Benefit Company FAQ
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The Oregon benefit company is a corporate status for companies that aim to make a positive impact on society and the environment in addition to earning a profit. Some 30 states and the District of Columbia have enacted similar legislation for business corporations only. Oregon's law includes corporations and limited liability companies.
The list is updated monthly. Your business won't show up on the list immediately after being filed. If it's more than a month since your filing date, please contact us.
No. Benefit company status only affects requirements of corporate purpose, accountability and transparency. Everything else remains the same.
Benefit companies organized in other states as a benefit corporation, benefit limited liability company, social purpose corporation (Washington) or flexible purpose corporation (California) can apply for foreign authority to transact business in Oregon as either a foreign business corporation or a foreign limited liability company.
The business:
- May designate at least one “benefit governor” on its board.
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Must choose a third-party standard to follow.
- Must publish an annual report on its website that shows how the business met the standards that year.
- Should assess the extent the benefit company provided a general public benefit against the third-party standard.
The benefit company should:
- Use a qualified third-party standard as the basis for its annual benefit report.
See a list of standards.
- Use the results of that assessment to create a benefit report. The benefit report does not need to be audited or certified by the third-party standard.
- Include in a narrative description:
- Extent to which the benefit company provided a general public benefit and the actions and methods used.
- Extent to which the benefit company provided a specific public benefit identified in the company’s articles of incorporation or organization, and the actions or methods used.
- Any circumstances that have hindered the pursuit of creating general public benefit or specific benefit.
- Ways in which the company pursued a public benefit that amounted to a general public benefit.
- Ways in which the company pursued a specific benefit.
- Assess the extent to which the benefit company met or exceeded the third-party standard used and identified in the benefit report.
- Describe the process and rationale for selecting or changing third-party standard.
- Share the finished annual benefit report with each shareholder or owner (must be done within 120 days after end of the fiscal year, or at the same time the benefit corporation delivers any other annual report to its shareholders).
- Make the benefit report public on the company website or have copies available to send free of charge to people who request it. Director compensation can be removed from publicly available documents.
No, but "benefit corporation" and "benefit company" are not entity identifiers. Contact us if you have questions about your proposed name.
B-Corp to Benefit Company Comparison Chart
Benefit Company
| 37 states and Washington, D.C.
| Community benefit
| Articles of Incorporation or Governance includes statement it is a benefit company
| Not required
| Self-report
| Annual benefit report
|
B-Corp
| Open to every company regardless of state
| Community benefit
| Open to any corporate structure
| Required; recertification every 3 years
| Use 3rd party standard such as B Lab or Corporations for Good
| Legally accountable to stakeholders, not just shareholders
|
A company may be both a Benefit Company and a certified B-Corp. Both structures allow companies to make community benefit and accountability a key aspect of their operation.