A public benefit corporation (PBC) will be formed in the same
manner as any other corporation formed under the Delaware General Corporation
Law. However, in order to be a PBC, the corporation’s certificate of
incorporation must identify one or more specific public benefits and must have
a name that clearly identifies its status as a PBC. Public benefits for which
corporations may be formed include, but are not limited to, those of an
artistic, charitable, cultural, economic, educational, environmental, literary,
medical, religious, scientific or technical nature.
At least once every two years, a public benefit corporation
must send its stockholders a statement with respect to its promotion of the
public benefit(s) identified in its charter, as well as its promotion of the
best interests of those materially affected by the corporation’s conduct.
Here is an article by Chrystia Freeland in The New York Times (July 18, 2013) titled Capitalism, but With a Little Heart about the B Corp. How will this impact new companies (and
existing companies) in the technology sector?
(any comments from the tax experts?)
Would you be more willing to invest in a company if you knew it was a “B
Corp?” Will “B Corps” use IP differently
than other types of entities? If Myriad
was a “B Corp” would its actions be different? What do you think?
3 comments:
We need the idea of 'B corps' to be alive in society for it to be an active component of the debate which governs how the world will be. It sounds too ambitious to work, but whilst it's alive people will work at making it a success and thus it may have a real impact. And in a global world one never knows how far the idea may spread.
In reality,there is no public benefit to those private utilities,which always brings degraded service as a higher cost to the consumer.
Thank you for your comments. We'll see how far the idea spreads and whether it will ultimately make a difference. It seems many corps that aren't bcorps attempt to take into account "social responsibility" to build a brand that consumers will "feel good" about--which is good for making a profit as well. Although many corps do not. Best, Mike
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