1. A “B Corporation” is Not a New Corporate Form
A “B Corporation” or “B Corp” is a certification mark – like a “Good Housekeeping” seal of approval or “LEED” certification. B Labs has done a very good job of creating a framework for companies to evaluate their business and operations on ESG factors and to then receive a score or ranking.
1. A “B Corporation” is Not a New Corporate Form A “B Corporation” or “B Corp” is a certification mark – like a “Good Housekeeping” seal of approval or “LEED” certification. B Labs has done a very good job of creating a framework for companies to evaluate their business and operations on ESG factors and to then receive a score or ranking. ...›
In 2013, Delaware passed legislation adopting a new corporate form, the public benefit corporation (PBC), with a view to allowing directors of for-profit corporations to take actions not just in pursuit of stockholder returns, but also with the “[intent] to produce a public benefit or benefits and to operate in a responsible and sustainable manner.” ...›
On August 26, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced, as part of its ongoing initiative to modernize Regulation S-K disclosure, amendments that add human capital resources as a separate disclosure topic, including any human capital measures or objectives that issuers focus on in managing their business. This development follows years of mounting pressure from ...›
California’s Assembly Bill (“AB”) 979 is set to make waves both within the state and across the country as a groundbreaking new law that would require companies to diversify their boards and reserve seats for directors from “underrepresented communities.” The bill defines a director from an “underrepresented community” as “an individual who self-identifies as Black, ...›
The year 2020 was already predicted to be a year of heightened focus on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) topics for public companies—and that was before the COVID-19 pandemic and widespread protests galvanized by the Black Lives Matter movement increased the call for corporate discussion and action on topics ranging from operational resilience and risk ...›
Considering environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors when making an investment is no longer solely the province of “impact-first” investors—those who prioritize social or environmental impact above return on capital—but has become, to one degree or another, the norm among private equity (PE) funds. As the calls from both investors and consumers for companies to ...›
When California became the first state to go into COVID-19-related lockdown in late March, Morrison & Foerster San Francisco-based corporate partner Susan (Suz) Mac Cormac was alarmed by what she knew would be a devastating impact on the state’s small businesses. Her concern was compounded by the fact that, while government relief programs were enacted, they might ...›
In August 2013, the Delaware legislature added a new subchapter to the Delaware General Corporation Law (DGCL), allowing corporations to be formed as, or convert to, a public benefit corporation (PBC).[1] A PBC is defined as a for-profit corporation “that is intended to produce a public benefit or public benefits and to operate in a ...›
In August 2019, a group of nearly 200 chief executives issued a statement, arguing that the role of corporations should be redefined from solely maximizing shareholder value to also “invest[ing] in their employees, protect[ing] the environment and deal[ing] fairly and ethically with their suppliers.” Making that shift is hard when boards of directors are subject to ...›
In this episode of Impactful Conversations, Michael Santos, a social-enterprise- and impact-investing associate in Morrison & Foerster’s San Francisco office, interviews Rodney Foxworth, the CEO of Common Future. Based in Oakland, California, Common Future tackles wealth inequality nation-wide by focusing on the needs of communities that have been the most negatively impacted by injustice, extraction, and exploitation. ...›
In this episode of Impactful Conversations as a part of MoFo Perspectives, Jesse Finfrock, a San Francisco-based associate in Morrison & Foerster’s Social Enterprise and Impact Investing Group, meets with Ken Doctor, the founder of Lookout Local, to discuss how he has incorporated Lookout Local’s mission into its corporate form in electing to become a ...›