B Corps are for-profit companies certified by the nonprofit B Lab that meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. Currently, there are more than 4,000 companies spanning 150 industries, and 70 countries are B Corp certified committed to harnessing the power of business as a force for good.
The B Corp movement is fueled by a desire to change the current economic system by changing the rules of the game, accelerating a global shift where all stakeholders, not just shareholders, are valued and prioritized. Twenty-six leading Certified B Corporations across eight countries and three continents have formed a new coalition seeking to improve the sustainability standards of the beauty industry, raise public awareness, and connect beauty with responsibility by creating the B Corp Beauty Coalition.
The coalition's mission is to enable collaboration and exchange between companies; identify and share better practices, implement improvement actions, and publish their outcomes; help beauty customers more easily navigate the category; and influence the beauty industry to trigger broader changes that can ultimately improve its social and environmental footprint. The coalition's vision is to deliver “beauty for good.”
"As Certified B Corporations meeting the highest standards of social and environmental impact, we have become increasingly uncomfortable with the social and environmental footprint of the beauty industry and concluded our respective solo efforts to enable positive change can be enhanced through a partnership of mutual commitment. So, we have decided to form a coalition to leverage our combined strengths and deliver tangible benefits to beauty customers, communities, and the planet we share." explains Davide Bollati, President of Davines, founding member of the B Corp Beauty Coalition.
"Specifically, we commit to invest our time and efforts to improve four key issues that affect everyone and everything: ingredient sourcing and sustainability; greener logistics; packaging responsibility; consistent and clear external messaging that customers can understand and trust. Work has already started, and we will be welcoming more certified B Corps to add their talent and contribution as we gather momentum," adds Shaun Russell, founder of Skandinavisk, and a co-founding member of the B Corp Beauty Coalition.
We are at the beginning of a powerful global business movement happening, from start-ups to multinationals using business as a force for good. Society's most challenging problems cannot be left for government and nonprofits to solve alone. Business culture needs to move past the focus on shareholders to a focus on stakeholders (employees, community, and, yes, investors). The private sector has the ability and, one might argue, the responsibility to drive change, believe in impact, and nurture their communities.
Kara Peck, Senior Director of Strategy & Partnerships for B Lab US/Canada, the nonprofit organization behind the B Corp certification method, says: "It is so heartening to see these visionary B Corps joining forces to create the B Corp Beauty Coalition and to share their knowledge and best practices with one another and the world. With the business sector uniquely culpable for much of the negative impacts of climate change and the systemic inequities we face today, this type of innovative collaboration is exactly what the world needs from business. The work of the Coalition is going to greatly accelerate the beauty and personal care industry's—and our economy's—shift to a just, regenerative, zero-carbon future."
Katie Hill, Executive Director for B Lab Europe, added: "The B Corp Beauty Coalition brings together B Corps from all across the globe in the beauty and cosmetics industries to tackle common challenges, such as responsible packaging and green supply chains. Yet this work has relevance and reach for well beyond their own industry, as it fundamentally addresses the broader purpose of businesses to tackle complex issues. B Lab Europe sees this proactive leadership of the individuals in B Corps as paving the way for many others in different industries to follow suit: Indeed, the B Corp movement is built on the premise that changing the way business operates to benefit people and planet is achievable when working together!"
The founding 26 brands are Skandinavisk, Davines Group, The Body Shop, Prose, Nob, Greenvine, Expanscience Laboratories, Rudolph Care, Dr. Bronner’s, Cha Tzu Tang, Arbonne, Ritual, Herbatint, Beauty Kitchen, Made For Organics, Badger, Green Circle Salons, MaCher, Oneka, Dermophisiologique, Lafe's, Juliart, Melanin Essentials, Koa + Roy, Aromatherapy Associates.
