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Article

1 Aug 2013

Author:
B Lab

Venture-Backed Companies Put Social Impact on Par with Financial Returns [USA]

Today...a record 17 companies...register[ed] as Delaware benefit corporations on the statute's first effective date...Venture capital investors, corporate investors and parent companies of these businesses include San Francisco Equity Partners and European eco-leader Ecover (Method), American icon Campbell Soup Company (Plum), Benchmark Capital and RSF Social Finance (Farmigo), Pacific Community Investors (New Leaf Paper) and Good Capital (Alter Eco)...“Benefit corporations meet a market need and a societal need,” said Governor Jack Markell. “They have the potential to create high quality jobs and improve the quality of life in our communities.”...Benefit corporations enjoy legal protection to create value for society, not just for shareholders, while meeting higher standards of accountability and transparency. [Also refers to Alter Eco, American Prison Data Systems, Ben & Jerry’s [part of Unilever], Better Than We Found It, Etsy, Exemplar Companies, Farmigo, Fair Parenting Project, GOOD Inc., Grassroots Capital Management, Honest Company, Ian Martin Group, Method, New Leaf Paper, Patagonia, Performance Measurement Institute, Plum Organics, Profile Health Systems, Plexx, Socratic Labs, SustainAbility, VenturePilot, Warby Parker]