What do Ben and Jerry’s, Patagonia, and Warby Parker all have in common? They are all certified B Corps. Jay Coen Gilbert, co-founder of B Lab, the nonprofit organization that provides the B Corps certification, has just been announced as a 2016 Net Impact Conference keynote speaker. Inspired by the idea that companies shouldn’t just compete to be the best in the world, but to be the best for the world too, B Lab was born. Gilbert is an essential part of the non-profit that is redefining what success means for business. As you get ready for NI16 take some time to learn about this exciting movement and keynote speaker Gilbert.
What is B Lab?
B Lab is a non-profit organization that works to drive systemic change by aligning the interest of business with those of society, through community building, innovative corporate structures, and helping businesses measure and manage their impacts. The non-profit certifies businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability, and aspire to use the power of markets to solve social and environmental problems.
Companies with the B Corp title are differentiating themselves from competitor and attracting investors, consumers, and press. B Lab has grown a global community of over 1800 businesses acting as a force for good.
Gilbert grew up in New York City before heading west to Stanford University. Prior to B Lab and “despite having no game,” Gilbert co-founded and sold AND 1, a $250M basketball footwear and apparel company based outside Philadelphia. Gilbert led AND 1’s product and marketing and was AND 1’s CEO during its period of most rapid growth. After all that hard work, Gilbert enjoyed a sabbatical Down Under and in Monteverde, Costa Rica with his wife and their two children, before coming back to Pennsylvania and starting B Lab with fellow Stanford Alums Bart Houlahan and Andrew Kassoy.
2016 Net Impact Conference
The 2016 Net Impact Conference in Philadelphia this November 3-5, will provide you with the opportunity to learn how businesses are solving the world’s biggest social and environmental challenges. With Jay Coen Gilbert as a keynote speaker, you can hear from the man who helped start the B Corp movement which is continuing to grow as more and more businesses are seeing that through the power of their collective voice, society can enjoy a more shared and durable prosperity for all.
