Anthropologists use the phrase “Make the familiar strange, and the strange familiar” to challenge assumptions and reframe what we take for granted. B Corp month is not just a time for celebration; it is a time for critical reflection: What has “being a B Corp” truly taught us? And why does this movement matter in a world where “corporate responsibility” is often reduced to marketing buzzwords?
Three years into our certification, the most surprising lesson has been this: The B Corp framework doesn’t just audit impact—it rewires how businesses think.
1. The BIA Is a Mirror, Not Just a Test
Yes, the B Impact Assessment (BIA) is gruelling. It demands time, transparency, and uncomfortable truths. But that rigor is its superpower. In an era of hollow ESG claims and greenwashing, the BIA forces businesses to question and prove their impact—not just promise it.
Take our team: For five years, we’ve covered Santander Cycle annual subscriptions for employees. Taxis or tube rides were still permitted but require carbon offsets. And something unexpected happened. No one has taken a taxi in five years. Underground trips dropped. The BIA didn’t just track this—it revealed how small nudges (like free bikes and recording carbon generating journeys) can reshape behaviour when accountability is baked in.
By dissecting operations into five impact areas (governance, workers, community, environment, customers), the BIA exposes gaps and hidden wins. It asks: Why accept "normal" when better is possible?
2. The Legal Change: A Quiet Revolution
Becoming a B Corp requires amending corporate governance to legally prioritize stakeholders over shareholders. This isn’t symbolism. It’s a structural challenge to the myth that profit and purpose are at odds. When a business embeds this commitment into its DNA, it transforms from within.
Finance often reduces humans to profit-maximizing algorithms. But 15 years of ethnographic research in emerging markets taught us: Values—not just wages—drive decisions. These values are the guiding principles of people’s lives.
The same applies to businesses. Profit matters, but without shared purpose, it’s unsustainable.
With articulation of values in a business, a silent revolution starts. Employees start asking different questions and leaders weight decisions differently.
3. "Interdependence" in Action
B Corps don’t just sign a declaration of interdependence—they live by it:
Internally, silos collapse. Impact isn’t just HR’s or sustainability’s job—it’s everyone’s.
Externally, B Corps prove that competition and collaboration can coexist provided there is congruence of values (e.g., sharing best practices, advocating for collective policy change).
Culturally, it normalises the idea that success shouldn’t come at the expense of people or the planet.
The Ultimate Test: Can B Corps Make the Radical, Normal?
The B Corp movement’s true test isn’t just growing its membership—it’s making its standards so obvious that non-certified companies seem archaic. When measuring worker well-being or tying CEO pay to emissions seems as obvious as profit margins, B Corps will have succeeded.
Why wouldn’t every business do this? That’s the power of making the strange familiar. Today’s "radical" must become tomorrow’s baseline.
Trinetra Investment Management disclaimer: This material has been prepared by Trinetra Investment Management LLP (“Trinetra”) for information purposes only and it is not intended to be relied upon as a forecast or research. While the information herein is considered to be correct, no representation or warranty can be given on the ultimate accuracy or completeness of such information.
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