Should Startups that Do Good in the World Rush to Become B Corps?
WoodsCamp Technologies seems like a natural candidate to become a B Corp, but its CEO isn’t rushing to gain certification.
The Mahone Bay, N.S., startup has developed an online tool to help manage private woodlots, identifying the inventory of trees and helping owners and harvesters decide which can be sustainably and profitably cut down. It promises to enable sustainable forestry and prevent clearcutting.
WoodsCamp is a textbook triple-bottom-line company – that is, a business that wants to enhance people and the planet as well as profits. It’s a great fit to become a B Corporation, the global movement to certify businesses that strive to benefit the planet and people as well as their shareholders. But WoodsCamp’s co-founders have decided not to seek B Corp certification, at least not yet.
In fact, most tech startups don’t. As of the end of 2016, Entrevestor was tracking 414 Atlantic Canadian startups – we define startups not as new companies but as locally owned companies commercializing innovation. Only one, Dadavan Systems of Waverly, N.S., is a certified B Corp. It begs the question: should startups seek B Corp certification?
Most startups argue their product creates societal or environmental benefits, and the B Corp ethos overlaps nicely with the change-the-world mindset so intrinsic to the startup world. But founders face the question of whether it’s worth the time and expense to gain B Corp certification.
Read more about this story in Entrevestor.