Editor’s note: The Triangle startup community is leading a movement for better business practices. The hot term is “B Corporations.” How the movement started locally, who is fueling it and how the Triangle won a national retreat in 2016 is the subject of Amy Huffman’s report for ExitEvent.

RALEIGH, N.C. – The paper towels at HQ Raleigh are made from recycled material. Members stir their fair-trade coffee with uncooked spaghetti noodles. The toilets use as little water as possible. And the amenities for members include bike parking, showers and free locally-made beer.

It’s all part of a two-year quest to earn certification from a growing national movement called B Corps and recognition for valuing profit equally with how the startup campus treats people and the planet. And unlike the top-down approach societies and governments typically use to force positive business practices, the B Corp movement is led by the businesses themselves.

That’s why HQ Raleigh is partnering with the non-profit agency that certifies businesses as B Corps to train more local companies how to implement the practices, and why it’s helping to bring a national gathering of B Corp members to the Triangle next year to celebrate the movement.

The message is resonating and North Carolina is positioning itself to become a leader of the burgeoning movement. Besides the startup hub, Seventh Generation’s Raleigh-based CEO, the insect repellent maker Murphy Naturals, a restaurant known for its beers and burgers, and nearly 30 other seemingly unaligned businesses have coalesced into an active community of B Corp companies. And more than 300 people interested in the movement gathered over the summer to advocate for and eventually win a bid to host B Lab’s annual conference retreat, the “Champion’s Retreat,” coming to the Triangle next October.

The self-proclaimed “movement” is centered on the premise that businesses can benefit society as much as they can benefit from the profits they earn. And nationally, notorious businesses like Kickstarter, Etsy, Ben and Jerry’s and Patagonia are leading the charge.

For the full report, read:

http://exitevent.com/article/North-Carolina-B-Corps-Movement-151210