Become a digitalPlus subscriber. $13 for 13 weeks.


Underwriters Laboratories Inc.
More states encourage socially conscious companies

In the past four years, 24 states and the District of Columbia have changed their incorporation laws to help companies that aim to deliver social and environmental benefits, not just profits. The move to allow businesses to register and operate as "benefit corporations" reflects the ethos of a rising generation of entrepreneurs and investors who are rebelling against the "profit-is-king" framework of corporate America. The states that have taken action, starting with Maryland in 2010, have protected benefit corporations from laws that require corporations to maximize profits, letting them pursue social, environmental and economic goals without fear of shareholders suing...