‘To B Or Not To B’, published in 2016 shortly after Bridges first certified as a B Corp, explained what certification involves and examined whether B Corps might be an attractive investment proposition.

Warby Parker, the innovative glasses maker; Etsy, the online crafts marketplace; Kickstarter, the crowdfunding platform; Natura, Brazil’s biggest cosmetics group; Patagonia, the ethical clothing brand. These outstanding businesses are just some of the 1,400+ companies around the world to have already certified as B Corporations – signalling their commitment to meeting higher standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability.

It considers the extent to which B Corp status can directly improve company performance and thus investor value – through competitive differentiation, improved resilience, best-in-class operating practices, stronger mission alignment and so on. And it looks at the challenges still facing the B Corp movement in order for these benefits to be fully realised – particularly in terms of taking the brand to a broader audience of consumers and investors, and fostering more collaboration within the community. It also considers whether the inherent B Corp ‘mission lock’ is a boon or a drawback to potential investors.