B Lab’s strategy is to enshrine the benefit corporation concept in law; 26 states plus the District of Columbia have already done so, nearly all of them with strong bipartisan legislative majorities, and bills have been introduced in another 12 states plus Puerto Rico. By registering separately with the states where they’re incorporated, B Corporations can insulate themselves from lawsuits taking them to task for making decisions on other than purely bottom-line considerations. More importantly from the perspective of those who have founded or run many B Corporations, taking this step makes it very difficult for future generations of directors and officers to reject their companies’ social and environmental mission.
Now sustainability consultant Ryan Honeyman has produced The B Corporation Handbook, a step-by-step introduction to the B Corp concept and the process of securing certification. The Handbook is well-organized and smoothly written and should prove accessible to virtually all comers. Honeyman guides the reader through the certification process, with helpful explanations along the way. If you run a business, or are even planning to start one, you owe it to yourself to read The B Corporation Handbook.
November 28, 2014
The B Corp movement is quickly becoming a relevant business standard, poised to have a similar impact to Fair Trade and USDA organic. B Corp provides business with a framework for continually improving their sustainability efforts and rewarding activities for commitment to the environment, its community, and to business transparency. B Corp provides a legal structure to ensure that any business can be a mission driven company while expanding and taking on investors. Despite the adherence to these standards, firms that are B corps are more likely to survive the economic tide, continue to attract top-notch talent, as well as investment money from impact investors.
In his book, B Corp pioneer, Ryan Honeyman provides an in-depth look at the B Corp. movement and the impact assessment. He shows the reader an in-depth look at the various sections of the assessment and how a business can improve. These explanations are supported by interviews with business leaders thought the movement. The book runs through the history of the B Corp business standard and the rationale behind it. It takes the readers through the process of becoming a legal Benefit corporation, the impact assessment as a tool. An instrument that any business can use in improving its effect on the on the environment or society, whether or not they chose to become a certified Benefit corporation. All and all, Honeyman’s book is a compendium for corporate sustainability though the sense of the B Corp. standard. I would suggest it to any business owner.
In his book, B Corp pioneer, Ryan Honeyman provides an in-depth look at the B Corp. movement and the impact assessment. He shows the reader an in-depth look at the various sections of the assessment and how a business can improve. These explanations are supported by interviews with business leaders thought the movement. The book runs through the history of the B Corp business standard and the rationale behind it. It takes the readers through the process of becoming a legal Benefit corporation, the impact assessment as a tool. An instrument that any business can use in improving its effect on the on the environment or society, whether or not they chose to become a certified Benefit corporation. All and all, Honeyman’s book is a compendium for corporate sustainability though the sense of the B Corp. standard. I would suggest it to any business owner.
October 21, 2014
The B Corp Handbook is the definitive guide for leaders, regardless of size, sector or industry, who want to build a better business - better for their workers, communities, the environment -- and their shareholders. Honeyman’s practical checklists on how a company can make real changes to their operations are invaluable, and the testimonials and tangible, real-life examples from Certified B Corporation leaders make the book’s suggestions that much more believable and attainable. Everyone knows that the millennial workforce that will define the new economy cares deeply about working for – and buying from -- brands and companies that have values baked into how they operate. The B Corp Handbook is an invaluable tool for any business leader wanting to chart a path towards a more sustainable business model -- and a more prosperous future for our economy and civilization.
October 3, 2017
As a non-investor or business owner, just an interested and engaged individual, I found this guidebook very comprehensive and super easy to follow along.
For future reference, the B Impact Assessment (how to use business as a force for good):
1. Good for workers - worker impact
2. Good for the community - community impact
3. Good for the environment - environmental impact
4. Good for the long term - long term impact
5. Good to the core - core impact
One pet peeve, the quotes / examples don't match the text. I found it pretty distracting, rather than reinforcing to be reading about the United By Blue investment story only to be follow by a quote from CO2 Bambu about something totally different!
For future reference, the B Impact Assessment (how to use business as a force for good):
1. Good for workers - worker impact
2. Good for the community - community impact
3. Good for the environment - environmental impact
4. Good for the long term - long term impact
5. Good to the core - core impact
One pet peeve, the quotes / examples don't match the text. I found it pretty distracting, rather than reinforcing to be reading about the United By Blue investment story only to be follow by a quote from CO2 Bambu about something totally different!
October 26, 2014
Hurray! The B Corp Handbook is THE resource I have been longing for when someone asks me why, how, and what it takes to become Certified as a purpose-driven, socially-conscious business. For my company, B Corp certification is a badge of honor - proof that we don't just TALK about the triple bottom line, but we WALK the line.
The Handbook comes at the perfect time when the B Corp movement is on an unstoppable growth trajectory. I have copies of the Handbook to give out to companies that are ready to jump in and join the movement of business as a force for good. Then they have my enthusiasm to go along with a practical step-by-step approach to get certified.
The Handbook comes at the perfect time when the B Corp movement is on an unstoppable growth trajectory. I have copies of the Handbook to give out to companies that are ready to jump in and join the movement of business as a force for good. Then they have my enthusiasm to go along with a practical step-by-step approach to get certified.
October 30, 2014
Our company has been a Certified B Corp for two years and as such are progressing through our recertification process. This handbook has supplied us with a range of wonderful tools and examples to follow to improve our score, but more importantly improve the way we do business.
For newbies to the B Corp movement it is a simple but complete resource of what it means to be a B Corp and the steps you may need to take to achieve this status as a business.
But mostly, it is what has been missing - a hands on tool to understand and apply what is destined to become the model for successful business in the future.
For newbies to the B Corp movement it is a simple but complete resource of what it means to be a B Corp and the steps you may need to take to achieve this status as a business.
But mostly, it is what has been missing - a hands on tool to understand and apply what is destined to become the model for successful business in the future.
March 22, 2015
There is not much to this book. It is mostly an exercise in self-promotion for the author. If this is what a B corp is about, I'm not impressed. My understanding of B Corps (based on this book) is that they are greenwashing businesses, with little to distinguish them from any other business. Are the very modest things B Corps do good? Yes. Will B Corps save the planet or change capitalism / corporate power for the better? Unlikely. Will Ryan Honeyman get more consulting work and drive some businesses to become B Corps. Yep.
July 20, 2018
While the first couple of chapters are a good introduction into the benefit corporation movement and b corp certification, the rest of the book is just as labeled. It's a nifty handbook for understanding the b lab assessment and how to improve your business to do more good in the world. If you're a small business owner, I highly recommend.
November 9, 2015
A great guidebook for beginners in a growing movement of using business as a force for good.
September 19, 2015
Straight-forward, quick reading overview of B Corps, companies certified by B Lab.
June 22, 2018
Lots of useful information for those thinking about becoming a B Corp and also very useful for anyone who wants to improve the sustainability, ethics, and social purpose of their business.
August 9, 2020
Start about halfway through for more specifics on the B Corp evaluation sections, including examples from B Corp organizations on how they invest in each area to continue to expand their impact. If you're not already familiar with B Corps, first half of the book would be useful.
April 25, 2021
Easy-to-read and so much food for thought. Super helpful context while going through the BIA. Really excited introduce b corp ideas into my growing business.
November 13, 2014
This book is a great introduction to the B Corporation movement as well as a practical guide to how and why your company should become a B Corporation.
The B Corp Handbook is relevant to a company in any industry that is thinking about what more it can do in terms of improving the state of the economy, society or the planet. The strength of the B corporation movement is its cross-sector nature, and this is well-reflected in the interviews with companies highlighted in the Handbook.
I’ve recommended this book to sole proprietors like myself, corporate sustainability officers in a variety of sectors, and even gave a copy to a European NGO colleague concerned about her country’s failing economy and the need for more sustainable models. I’ve also recommended the book to college students in the environmental sciences and economics alike; this book describes what we need to do as a collective to move to a more just and sustainable global economy.
The B Corp Handbook is relevant to a company in any industry that is thinking about what more it can do in terms of improving the state of the economy, society or the planet. The strength of the B corporation movement is its cross-sector nature, and this is well-reflected in the interviews with companies highlighted in the Handbook.
I’ve recommended this book to sole proprietors like myself, corporate sustainability officers in a variety of sectors, and even gave a copy to a European NGO colleague concerned about her country’s failing economy and the need for more sustainable models. I’ve also recommended the book to college students in the environmental sciences and economics alike; this book describes what we need to do as a collective to move to a more just and sustainable global economy.
November 6, 2014
“The B Corp Handbook: How to Use Business as a Force for Good,” by Ryan Honeyman, is a great resource for businesses looking to certify as a B Corporation or just improve their business practices to a higher standard. It’s well organized and well written from the very first sentence. Ryan explains the B Corp movement and details what B Corporations are. It’s a valuable resource for new ideas – in fact I got a couple of ideas just from the first chapter.
While our company is already a B Corporation, I gained a better understanding of B Corps from this book, and found the step by step guide to the B Impact Assessment extremely helpful in determining areas where we could improve our score. Testimonials from executives at B Corps around the world give a great insight into what companies are doing outside of one’s own industry. All in all an easy read and very informative.
While our company is already a B Corporation, I gained a better understanding of B Corps from this book, and found the step by step guide to the B Impact Assessment extremely helpful in determining areas where we could improve our score. Testimonials from executives at B Corps around the world give a great insight into what companies are doing outside of one’s own industry. All in all an easy read and very informative.
November 18, 2014
Super solid introduction to B Corps and how to go about becoming one. I tried browsing around bcorporation.com to find out what it takes to become a B Corp, and although there's tons of information there, it is not succinctly summarized like it is in this book. Definitely recommend this read for anyone interested in social entrepreneurship and especially anyone interested in learning more about B Corps.
September 26, 2019
A great starter guide for those companies just learning about the B Corp movement and are interested in learning more about what it means and how to go about getting certified. I found some good reminders and tidbits to take away and implement at my company as we work to improve our social impact practices.
March 14, 2016
Excelente: las justificaciones, el paso a paso, los recursos, etc. Otra tarea para el cierre de año.
June 19, 2019
This is a useful update to the first edition. Its focus on D&I&E issues highlights how much still needs to be done, even in progressive organizations such as B Corps.
May 8, 2022
Exactly what I needed to rethink how to approach a business
April 9, 2017
Nice step by step guide into the B corp process as well as the benefits of establishing one. A little repetitive in terms of examples but offers a good framework to understanding the business
May 8, 2018
Good introduction to the B Corp world but doesn't have the heavy legal info I was hoping for.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews