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Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
360PR+ BECOMES CERTIFIED B CORPORATION
Award-winning PR agency has long focused on advancing mission-driven brands BOSTON, May 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- As it approaches its 25th anniversary, 360PR+ has been certified as a B Corporation, undergoing B Lab's highly rigorous process that has evaluated the company's purpose, ethics and transparency, commitment to employee health and wellness, employee engagement and satisfaction, economic and environmental impact in communities in which the agency operates, and other criteria for certification. Certified B Corporations are companies that believe in using business as a force for good. The development of B Corporation standards for certification are overseen by B Lab's independent Standards Advisory Council. B Lab is a non-profit organization, founded in 2006 and certifying some 9,000 B Corporations globally across a range of sectors. 360PR+ has long prioritized representing and advancing organizations and brands that are doing good in the world. "To do that authentically, we must hold ourselves to the highest possible standards – our certification as a B Corporation is validation of that and a testament to all of our employees, whose engagement and feedback makes us better every day," commented Laura Tomasetti, 360's founder and CEO. 360PR+ is a fully integrated communications and marketing agency, recognized for a long list of award-winning PR campaigns for some of the most trusted and admired brands. Over the years, that's included B Corporations such as Blue Wave Solar, Full Circle Home, Pete & Gerry's Organic Eggs, Stonyfield and Vermont Creamery. Based in New York, 360PR+ is a partner in PROI Worldwide, offering clients in-market resources in 100+ cities across North America and globally. In addition to certifying as a B Corporation, 360PR+ has undergone WBENC's process to become a certified women-owned business. For more information, visit For the latest B Corporation news, visit the B Corp blog: View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE 360PR+ Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
B Lab sets out new B Corp standards
B Lab, the non-profit organisation responsible for B Corp certification, has unveiled new standards. Described as the 'most significant evolution' since B Lab's founding in 2006, the updated B Corp standards include the adoption of climate action plans aligned with the 1.5°C goal. "As the climate crisis intensifies and societal inequality grows, the standards provide companies with clarity on how they can take meaningful and tangible action on issues facing people and the planet," B Lab said. According to the organisation, nearly 10,000 companies across 100 countries and 160 industries hold B Corp status. However, the scheme had faced criticism. Last month, UK pet-food business Scrumbles went public with its decision not to renew its certification. In a post on LinkedIn, co-founder Aneisha Soobroyen wrote: "While we were proud to be one of the first pet food brands to certify in 2019, the certification no longer holds the weight it once did. It has started to feel like little more than a marketing badge and greenwashing rather than a true mark of ethical business." Just Drinks asked B Lab for its position on those comments. In the statement announcing the new standards, Clay Brown, co-lead executive of B Lab Global, called the new standards 'a complete reimagining of business impact to respond to the challenges of our time'. Previously, companies seeking certification underwent an assessment process involving a 'B Impact' assessment form, which evaluated their environmental, worker, material, community, and governance practices. To achieve certification, a company needed to score 80 or above out of 200. To maintain certification, B Lab mandates that companies re-certify every three years by completing a 'B Impact Assessment' and submitting documentation for evaluation. The updated framework introduces a shift from scoring to meeting baseline performance requirements across seven key 'impact topics': purpose and stakeholder governance; climate action; human rights; fair work; environmental stewardship and circularity; justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion; and government affairs and collective action. Judy Rodrigues, B Lab Global's director of standards, explained the update follows a four-year process involving two rounds of public consultation and the review of 26,000 feedback submissions from companies, the general public, and subject-matter experts. She added: 'We are confident that the new standards are clear, ambitious, and truly capable of raising the bar for businesses worldwide.' The seventh version of the standards also introduces differentiation based on company size. Larger companies – defined as having between 250 and 999 employees or $75m to $350m in annual revenue – face more rigorous requirements. Companies with 1,000 to 9,999 employees, or $350m to $1.5bn in annual revenue, are subject to even stricter criteria. According to a statement on B Lab's website, larger companies 'generally have to answer more (and more difficult) questions and meet higher requirements for verification, transparency, and additional factors in order to certify'. On LinkedIn, Emma Aberg of UK-based consultancy Greenheart, backed the update, saying: 'This is really great news in my opinion as it keeps B Corps where they should be; a true force for good in the world and the business leaders shaping our path towards a sustainable and regenerative future.' South African wine group Journey's End has recently signed up to the scheme. The company welcomed the new B Corp standards. 'As South Africa's first B Corp certified winery, we're proud to set the standard for our industry – this evolution of the B Corp framework affirms our conviction that excellence and ethics must go hand in hand,' Stephanie von Oppell, the global head of marketing at Journey's End, said. "B Lab sets out new B Corp standards " was originally created and published by Just Drinks, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
The Independent
25-02-2025
- Business
- The Independent
From living roofs to smashed peas on toast: What does it take to become a B Corp hotel?
What do you look for in a hotel stay? Price and location probably come top, followed by the promise of a comfy bed and a plush shower – or, even better, a roll-top bath – followed by a hearty two-course breakfast. How about whether they're composting food waste or if staff get paid volunteering days? These are some of the adjustments hotels are making amid the climate crisis, as conscious travellers are looking beyond electric cars or flight-free travel. With 84 per cent saying sustainable travel is important, it seems that travellers are increasingly looking for hotels that actually do better, rather than those who only claim to. For a handful of hotels in the UK, their efforts have earned them B Corp status, an accreditation and movement created by B Lab, a global non-profit. Established in the US in 2006 by Andrew Kassoy, Jay Coen Gilbert and Bart Houlahan, the UK arm is celebrating its 10th birthday this year. It's been on an upward trajectory in recent years: across 92 countries, there are more than 9,000 B Corps with almost 2,400 of them in the UK, covering everything from fashion to food. Its ethos aims to 'put people and planet alongside profit', says James Ghaffari, director of growth and product at B Corp. To achieve certification, businesses need to 'meet high standards of social and environmental performance in the way they operate their business today', he says. They are also required 'to make a governance change to their business to say that beyond just being a business that's focused on driving shareholder value, they will run their business based on a consideration of all of their stakeholders', adds Ghaffari. Companies seeking this much-coveted status need to complete a data-heavy assessment, a process which can which can take years of data-gathering, and achieve at least 80 points across its five categories: governance, workers, community, environment and customers. Those who meet the criteria are permitted to carry the logo – a simple capital B in a circle – which companies can use for three years before having to reapply – and a portion of revenue is paid to B Corp annually for the honour. It's also one of more than a whopping 150 accreditations that the travel industry uses, including Green Key (prominent in the US) and Green Tourism, which are mostly environmentally focused. Despite the buzz around sustainable travel, we know that hotels are naturally energy intensive, with 86 per cent of UK stays lasting just one to two nights, incurring heavy use of water, lights and aircon, meaning the whole premises incur a sizable carbon footprint. Such is the industry's intense use of energy that the term 'greenwashing' came from hotels that were found to over-inflate green initiatives. The term was coined by Jay Westerveld in 1986 who noticed hotels asking guests to reuse towels to 'save the environment' when, in reality, it was to reduce laundry costs. In theory, accreditations such as B Corp should show that businesses have made a commitment to responsible practices. Yet in the past few years, B Corp has garnered controversy over awarding its logo to corporations such as Nestlé-owned Nespresso, the pharmaceutical Chiesi Group which is part of an industry heavily contributing to greenhouse gases, Coutts private bank that has been fined for money laundering and witnessed reports of a problematic work culture, and the controversial BrewDog which eventually had its status retracted after much pressure. Green initiatives are also rolling back, including Shell scrapping its 2035 greenhouse gas emissions reduction target last year, and the US reversing its ban on plastic straws, so there's never been a greater need for real accountability. So what does a hotel have to do to become a B Corp certified? There's no one size fits all answer, mainly as the points system across the five categories can be so varied, but in the UK, there are seven B Corp hotels. These include mostly mini-chains, such as Inhabit Hotels, Exclusive Collection, Mollie's Motels, The Pig Group, and room2 hometels, plus Bingham Riverhouse in south west London and One Aldwych in central London. The Pig hotels, created in 2011 by husband and wife Robin and Judy Hutson, really set the tone for shaking up the UK hotel's sustainability record. The concept practically became a byword for a chic take on the country house hotel, with a forward-thinking attitude that was part of the burgeoning 'restaurant with rooms' trend. They worked backwards, growing as much on-site as possible to supply the restaurant, and what they couldn't grow, they sourced locally, birthing their signature 25-mile menu. Kate Harvey, group sustainability manager at The Pig, is keen to emphasise that their status isn't just down to 'what you see', however. 'I've been here 2.5 years, which in 'Pig years', isn't very long,' she tells me, as we walk around the market garden of the original hotel in Brockenhurst, The New Forest, which also includes bee hives, compost heaps, bug hotels and of course, pigs. Plenty of staff have racked up a decade, which speaks volumes for staff retention and career progression, and something B Corp looks at, but Harvey is most proud of the volunteering hours programme, where everyone is given three paid volunteering days to give back to the local community, resulting in over 2,000 hours last year. The group, which gained its status in June 2024, is also a good example of a company that arguably doesn't need external certification, because they've always worked this way, and has too many positive initiatives to mention. At one point during my visit, I think I've caught them out with what looks like a single-use soap bar in a little wrapper, unlike the refillable Bramley branded toiletries. It transpires that they're made nearby and if they're not taken by guests, they're collected and reused by the brand. Harvey says the hotel group's approach is a 'holistic look at all aspects of the business and poking around at every element', adding that 'we've identified gaps we can improve, and [the status has] helped to guide our wider sustainability strategy as well'. It's a similar sentiment at Mollie's Motel. Conceived by Soho House founder, Nick Jones, these American diner-inspired motels with a British edge can be found in Bristol, Oxfordshire and Manchester. Being a B Corp 'challenges us to keep improving, hold ourselves accountable, and lead by example in an industry that's often seen as transient,' says Trudi Parr, head of people and development at the hotel. 'Hospitality can, and should, be a force for good.' The idea of using it as a guide is also felt by Vannessa Marx, head chef at Bingham Riverhouse in Richmond, southwest London. Owned by Sama Trinder, this elegant 18th-century hotel sits right on the Thames and is home to a restaurant, members club, treatment rooms, yoga and other wellbeing classes. It gained B Corp status in September 2024, making it the first independent hotel to do so. Marx, who lives by her own rules and rides to work on an electric scooter, took over the restaurant in 2023. In South Africa, where she grew up, she was ahead of the curve, using organic and grass-fed beef as early as 2009, and was the first chef to use only green-listed seafood, listed by WWF's Southern African Sustainable Seafood Initiative. For her, becoming a B Corp didn't mean her job was done. 'I found getting the B Corp status is like a compass. It's your starting point,' she explains. For many guests, a hotel's food can be the main attraction and provenance plays a huge part in its sustainability status. At Bingham Riverhouse, they're no longer using imported fruit at breakfast, while at The Pig, they've swapped smoked salmon for locally caught Chalk Stream trout, and switched imported avocados for smashed peas on toast. Admittedly, they're not quite as creamy, but still zingy, delicious and importantly, home-grown. The Pig, like others, also uses plenty of other B Corp food suppliers, including the Garlic Farm and Isle of Wight Tomatoes, both just across the Solent on The Isle of Wight, Sharpham Dairy in Devon and Rodda's Cornish Clotted Cream, to name just a few. It's not always plain sailing to secure B Corp status, however. Marx's biggest challenge after taking over the restaurant was changing suppliers, as she wanted to use producers more aligned with her ethos. 'A lot of the smaller producers only use WhatsApp for orders,' explaining that they're not part of the usual systems catering businesses often use. 'We've got a WhatsApp group with Haye Farm (in Devon) which includes the farmer, the butcher, the sales people, the guy that cures the meat – they're all on there,' she says. It flipped the traditional way of ordering what you want to cook, to working with what's available. The meat is delivered in a shared van between them and nearby Petersham Nurseries restaurant. 'Even though they might be our competition, they're still our neighbours,' which, she explains, is a positive way of collaborating to do better. Just a few miles away, the room2 Chiswick hotel may look like more of a design hotel than a B Corp, but it's brought the two together. Known as a 'hometel' like the aparthotel trend (a hybrid self-catering hotel), there are three more outposts in Southampton, Belfast and London's Hammersmith, with more across the UK planned. They're affordable and fun and owned by the Lamington Group, a family company run by brothers, Richard and Stuart Godwin. Their design sets them apart, not only for the award-winning interiors with bright marble-pattern wallpaper by a local designer and furniture sourced within a 30-mile radius, but because they're - rather unusually - designed, built and run by the owners, which gives them far more control on decisions, as Lucy Eaglesfield, head of sustainability at Lamington explains to me. Inside, light sensors in corridors, rooms and stairwells reduce energy use and showers use 40 per cent less water than usual, without affecting the pressure. Outside, there's a thriving living roof, with bug hotels and a hive housing 75,000 bees, while its 'blue roof' design ensures that water is slowly released into drains to avoid flooding after heavy rainfall. It's in stark contrast to the bare rooftop of a nearby building. On my tour, I'm even taken into the hotel's plant room which was built with a heat source pump and highly energy-efficient systems that run at lower temperatures. There's no denying the positivity and innovation within the hotel industry – and hotels wanting to do better is only a good thing. B Corp is helping some hotels be more sustainably minded, but more work is required. What could be considered misleading about the B Corp status is that the qualifying 80 points doesn't need to be evenly weighted across the five categories. There's not a base level to unify brands, or a clear set of rules for consumers to compare like-for-like. This is expected to change with what Ghaffari of B Labs calls 'the biggest evolution to our standards and certification requirements that we've ever done', adding that 'there will be some companies that won't be able to meet it, because they are going to be more comprehensive and rigorous'. It will be a slow process that could take up to four years, however, as it will depend on when a company's renewal is due. For some working in sustainability, B Corp no-longer goes far enough. Lizzie Rivera, founder of ethical platform, Live Frankly, says that 'there's no minimum requirements' for the current assessment, which has been an issue for 'too many years'. Even under the new rules, 'any brand that certifies now won't have to adhere to the new standards until they re-certify, which could be another three years – it's incredibly slow. The question is: is B Corp pioneering the way or is it lagging behind what the world needs now?' So what should guests be looking for? Ahead of booking, check for explanatory sustainability sections on the hotel website, read the restaurant's menus, look at their social media presence – a lot can be learnt here from both what they do and don't say and show. Don't be afraid to email or ring and ask questions – any hotel walking the walk should be able to answer. And the more guests ask, the more on the radar sustainability is for companies. Despite providing an undeniably useful framework, for most hotels with B Corp accreditation, it's not the actual status that allows them to do better environmentally and socially. It's a starting point – a badge that says 'yes, you are doing those things'. But as the requirements for the current assessment can be so varied, the B Corp logo doesn't mean the same for each company as it appears to, which is ultimately confusing for consumers. That isn't to detract from the many people on the ground who are pushing for change, setting better standards and continually looking for improvement. B Corp is on the brink of pivotal change, and there's room for real improvement to come. But for now, as usual, there's so much digging for the consumer to do themselves. Not many of us are willing to download dense, jargon-heavy reports to decipher a hotel's sustainability efforts. We just want a comfy place to rest our heads that's also trying to be better for the planet. Surely that's not too much to ask?
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Why OpenAI is trying to untangle its 'bespoke' corporate structure
On the Friday after Christmas, OpenAI published a blog post titled "Why OpenAI's structure must evolve to advance our mission." In it, the company detailed a plan to reorganize its for-profit arm into a public benefit corporation (PBC). In the weeks since that announcement, I've spoken to some of the country's leading corporate law experts to gain a better understanding of OpenAI's plan, and, more importantly, what it might mean for its mission to build safe artificial general intelligence (AGI). "Public benefit corporations are a relatively recent addition to the universe of business entity types," says Jens Dammann, professor of corporate law at the University of Texas School of Law. Depending on who you ask, you may get a different history of PBCs, but in the dominant narrative, they came out of a certification program created by a nonprofit called B Lab. Companies that complete a self-assessment and pay an annual fee to B Lab can carry the B Lab logo on their products and websites and call themselves B-Corps. Critically, B Corp status isn't a designation with the weight of law, or even an industry-wide group, behind it — it's a stamp of approval from this specific nonprofit. As a result, B Lab eventually felt the certification program "was not enough," says Professor Michael Dorff, executive director of the Lowell Milken Institute for Business Law and Policy at UCLA. "They wanted something more permanent and more rooted in the law." So the organization began working with legal experts to create a model statute for what would become the benefit corporation. B Lab lobbied state legislatures to pass laws recognizing benefit corporations as legal entities, and in 2010, Maryland became the first state to do so. In 2013, Delaware enacted its own version of the law. To make things somewhat confusing, the state went with a different name: the public benefit corporation. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. Delaware is arguably the most important state for corporate law in the US, thanks to the Delaware Chancery Court and its body of business-friendly case law. As of 2022, 68.2 percent of all Fortune 500 companies, including many tech giants, are incorporated in the state despite largely operating elsewhere. Delaware is also the state where OpenAI plans to reincorporate its for-profit as a PBC. The basic idea behind public benefit corporations is that they're business entities that impose a constraint on their board to balance profit maximization, a public benefit that's stated in the charter of the company, and the concerns of people impacted by its conduct. "It's a bit of a paradigm shift," says Professor Dammann, but don't confuse a PBC with a nonprofit. "The key characteristic of a nonprofit is what we call a non-distribution constraint, meaning if a nonprofit makes a profit, they can't distribute it to their shareholders," Professor Dammann says. "If you form a public benefit corporation, there's no such non-distribution constraint. At its heart, a PBC is still a for-profit corporation." First and foremost, a PBC structure — whether it's private or selling share on the open market — would get OpenAI out from under that non-distribution constraint. But there are likely some other considerations at play. OpenAI hasn't publicly said this, but it appears some of its employees believe a PBC structure could protect the company from a hostile takeover if it were to go public. In a recent Financial Times report, a source within the company said a PBC structure would give OpenAI a "safe harbor" if a rival firm were to try to buy the company. It "gives you even more flexibility to say 'thanks for calling and have a nice day'," the person said. The specific threat OpenAI likely wants safe harbor from is what's known as the Revlon doctrine, which is named after a 1986 Delaware Supreme Court case involving the cosmetics company Revlon Inc. and now defunct supermarket chain Pantry Pride, then led by CEO Ronald Perelman. "The Revlon doctrine holds that if you're a publicly traded corporation [incorporated in Delaware] and somebody stages a takeover attempt, then under certain conditions, you have to sell to the highest bidder," says Professor Dammann. The underlying rationale behind Revlon is that a for-profit company's sole function is to generate profits, so the board is forced to make whatever choice will return the most money to shareholders. "We don't know for sure, but we're fairly confident that the Revlon doctrine doesn't apply to public benefit corporations," says Professor Dammann. Theoretically, PBC boards may have the flexibility to reject a takeover bid if they believe a buyer won't adhere to the social values the company was founded on. However, because "none of this has been litigated," according to Professor Dorff, it remains a purely hypothetical defense. Moreover, it's unclear if reorganizing as a PBC would offer OpenAI more protection against a hostile takeover attempt than what it already has as a nonprofit. "I don't think this has been tested with this particular kind of structure, but my sense is that the nonprofit would not be obligated to sell even in a Revlon moment," says Professor Dorff. Publicly, OpenAI has said it needs to secure more investment, and that its current structure is holding it back. "We once again need to raise more capital than we'd imagined," OpenAI wrote in December, two months after securing $6 billion in new venture funding. "Investors want to back us but, at this scale of capital, need conventional equity and less structural bespokeness." Unpacking what the company likely means by "structural bespokeness" requires a short history lesson. In 2019, when OpenAI originally created its for-profit arm, it organized the company using a unique "capped-profit" structure. The company said it would limit investor returns to 100x, with excess returns going to the nonprofit. "We expect this multiple to be lower for future rounds as we make further progress," OpenAI added. It's fair to be critical of the company's claims. "You'd have to ask the investors, but I have to say that 100x is an exceptional rate or return, so the idea that you cannot get investment because of a 100x cap seems rich to me," says Professor Dorff. In fact, there are suggestions OpenAI was already making itself more attractive to investors before announcing its reorganization plan in December. In 2023, The Economist reported that the company changed its cap to increase (and not decrease as OpenAI had originally said it would) by 20 percent per year starting in 2025. At this time, OpenAI does not expect to be profitable until 2029, and racked up about $5 billion in losses last year. "We want to increase our ability to raise capital while still serving our mission, and no pre-existing structure we know of strikes the right balance," OpenAI said in 2019. At that point, Delaware's PBC legislation had been law for nearly six years. However, the company is now arguing that a PBC structure would "enable us to raise the necessary capital with conventional terms like others in this space." In OpenAI's defense, calling its current structure convoluted would be an understatement. As you can see from the company's own org chart, there are two other entities under the OpenAI umbrella, including a holding company that's an intermediary between the nonprofit and for-profit. Engadget was able to find at least 11 different Delaware companies registered to OpenAI. George R.R. Martin, Jodi Picoult and other members of the Author's Guild probably described it best in their copyright lawsuit against the company, calling OpenAI "a tangled thicket of interlocking entities that generally keep from the public what the precise relationships among them are and what function each entity serves within the larger corporate structure." OpenAI did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Engadget. OpenAI's nonprofit arm does essentially two things: controls the for-profit side's business, and exists as a "vehicle" to develop "safe and broadly beneficial AGI" (artificial general intelligence). According to the company, its current structure does not allow its nonprofit arm to "easily do more than control the for-profit." If it were freed of that responsibility — by say, handing it off to investors — OpenAI suggests its nonprofit could focus its resources on charitable initiatives, all while becoming "one of the best-resourced nonprofits in history." To remedy the situation, OpenAI's board says the nonprofit should give up absolute control over the for-profit and take whatever degree of control comes with the amount of stock it's granted through the reorganization process. "The nonprofit's significant interest in the existing for-profit would take the form of shares in the PBC at a fair valuation determined by independent financial advisors," OpenAI says of this part of its plan. Professor Dorff argues who controls OpenAI is critical to the company maintaining its mission. The move to reorganize the for-profit as a PBC is not controversial. "Companies do it all the time; there's a straightforward and clear process to do that," he tells me. "What is controversial is what they're trying to do to change the nature of the nonprofit's ownership interest in the for-profit." At the risk of oversimplifying things, OpenAI's board of directors wants to divest the company's nonprofit of two of its most important assets: control of the for-profit and its rights to the profits from AGI. "You can't just do that," says Professor Dorff. "The assets of the nonprofit must remain dedicated to the purpose of the nonprofit." There are rules that allow nonprofits to modify their purpose if their original one is made defunct, but those won't apply to OpenAI since we're not living in a world with safe (or any) AGI. Think of it this way, what is the value of artificial general intelligence? It's not a traditional asset like real estate or the EVs sold by Tesla. AGI, as defined by OpenAI, doesn't yet and may never exist. "One could imagine it's worth all the labor of the economy because it could eventually replace human labor," says Professor Dorff. Whatever the eventual value of the technology, Professor Dorff says he's unsure "any number would enable the nonprofit to do what it's supposed to do without control." No matter how OpenAI spins it, any version of this plan would result in a massive loss of control for the current nonprofit entity and its board. Something the experts I spoke to agreed on was that the laws governing PBCs aren't very effective at ensuring companies stick to their social purpose. "The legal constraints aren't very strict," Professor Dammann says, adding, "the problem with a very broad public benefit is that it's not so constraining anymore. If you're dedicated to a very broad version of the public good, then you can always defend every decision, right?" "The dual goal of profit and public purpose doesn't really tell you how a company is going to manage those objectives," says Jill Fisch, professor of Business Law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. "To the extent that public purpose sacrifices profits, and it doesn't have to, but to the extent that it does, how much of a sacrifice is contemplated?" "What matters a lot in PBC governance is what the private arrangements are," Professor Dorff adds. "That is, what do the documents say?" A company's certificate of incorporation, shareholder agreements and bylaws can provide "very robust" (or very few) mechanisms to ensure it sticks to its social purpose. As Professor Dorff points out, OpenAI's blog post said "nothing about those." Contrast that with when OpenAI announced its "capped profit" plan. It gave us a glimpse of some of its paperwork, sharing a clause it said was at the start of all of its employee and investor agreements. That snippet made it clear OpenAI was under no obligation to generate a profit. Right now, there's a lot we don't know about its restructuring plan. If the company is still serious about its mission of "ensuring artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity" it owes the public more transparency. Elon Musk's recent $97.4 billion bid to buy the nonprofit's assets complicates OpenAI's plan. In this situation, the nonprofit isn't obligated to sell its assets to Musk under Revlon or anything else — the company simply is not for sale. However, as part of OpenAI's reorganization plan, the for-profit will need to compensate the nonprofit for its independence. Musk's bid likely an attempt to inflate the price of this transaction to one higher than what Sam Altman and the rest of OpenAI's board of directors had in mind. To say Musk and Altman have had a contentious relationship since the former left OpenAI would be an understatement on a grand scale, and having an enemy who not only has the most money of any human on the planet, but also broad and largely unchecked control of the United States' executive branch data, may frustrate plans. OpenAI also faces a ticking clock. According to documents seen by The New York Times, the company has, under the terms of its latest investment round, less than two years to free its for-profit from control of the nonprofit. If it fails to do so, the $6.6 billion it raised in new funding will become debt.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
EcoPlum Sustainable Swag® Scores First Recertification as a B Corporation
NEW YORK, Jan. 31, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- EcoPlum, a sustainable promotional products company, is proud to announce its recertification as a B Corporation (B Corp) by nonprofit B Lab for its second three-year period. First certified in 2022, the newly recertified B Corp improved its B Impact Assessment (BIA) score. As a B Corp, EcoPlum is part of a global community of businesses that meet high standards of social and environmental responsibility, make a legal commitment to stakeholder governance, and demonstrate accountability and transparency by disclosing their record of performance in a public B Corp profile. There are currently 9,500 Certified B Corporations in more than 105 countries and over 160 industries. EcoPlum and other B Corporations are leading a global movement for an inclusive, equitable, and regenerative economy. Within the $26 billion promotional products industry, EcoPlum represents a small, but growing segment of sustainable distributors making up about $3 billion (12%) in revenue, according to PPAI (Promotional Products Association International). The majority of B Corps are small to medium-sized businesses. But there are many well-known global brands in the B Corp community including Danone, Patagonia, Athleta, Eileen Fisher, Ben & Jerry's, Warby Parker, and AllBirds. B Corporations are required to recertify every three years by updating their B Impact Assessment (BIA) and verifying their new BIA score. EcoPlum attained a score of 86.4, an increase of 3.8 points over its prior certification score. The principle of continuous improvement is integrated into the process and companies are encouraged to set goals and continue implementing improvements to their social and environmental practices. Companies must receive a minimum verified score of 80 or above to be certified. While more than 200,000 businesses have used the B Impact Assessment, only about 5% have been certified, including EcoPlum. The median score for ordinary businesses that complete the assessment is 50.9. B Lab began certifying companies in 2007. "Recertifying EcoPlum as a B Corp is another major milestone that reinforces our commitment to using business as a force for good to create a more sustainable planet! " says Gia Machlin, EcoPlum President and CEO. All Certified B Corporations balance profit with purpose and work towards a collective vision of Business as a Force for Good. They consider their impact on all stakeholders, not just shareholders. A B Corp is legally accountable, in its corporate governance structure, to consider employees, customers, suppliers, community, the environment, and shareholders in its decision making. B Lab's recertification of EcoPlum as a B Corp is the latest certification milestone held by the company. EcoPlum also holds an EcoVadis Silver Medal environmental certification and is a Green America Gold Business. Plus, the company is triple-certified as a women-owned enterprise by the Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), New York State (NYS MWBE) and New York City (M/WBE). The company is also a member of ASBN (American Sustainable Business Network), AASHE (Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education), FLA (Fair Labor Association), PPC (Plastic Pollution Coalition), and ASI (Advertising Specialty Institute). About EcoPlum EcoPlum is a nationally certified B Corporation that provides branded marketing solutions with its Sustainable Swag® line of promotional products. We curate best-in-class, eco-friendly gift items and customize them for clients with their logos, taglines, or messages. EcoPlum empowers companies to make responsible choices on their branded gifts – a visible symbol of their values – with a goal of reducing plastic and harmful waste in our landfills and oceans. The company upholds rigorous and transparent standards for ecological and social sustainability. Our product sourcing criteria include USDA organic, fair trade, biodegradable, renewable, recycled, reusable, Made-in-the-USA, handcrafted or artisan, and third-party eco-labels. We also seek out suppliers that are certified B Corporations (B Corps), women/minority-owned, socially conscious, and Fair Labor Association (FLA) members. Sustainable Swag® solutions at For more information: info(at)ecoplum(dot)com, Facebook at LinkedIn at EcoPlum Biz Blog, Twitter via @ecoplum, and Instagram via @ecoplum. About B LabB Lab is transforming the global economy to benefit all people, communities, and the planet. A leader in economic systems change, our global network creates standards, policies, tools, and programs for business, and we certify companies—known as B Corps—who are leading the way. To date, our community includes more than 900,000 workers in over 9,500 B Corps across 105 countries and 160 industries, and more than 200,000 companies manage their impact with the B Impact Assessment and the SDG Action Manager. About B Lab U.S. & Canada B Lab U.S. & Canada is a partner in the B Global Network, a unified group of global, regional, and national organizations that power a business movement as a force for good. A historic global culture shift is underway to harness the power of business to help address society's greatest challenges. Our global network creates standards, policies, tools, and programs that shift the behavior, culture, and structure of capitalism. B Lab certifies companies — known as B Corps — who are leading the way. Our vision is an inclusive, equitable, and regenerative economic system for all people and the planet. For more information, visit About B Corp CertificationB Corp Certification assesses the overall social and environmental impact of a company. To achieve B Corp Certification, a company must meet a score of at least 80 points in the B Impact Assessment, an evaluation of a company's positive impact, and pass a risk review, an evaluation of a company's negative impact. It must change its corporate governance structure to be accountable to all stakeholders, not just shareholders, and exhibit transparency by allowing information about their B Corp Certification performance to be publicly available on their B Corp profile on B Lab's website. B Corps recertify every three years and, once certified, are expected to increase their score over time as they progress towards becoming more equitable, inclusive, and regenerative businesses. 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