Best for the World 2016 Introduction
The 2016 Honorees
515 Companies Ranked by an Independent Assessment for Their Impact on People, Communities and the Planet.
It is commonplace for business leaders to discuss how they minimize the harm their businesses do to communities and the environment. These days, everyone seems to be talking about “sustainability.”
But a small group of pioneering businesspeople are setting a higher bar. Instead of minimizing harm, they seek to maximize the positive impact of their businesses. Instead of limiting negative externalities, they actively and purposefully seek a regenerative economy by operating their businesses in more thoughtful and rigorous ways.
Many of them are, in our opinion, the best businesses in the world. More certainly, they have subjected themselves to a strict assessment that indicates that they are the best for the world.
These companies redefining business success are the enterprises we celebrate in our Best for the World coverage. The 1,800-plus businesses around the world that have undergone the B Impact Assessment and certified as B Corporations — as verified by the independent nonprofit B Lab* — are all leaders demonstrating the many ways businesses can be a force for good in the world. The B Impact Assessment gives companies a score based on how they perform on metrics for impact on their communities, the environment, workers and customers.
Here we highlight the businesses that B Lab has determined have scored in the top 10 percent of all Certified B Corporations on the assessment. Companies that have scored in the top percentiles across a majority of the assessment’s categories, based on company size, are honored as Best for the World Overall, and companies that have scored in the top percentiles in a given category, again based on company size, are honored as Best for the Environment, Best for Community, Best for Workers and Best for Customers. The full criteria for the Best for the World Lists are available here, and any company can create an account to take the free B Impact Assessment.
We’ve been inspired by the variety, vision and accomplishments of all the companies that have qualified as Best for the World honorees. The stories, lists and data on this website showcase businesses that stood out. We hope these examples and insights will inspire thousands more companies to engage in this collegial competition to do more good for the world.
