Riding the wave to a new type of model

There was an interesting article in the Financial Times yesterday about the corporate structure of Patagonia, makers of outdoor gear. Patagonia recently converted to a “B” corp, a For-Benefit corporation, in the US and has made consequential changes to its structure. Patagonia “want to catch the wave of change in capitalism and ride it until long-held preconceptions about business are permanently altered.”

The article gives examples of a number of other organisations in the US that have chosen the “B” corp structure, for a variety of reasons.

We think there is a lot to learn from this encouraging precedent in the US, even if it is not necessarily directly transferable to the UK or elsewhere, because of legal and cultural differences.