Unilever, Honest Company and Plum Organics have each experienced explosive growth in the last 5 years. Read on to find out what’s behind their phenomenal success.
Social Mission
Despite the bad rap, corporations are not always solely focussed on profit. To date there are over 2,000 registered Benefit Corporations who have committed to using business as a force for good, and many more undergoing the certification process.
There are a myriad of reasons companies choose to become B Corps, and often they are personal. Honest co-founders Jessica Alba and Christopher Gavigan were motivated to develop safer, non-toxic products for their children. Plum Organics was founded by a mom looking for better baby food alternatives, and Patagonia was conceived by climber Yves Chouinard’s desire to protect the mountains he loved through sustainable climbing gear and a sister not-for-profit dedicated to preserving the environments where he climbed.
Each of these companies earned evangelical levels of loyalty from customers, disrupted major market leaders and quickly grew annual sales to well to well over $100 million.
Certification
The list of market disruptors registered as B Corps is impressive. From the beginning these companies formally embedded their mission in their culture, goals and strategies. They leveraged likeminded friends and family who became the lead adopters for their new products, and they were motivated by a deep passion to do better.
Though outside of the B Corp family officially, Unilever is the first multi-national to truly act like a Benefit Corporation. Lead by visionary CEO Paul Polman, Unilever launched its sustainable living plan in 2010. According to the website they are focussed on three pillars:
- Improving Health & Wellbeing
- Reducing Environmental Impact
- Enhancing livelihoods
The more jaded might dismiss this as a marketing tactic yet Unilever has made significant strides over the last seven years, and recently announced that by 2025 100% of their plastic packaging will be recyclable, compostable or reusable. Furthermore Paul Polman is the Chair of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and he is one of a notable group of B Team leaders. The B Team is a not-for-profit initiative formed by a global group of business leaders including Sir Richard Branson, Arianna Huffington and Marc Benioff to catalyze a better way of doing business, for the wellbeing of people and the planet.
Employee Engagement
Though Polman came under fire from investors for choosing long term growth over short term profit his strategy is paying off. Unilever brands that fall within the sustainable living portfolio grew 30% more than their conventional brands, and employees are literally lining up at the door to work for him. In 2014 Unilever was the #1 most InDemand employer on LinkedIn in the FMCG category and 3rd overall.
Whether you are a start-up or a well established player a fully integrated social mission has the potential to deliver double digit business results that last.
Brand for Benefit is committed to helping companies discover, certify and share their greater mission as a path to growth. Our goal is to shift business from margin to mission with better results. Our aspiration quite simply is to help businesses do good business better.
CEO Carolyn Ansley is an award winning marketer, entrepreneur and mother who believes using business for good is good business.
