October 18th, 2010

What is a “Benefit Corporation”?

BOSTON -

Inspired by the growing trend in Social entrepreneurship across industries, states are passing legislation allowing for new and alternative corporate structures. The L3C has been growing in popularity and now we are starting to see “benefit corporation” legislation. This legislation is inspired by the B-corp certification.

Maryland was the first to pass the law. They aren’t enforcing all of the considerations and requirements that a B-corp certification does (social, environmental, economic), but rather, the legislation allows for-profit companies to specify that they exist for a specific public good. The company is then required to report on contributions to that goal and conduct audits regarding the company’s actual impact. The legislation allows a company to consider stake-holders in the business other than the shareholders, including their employees or local environments.

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Tagged B Corp, benfit corporation, L3C, Social Entrepreneurship |

September 13th, 2010

The Low Profit Limited Liability Company (L3C): A new model for Cleantech?

BOSTON -

The L3C or Low Profit Limited Liability Company is a relatively new form of the LLC (Limited Liability Company), that, for now, is only known about and talked about by its advocates, but is quickly spreading across the nation and becoming a revolutionary new way of doing business.

The L3C differs from the LLC in that the primary purpose of the L3C cannot be to make a profit, but rather the purpose of the business must be to achieve a social benefit, with profit as a secondary or ancillary purpose.  The name itself, Low Profit Limited Liability Company, is a bit of a misnomer.  The business is not restricted in how much profit it can make at all.  ‘Show me the Money’ just can’t be the number one goal.

“The L3C must be organized and operated at all times to satisfy the following requirements:

1. The company must “significantly further the accomplishment of one or more charitable or educational purposes,” and would not have been formed but for its relationship to the accomplishment of such purpose(s);

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Tagged B Corp, clean tech, cleantech, CSR, L3C, law, legislation, Low Limited Liability Company, Social Entrepreneurship |

February 18th, 2010

Clean Tech Law: Pros and Cons of the B Corp – For Serious Triple-Bottom-Line Business

BOSTON -

This post comes from our newest industry insider, Jessica Manganello, who will be giving us a great legal perspective of the clean tech and green industry. You can find here at New Leaf Legal, or on twitter @mangojess

For those of you who are unfamiliar with B Corporations (B Corp), B Corp is a certification designed by B Lab, a non-profit third party auditor.

According to B Corporation:

“B Corporations are a new type of corporation which uses the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. B Corporations are unlike traditional responsible businesses because they:
· Meet comprehensive and transparent social and environmental performance standards.
· Institutionalize stakeholder interests.
· Build collective voice through the power of a unifying brand.”

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Tagged B Corp, Branding, Business, green, LOHAS, Sustainable Business |