Sustainable Shopping: B Corps
B Corp ingredients ftw.
Sustainable product labeling is a real alphabet soup. Non-GMO, AWA, FI, rBGH/rBST free...the list goes on. In this post, I talk all about one of my favorite terms from this soup: Certified B Corp.
What is a B Corp?
The term "B Corp" refers to any for-profit company that has been certified by "B Lab" and has paid its membership fees. B Lab is a nonprofit that analyzes companies who want to be B Corps and gives those companies a score 0-200 based on their legal behavior, transparency and quality control. Basically, they analyze whether or not the company is a do-gooder.
If a company receives a score between 80 and 200, the B Lab certifies it and it is now B Corp (if it pays its membership fees). All companies' scores are listed on the B Corp site with a breakdown of how they got that score.
I like to buy from Certified B Corporations because it lets someone else do the dirty work of company research for me. It's hard to research every brand you buy, but it's also important to support brands who do good. Knowing that a company is a B Corp just gives me a better piece of mind.
Bottom line: B Corps are companies that have been inspected and deemed socially, environmentally and legally good.
Is B Corp the same as Benefit Corporation?
Nope! I know...the alphabet soup strikes again.
Benefit Corporations are similar to B Corps, but they are all corporations rather than for-profit entities. The legal stuff gets a little confusing here, but just know that there’s a slight difference between who can be a B Corp and who can be a Benefit Corporation. Also, Benefit Corporation only exists in these 33 U.S. states, so the Benefit Corporation project is a lot smaller than the B Lab.
Like B Corps, Benefit Corporations are held to high standards for transparency and social good. However, an outside source does not have to inspect Benefit Corporation. Instead, these babies base their progress on self-reporting.
Some see self-reporting as a bad thing because the companies aren't being pushed by an outsider to be more sustainable. Others see it as giving companies more freedom to make the improvements they're ready and able to make.
Bottom line: Benefit Corporations are legally corporations and are held to slightly looser standards than B Corps.
Why Do B Corps Matter in Food?
B Corps matters in the world of food because a lot of B Corps are food companies. Personally, buying my dairy from B Corp brands makes me feel less guilty about buying dairy. A lot of cow farms are terrible for the planet, but B Corps make sure that their farms are not as bad. From my perspective, buying from B Corps can encourage the types of companies I'd like to see more of in this world.
Which companies are B Corps?
No need to shuffle through the entire list of B Corps. Simply go to the B Corp directory, select the Food & Beverage category (or any other category you fancy) and select your location. Browse and bookmark that puppy!