1. Benefit Corporation & Certified B-Corp
WHEN, What, Why, and How
In July of 2015
Dr. Bronner’s reincorporated as a Benefit Corporation in the state of California
On September 29, 2015
Dr. Bronner’s became a Certified B-Corporation® by the nonprofit B Lab

2. What is a benefit corporation?
A corporation required by law to provide tangible public benefit
Leaders are accountable to the public benefit goals as defined by its articles of incorporation
Must consider impact to multiple stakeholders in its decision making process
Is required to assess its social and environmental impacts using independent 3rd party standard
Is required to be transparent about its assessment results
CA Assembly Bill regarding Benefit Corporation Law passed in 2011

3. WHY We Became a Benefit Corporation
it is the legal form that reflects most closely our mission and our business practice since founding in 1948
to ensure the mission and business practice continue beyond current generation of leaders
to give shareholders the right to hold leaders accountable for the companies social and environmental goals
to give legal protection to the company leaders (from shareholders) when acting in pursuit of generating public benefits

4. What this means for Dr. Bronner’s
We reincorporated and amended our articles of incorporation to include specific benefit purposes (excerpts are on our website)
In terms of business practice very little—we were already creating social benefit by practicing “constructive capitalism”; but there is always room for improvement!
Will need to measure our impact against an independent 3rd party standard and include the assessment in our annual reporting

5. What is a CERTIFIED b corporation®?
Certification for socially responsible businesses (like USDA for organic produce, LEED for green building)
Based on an assessment standard (B Impact Assessment) developed by B-Lab to measure business impact objectively
Verifies a company’s performance across broad range of categories: governance, workers, community, consumers, and environment
A company needs a minimum of 80 points on the 200 point scale assessment to certify
Other 3rd party standards: CERES, GRI, Green Seal, ISO 26000, etc.
Certified B-Corporation logo used by certified companies

6. WHY WE BECAME A CERTIFIED B CORPORATION®
We are required to assess our impact using an independent 3rd party standard as a Benefit Corporation
Because we believe in the rigor and integrity of the B Impact Assessment model
So we can benchmark our performance against an objective standard and track our improvements over time
It goes beyond the legal performance assessment and transparency requirements for Benefit Corporation

7. What this means for dr. Bronner’s
We answered more than 250 questions about our business practice and had those answers verified by B-Lab
We scored an overall 149 points, compare to the minimum standard needed for certification, 80 points, and the medium score for all Certified B Corps of 97 points
Comparison scores: EO-92, Klean Kanteen-99, Patagonia-116, Seventh Generatio-125, Method-132, Badger-138, Alter Eco-148
We will need to recertify in 2 years to remain as a Certified B Corporation and the score will be updated with each certification

8. Comparison chart Benefit Corporations Certified B Corps
Geo Location
United States (30 states and DC)
Global
Governing Authority
Individual State Laws
B Lab (a non-profit organization; also works on getting Benefit Corporation law passed in all US states)
Duration of Status
Permanent until legally reincorporated or dissolved
Each certification lasts 2 years
Impact Evaluation
Depends on Specific Purpose; Self-report using independent 3rd party standard
Must achieve minimum verified score of 80 on B Impact Assessment
Both are tools used to make businesses accountable for their social and environmental impact

9. 2,902
Benefit Corporations
1,462
B-Corps
154
As of 10/30/15

10. HOW are WE Communicating OUR STATUS
No B Corp® Logo on products labels
We announced by press release about both Benefit Corporation Status and B Corp Certification. Full release available in our Media Center
Also announced via social media and newsletter
Webpage dedicated to Benefit Corporation Status under Corporate Social Responsibility:
Webpage dedicated to our B CorpTM Certification under Corporate Social Responsbility:
B Corp website public profile on Dr. Bronner’s and our assessment scores:
An in-depth article on why we became a Benefit Corporation and certified as B CorpTM
A special section on the new All-One Report’s metrics page where we publish our B Impact Assessment scores

11. B Lab’s guide to using the B Corptm BRAND

12. Additional resources/questions?