Ethical P2P investors urged to consider B Corp status
Investors looking to use their money in a sustainable and ethical way are being urged to choose B Corp-registered platforms to ensure the business behaves as appropriately as the investment opportunities.
B Corp status is a certification programme which demonstrates that a business has good environmental, social and governance fundamentals and promotes transparency.
Businesses must make a legal commitment by changing their corporate governance structure to be accountable to all stakeholders not just shareholders.
Of 5,000 businesses with B Corp status worldwide, 15 are from the peer-to-peer lending or crowdfunding sector, including Abundance Investment and Triodos Crowdfunding.
Bruce Davis, founder of Abundance, which achieved B Corp status in 2018, said the idea came from an employee.
“Although Abundance and the investment it offers is focused on green and ethical investment it was useful to go through the process of accreditation and think about how our own business could live up to the B Corp principles,” he said.
“We have an engaged and active body of more than 1,000 shareholders who support our business but the B Corp model provides a framework for thinking about how our business supports all our stakeholders.”
Ethical lender Triodos was the first pan- European bank to achieve B Corp status in 2015, and has since launched an investment crowdfunding platform.
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Whitni Thomas, head of corporate finance at Triodos Bank UK, said it was an obvious step for the brand.
“When you achieve B Corp certification, you become part of a movement for change, and join a global community of like-minded businesses,” she said.
“To be a B Corp means to drive for a shift to a new kind of economy that is better for workers, better for communities and better for the environment.
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“Meanwhile more people are asking questions of companies and looking for alternatives to how and where they spend and invest their money. They want to support companies that are sustainable, but it can be difficult to identify which ones those really are. Having accredited B Corp status helps.”