Legislative Changes Needed

We citizens can do many things for ourselves to change the economic paradigm, but some can only be done by our elected representatives at the state and federal levels.

We are working to introduce new -- and modify existing -- statutes to establish an environment that nurtures and supports our other efforts in creating a more socially and environmentally responsible business community. The key effort at the state level concerns state laws governing the creation of corporations and similar business entities, and in particular, the rules under which they must operate.

Corporations are created at the state level and given legal rights that make them nearly equivalent to human beings. In some ways they have more rights than humans, enjoying the benefits but few of the disadvantages. The key element that works against any movement toward triple bottom line management is that managers and directors are compelled to place profit and their shareholders above all else. By changing these regulations to encompass additional goals and stakeholders, we can change corporate behavior.

We have identified certain state statutes and federal tax and securities laws that currently work against our goal of helping businesses large and small grow in socially responsible ways, and are working to secure modifications to these regulations.