The Benefit Corporation – an evolution of the concept of for-profit business working towards having a positive impact on society and the environment. This innovative type of company formation has been recognized since 2016.
Profit and sustainability: can they co-exist?
The uncontrolled abuse of the earth’s resources, today’s environmental situation, and profound changes in the social fabric have accelerated the need for actions aimed at sustainability.
Hence the need for a review of industrial production to avoid not only economic, but also social and environmental, collapse.
From these ideas, a series of initiatives have developed worldwide to reduce the uncontrolled exploitation of the environment around us. Among these, Benefit Corporations.
The Benefit Corporation is a new way of doing business that is slowly expanding. It differs from other companies because it is an ethical business. In addition to the objective of achieving a profit, it supports others, such as: generating a common benefit, reducing existing negative effects; and creating a positive impact on the community, on the territory, and on the environment.
Benefit corporations: what are the advantages?
Switching to a Benefit Corporation increases the possibility of networking between companies. It therefore allows you to develop relationships with companies known to be at the forefront of protecting the environment and being part of a rapidly expanding movement.
It also allows you to attract the attention of so-called conscious consumers – a fast growing market sector – who are interested in sustainability and everything that is green.
Today, in addition to representing a conscious choice on the part of the founders, the Benefit Corporation is a key element for our success because it strengthens the brand, improves credibility, and fosters trust.
A Benefit Corporation is an opportunity to use one’s economic power to fund benefit programs developed to create value for the environment and the entire community. To date, this has been similar to non-profit organizations or social enterprises.
Another advantage, not to be underestimated, consists in attracting private investors as well as suppliers, as well as new talent interested in the issue of sustainability.
Benefit Corporation: why wait?
More and more companies are deciding to make a contribution to social well-being by becoming a Benefit Corporation. An example is Eugenio Campo Srl. The company creates unique furnishings for private and retail clients. It also deals with the design of cellars for storing wine for residences and yachts, proposing itself to a market that is increasingly attentive to details and particular and personalized finishes.
Despite having only recently obtained the certification of Benefit Corporation, Eugenio Campo Srl has always adopted an ethical and respectful company policy towards the environment and the community.
Doing business in a sustainable way is equivalent to focusing not only on production in a quantitative sense, but also on conduct. This means considering the effects that that type of company develops in the minds of customers, investors and suppliers, in the environment in which it operates, and in the use of resources in production processes.
The Benefit Corporation is a highly interesting sector that is triggering a chain reaction on other companies in the area. We are facing a trend linked to ethics and corporate sustainability.
Benefit Corporations represent the future and this has been demonstrated by the numerous investments launched by the Recovery Plan: almost all entirely based on green economy and social well-being.
