The goal of for-profit companies is, naturally enough, to make profits.
Legislation has been introduced in Vermont that would allow companies to exist for other reasons — providing a social good for the community while returning gains to investors. Such companies would register as a “beneficial corporation.”
“This bill proposes to allow new and existing for-profit corporations to elect status as a for-benefit corporation with the purpose, among other things, of creating public benefit,” the proposed legislation says. The measure is called the Vermont Benefit Corporation Act. The bill views a public benefit as “a material positive impact on society and the environment, as measured by a third-party standard, through activities that promote some combination of specific public benefits.”
Other States that are discussing such legislation–much of it inspired by B Corporation thinking (WorkSavvy LLC is a founder BCorp) include California, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Colorado and Oregon.