Benefit Corporations (a legal designation) and Certified B Corporations (a third-party certification) are changing the landscape of sustainable business. Here’s the latest from around the web about this important movement:

  • Benefit Corp legislation is still pending in Michigan, noted in this article that explains how Benefit Corps are different from regular corporations. Care2 also has an online petition supporting legislation in Michigan. In South Carolina, one of the legislators who introduced legislation in that state explains how his plan mixes doing well with doing good.
  • It seems like every day there’s a new blog post trying to explain what benefit corporations are – even Bill Moyers is getting in on the action with this post.
  • B Corps are driving a new ecology of commerce, as detailed in this great post that explains how to become a B Corp, why companies choose to do it, and how they’re changing the corporate playing field.
  • “Advancing the benefit corporation” tops the list of 10 ways finance can be a force for good, in an interesting post by a Yale Professor of Economics and Finance.
  • California is currently home to 142 of the 505 Certified B Corps nationwide, and 61% of those are in the Bay Area, as noted in this piece on Oakland North that shines the spotlight on Oakland-based Give Something Back and Berkeley-based Sun Light and Power.
  • A misconception continues to persist, in some circles, that doing good comes at a price for a business. Certified B Corp Harvest Power, however, shows that’s not true as they raise $110 million to turn waste to energy.
  • Certified B Corp United By Blue brings sustainable apparel to the mainstream in a big way – its first production run of t-shirts made in the US has been picked up by Nordstroms.
  • Have you met Aunt Bertha? You should. This Certified B Corporation is doing something quite interesting – picking up where Uncle Sam leaves off.
  • Can a new kind of corporation save us and our economy? That’s the question asked in this article on Alternet, which showcases Certified B Corp Equator Coffee as a “B Corp in Action.”
  • Congrats to Dogeared Jewels & Gifts, which recently announced their official certification as a B Corp!

Finally, in a piece prompted by their original B Corp profile (included in The Latest Buzz #6), PBS takes a closer at LEED Certification:

What are your thoughts on the latest B Corp news?