SB’18 Vancouver

Good Governance Best Practice: Escaping the Trap of Short-Termism through Stakeholder-based Governance Models

Business is becoming a driving force for good in the world, this is the rallying cry of a new generation of companies that are embedding mission and good governance into their legal “DNA.” The public benefit corporation form, now available in 37 U.S. states and several countries, is reshaping the global business landscape. The B Corp Certification, once the realm of small mission-driven businesses, is being pursued by the likes of Campbell’s and Unilever, including by acquiring Certified B Corps. Over the past two years, history has been made numerous times, first as the multi-billion dollar education giant, Laureate Education, became a Certified B Corp and the first public benefit corporation to IPO. Danone incorporated DanoneWave as the largest public benefit corporation in the US and made a public commitment for the global entity to become a Certified B Corp by 2020. This past month, Danone North America became the largest Certified B Corporation in the world at over $6 Billion in revenue. These companies and many others are setting a new bar for corporate responsibility at scale while impact leaders like Left Coast Naturals continue to push the boundaries of good business practice. In this session, you’ll meet some of the leading figures transforming the future of good corporate governance. You will learn some of the best principles and practices to embed purpose and fiduciary duty into business. You will learn how to become a part of this cascade of positive change.