Does Selling a Green Company Mean Selling Out?

What happens when a socially responsible company sells to a large corporate conglomerate? How do loyal customers tell whether they have really sold out?

Well, a new certification scheme helps protect green company values by including social and environmental commitments in their articles of incorporation, according to the WorldWatch Institute.

B Lab, a nonprofit organization has developed a rating system of "Beneficial" or "B" Corporations that meet high standards of corporate social responsibility. To qualify, companies must amend their corporate governing documents to account for the interests of shareholders, employees, and the community as well as demonstrate their policies on the environment, philanthropy, diversity, and transparency.

Although this certification process comes at a price -- participating companies must pay .1% of their revenue as a licensing fee -- it also would appear to pay rewards ranging from assuaging loyal customers to employee retention and recruitment.