环球英语 — 601：Changing the World by Making Money
Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight. I'm Adam Navis.
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And I'm Liz Waid. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
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Can a company make money and make the world a better place? Today's Spotlight is on B Corporations. B Corporations are companies that are trying to use the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. A B Corporation promises to care for workers and the environment, as well as make money.
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One example of a B Corporation is a company called Ice Stone. Ice Stone makes hard surfaces for kitchens and bathrooms. These surfaces look like stone, but are made from old glass bottles. The workers break down the bottles and use them again. The colour of the bottles creates the colour of the surface. Miranda Magagnini, the C.E.O. of Ice Stone, explains on the B Corporation website:
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"Most products are made, used, and then thrown out. They become waste. That is mostly what people use in this world. At Ice Stone, we use a different way of thinking. We think about the whole life of the product: how it is made, its effect on the environment, and the end of the product. We ask ourselves: can it be recycled and reused in some way?"
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But Ice Stone is not only concerned with making money and the environment. It also wants to create a good place to work. The company is based in New York, but Magagnini says:
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"Over half of our workers are from Tibet. We have workers from around 15 other countries as well. Everything we do at our company is translated into Tibetan, English and Spanish. We try to create a culture that includes all people."
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Ice Stone tries to honour good workers. If a worker performs well, he or she is named the worker of the month. Ice Stone is trying to be a place where people enjoy working. Again, here is Magagnini:
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"People want products that they love. But being a good business means not sacrificing on design or environmental or social standards."
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It is not easy to become a B Corporation. The B Corporation mark is given by a not-for-profit company called B Labs. To become a B Corporation, a company must answer a series of questions. To make sure these answers are true, B Labs confirms the answers.
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But it is not enough just to say you do something. B Corporations must have documents to support twenty percent of their answers. Also, B Labs inspects ten percent of B Corporations every year. This makes sure businesses do not change their methods once they receive a good mark.
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Finally, to become a B Corporation, there must be a change to the documents that govern a company. The goals of a company need to include thinking about the environment and the needs of the workers.
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So what does it mean to be a B Corporation? The B Corporation explains it on their website:
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"We must be the change we seek in the world. All businesses should be managed as if people and place are important. Through their products, work, and money, businesses should work to do no harm and to help everyone. To do this requires that we understand that we depend on one another. We are responsible for each other and future generations. We see B Corporations as a new part of the economy which uses the power of businesses to create public good."
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It does not matter what kind of product a company makes. All kinds of companies are becoming B Corporations. For example, King Arthur Flour is the oldest flour company in the United States. Their flour is used to make all kinds of bread. When they wanted to expand their factory they had to consider many things. How much would it cost? How much money would it make? But they also had to consider something different: what about the trees that would be cut down?
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King Arthur Flour did considered these things before they became a B Corporation. One worker explained this to G. Jeffery MacDonald. He is a writer for the Christian Science Monitor,
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"We are protecting our promise to many different people and groups. No matter who is leading or who is here in the future, that promise will be part of our company culture and what we believe is important."
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The effects of B Corporations are felt around the world. Guayaki Sustainable Rainforest Products is another B Corporation. They sell a drink called yerba mate. It is a kind of tea. The company website explains:
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"Gauyaki uses a business plan called Market Driven Restoration. Gauyaki connects people who buy yerba mate products in North America with local communities in Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil. These communities are working on projects to build up the rainforest. A person who drinks Gauyaki Yerba Mate helps protect the rainforest."
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Work is a good thing. Work is a gift from God. And businesses should not only look at making money. The Christian Bible asks, "What good does it do to gain the whole world, but lose your self?" [Mark 8:36] In another place it says,
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"Command people who are rich in this world not to be proud. Tell them not to put their hope in riches. Wealth is so uncertain. Command those who are rich to put their hope in God. He richly provides us with everything to enjoy. Command the rich to do what is good. Tell them to be rich in doing good things. They must give freely. They must be willing to share. In that way they will put riches away for themselves. It will provide a firm base for the next life. Then they will take hold of the life that really is life." [1 Timothy 6:17-19]
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In this world, a business can be a force for good or evil. When a business becomes a B Corporation, they promise to use the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. They are trying to be the change they want to see.
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