Brigitta Nemes shared her experiences from B Lab, a nonprofit network that aims at transforming the economy from classic capitalism towards a stakeholder-driven business model and sustainable economy. A central tool towards that path is the B Corp Certification, which measures a company’s entire social and environmental impact, including accountability and transparency on factors from employee benefits and charitable giving to supply chain practices and input materials. Companies that currently hold the B Corp Standard include Tony’s Chocolonely, Patagonia, and Swapfiets.
Brigitta Nemes then presented some central dilemmas in developing a sustainability standard: “Can you control what a company does with its profits? How much stakeholder engagement should be required? Is nuclear energy sustainable?” and engaged in a lively discussion with PPE students and staff about these questions.
The B Corp standards are going through revision and a public consideration of the draft standards will run between January and March 2024. For more information see: https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us/standards/performance-requirements/