Italian B Corp Community welcomes Aton

B Corp and Benefit Company: towards sustainable growth

We announced it with great pride in early March: after becoming a Benefit Society we are now also a certified B Corp! We have made it!

On Monday, 17 April, we were welcomed and officially introduced to the Italian B Corp community along with 8 other companies from different sectors who, like us, are striving to make a positive social and environmental impact.

What is the difference between B Corp and Benefit Company?

Being B Corp

B Corps are companies that meet high standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency and are committed to a path of continuous improvement to transform the global economic system. 

Today there are more than 6,500 in more than 85 countries and in more than 150 sectors. In Italy, after the first company was certified in 2013, the movement continues to grow and includes more than 200 organizations. 

To become a B Corp, it is necessary to pass a rigorous process of measuring and analyzing the company’s sustainability profile, designed and followed by B Lab, the nonprofit organization that was founded in 2006 with the idea of generating a new economic model that puts stakeholders at the center. The international standard adopted is the B Impact Assessment, which measures the company’s impact in several areas: governance, workers, community, customers, environment. 

B Corp certification is voluntary and is to be renewed every three years in a continuous improvement process. 

Being Benefit Company

The Benefit Corporation, unlike the B Corp certification, is a modern evolution of the concept of a company that integrates, within its corporate purpose, the creation of value for all stakeholders, defining some common benefit purposes related not only to the pursuit of profit, but also to objectives related to the social and environmental dimension. 

Common benefit means the pursuit of one or more positive effects or reduction of negative effects on one or more categories of stakeholders: people, communities, territories, environment, assets, cultural and social activities, bodies, associations and other stakeholders. 

The Benefit Society is committed to achieving these common-benefit purposes in a responsible, sustainable, and transparent manner and to measuring its activities through an annual impact report , describing both actions taken and plans and commitments for the future. 

Italy has been the first Country in Europe to legal status as a Benefit Company in 2016, also present, under the name Benefit Corporation, in 38 states in the U.S., as well as in Colombia, Puerto Rico, Ecuador, British Columbia-Canada, Peru, and France (as Société à Mission). 

Benefit Societies in Italy now number more than 2,600, up 55 percent from 2021 and employ more than 135,000 people.

A community that uses business as a positive force

What particularly struck me in the call that welcomed us aboard the Italian B Corp Community is the sharing of experiences and the opportunity to compare ourselves on a sustainable growth path that sees us participating together with so many companies, not only in Italy, but also in Europe, thanks to joint meeting moments. 

This is all in line with the B Corp Declaration of Interdependence, which emphasizes the concept of network and reciprocity: 

“We are dependent on each other and therefore responsible to each other and to future generations”.

In order to tackle society’s most critical challenges together, we cannot move alone, but team up with others who, like us, are striving to create well-being for people and the planet and to pursue, also and especially through their products, solutions and services, common benefits for all, reducing the negative impact on the environment and society.

Community B Corp: what are the benefits for the stakeholders?

Collaborating with a B Corp means networking towards a socially and environmentally sustainable growth . This synergy is realized: 

• Collaborating transparently with clients and partners, including moments of active listening and verification of the goals achieved and the level of mutual satisfaction.
• Helping to jointly create a positive impact on the environment and society, such as by adopting solutions and services to: reduce waste, inefficiencies, CO2 emissions, and increase the quality of work of their employees. 
• By creating a positive work environment that fosters the growth of people in all dimensions, helping them fulfill their potential and generating quality employment opportunities in the area for the benefit of the entire community.