B Lab, Centre for Impact Investing and Practices to accelerate growth of B Corp movement in Asia

B LAB Global and the Centre for Impact Investing and Practices (CIIP) will work together to establish the B Lab & CIIP Centre for Excellence for Asia, they said in a joint statement on Monday (Jun 19).

The centre aims to expedite the growth of the B Corporation movement – a global trend of enterprises using business as a force for good – across companies in Asia. It will provide businesses in the region with training and professional accreditation programmes using B Lab’s standards for B Corp certification.  

The certification signifies that a business is meeting high standards of verified performance, accountability, and transparency.

Eleanor Allen, lead executive at B Lab Global, highlighted that the Asian economy is a “significant contributor” to the global economy and that it is “shaping the next phase” of globalisation.

“We want to use this momentum to further catalyse the movement of business as a force for good,” she said.

In addition, the centre will be used to develop research and share insights on stakeholder-focused business models, as well as holding workshops and gathering input from companies to inform the new B Corp standards.

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The centre will also develop gradated, step-by-step programmes and collaborate with academic institutions to support enterprises on their impact journeys.

For instance, B Lab consultants could support companies to incorporate responsible business practices to achieve the certification.

It also plans to work with B Lab’s data analysts to guide research and share knowledge on stakeholder models of governance, and the benefits of stakeholder governance in building purpose-driven, profitable, responsible and resilient businesses.