Jul182017
Posted by:The Caspian Blog Team
Caspian is now a Certified B Corporation!
We are thrilled to announce that on June 20, 2017 Caspian became a Certified B Corporation. Caspian is among the very first Indian companies to become a B Corp. We are the first Indian impact investing firm to be granted this certification. In order to qualify, we underwent a comprehensive assessment over the last two months with B Lab. Here is Caspian’s profile on the B Corp website.
B Lab is a non-profit organization dedicated to using the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. Today, there is a growing community of more than 2,100 Certified B Corps from 50 countries and over 130 industries working together towards 1 unifying goal: to redefine success in business.
How did we perform on the assessment?
B Corp certification is to business, what Fair Trade certification is to coffee, or what USDA Organic certification is to milk. B Lab sets extremely rigorous standards of performance, covering the following areas: governance, workers, community, environment and impact business models. B Corp’s measurement practices are dynamic (they are updated every two years) and tailored to size, industry and location.
The minimum score to qualify is 80 out of 200. Our score was 109.7. The median score for “Best for the World” B Corps is 131. The B Lab assessment has given us useful pointers on how to further improve our practices.
Caspian’s legal commitments as a B Corp
As per traditional corporate law, a company’s primary goal should be to maximize shareholder value. But Certified B Corps are required, wherever possible, to adopt such corporate forms that enable them to legally protect the interests of all stakeholders, including employees and the wider community. In thirty US states for example, companies may incorporate themselves as “benefit corporations” in order to satisfy B Corp certification requirements. India does not have such a legal framework in place yet, but when we signed B Corp’s Declaration of Interdependence, we committed to adopting such a framework whenever it is introduced.
The core values embodied by B Corps are in perfect alignment with our own values here at Caspian. We are happy to formally bind ourselves to these values, and to further lock in our vision and mission.
Watch this video to learn more about B Corps: B Corp Anthem
