Behind the scenes with B Market Builder Japan and Japan’s B Corp movement

B Corporation™ (B Corp) was started in the U.S. in 2006 by people with the belief, “Make business for a force for good.” B Corp has become a global community with more than 8,000 companies certified as B Corp in over 95 countries.

Since the first company in Japan received the country’s first B Corp certification in 2016, the number of certified companies has been growing gradually. As of July 2024, there are 40 Japanese companies that are certified B Corp. However, there was no organization overseeing the B Corp movement in Japan. Companies seeking certification had to communicate directly with US-based B Lab Global, which created a high language barrier. In addition, companies that had acquired B Corp certification needed to raise awareness of B Corp in Japan by themselves.

In March 2024, B Market Builder Japan (BMBJ), an organization to promote the B Corp movement in Japan, was finally launched in formal partnership with B Lab Global.

What change can we expect with the launch of BMBJ? We interviewed Yuki Mizobuchi and Nozomi Torii, co-chairs of BMBJ.

How did the founders first came to know B Corp?

Torii: “I was in a foreign securities company until 2013, and I really enjoyed working in finance. But as I saw the colleagues’ great passion for money and business, I wondered if we could use our full force to improve society.”

After resigning from the company, she learned about B Corp while researching the right way to use the power of money and business. She dreamed of starting a “B Lab Japan,” but gave it up because there was no B Corp-certified company in Japan at the time. And, she decided to join Value Books, a used book buyer and seller in her hometown of Nagano, because she was a childhood friend of the company’s founder.

Torii: “Value Books’ business is to promote the circulation of books. In this context, the company’s book donation program and collaboration with the local community has an essence of B Corp to begin with. Patagonia and Better World Books, which the founder Nakamura respects, were B Corp certified, and we began to warm up to the possibility of receiving B Corp certification for Value Books.”

Mizobuchi, on the other hand, liked U.S.’s culture originally, as she came to discover B Corp naturally.

Mizobuchi: “Around 2016 or 2017, I started seeing B Corp certification in American brands. I liked the concept of taking care of not only the environment, but also all the themes including the community and employees.”

In 2019, she resigned from the trading company and went on a month-long trip to North and South America. While there, she found the B Corp mark not only on global companies like Patagonia but also on small local stores and brands. Mizobuchi began considering certifying B Corp for her own business.

Upon returning to Japan, Mizobuchi launched her own 100% plant-based cookie brand, ovgo Baker. She continued to open stores at “marches” and other events while working at other jobs, and in March 2021, she established ovgo, Inc.

Mizobuchi: “While starting to hire full-time employees, we wanted to make this a company that everyone would want to work for. So we began the process of B Corp certification.”

The process of translating the B Corp manual became the foundation of the movement

For both Torii and Mizobuchi, the first step was awareness of obtaining B Corp certification for each of their companies. How did they go from there to leading the B Corp movement in Japan?

Torii: “When we actually started the B Corp certification process at Value Books, we realized how high the language hurdle was. At the time, there was much less B Corp-related information written in Japanese than there is now.”

“The book ‘The B Corp Handbook,’ which contained detailed information on the B Corp concept and process, was published in English, but there was no action to publish a Japanese translation. So we decided to publish the Japanese version of ‘The B Corp Handbook‘ as the first publication by Value Books.”

The process of translating the “B Corp Handbook” became the foundation for the Japanese B Corp movement and BMBJ. This is because, rather than commissioning translators and specialists to do the translation work, Torii invited people who wanted to join the translation team (run jointly by blkswn publishers Inc. and Value Books). The translation process was carried out in a seminar-style format.

Torii: “The translation of the B Corp Handbook was not just a matter of translating English into Japanese, but of translating the B Corp concept into the context of Japanese society, culture, and the field. The process itself was a great learning experience. That’s why we decided to do it in an open, seminar-style format.”

About 30 members divided the translation work among themselves, while holding monthly online seminars to discuss the project. Finally, in June 2022, the Japanese version of the “B Corp Handbook” was published. At that time, the ‘School of B Corp’ group on Discord, used in the translation seminar, was switched to public access. They wanted to make the group a place where people interested in B Corp and people working for B Corp certified companies can gather and talk.

Around this time, Mizobuchi joined Torii’s movement.

Mizobuchi: “ovgo submitted our B Impact Assessment (BIA) in fall of 2021, but we didn’t hear from B Lab for about a year. Then one day, out of the blue, we received notification that the assessment was about to start. I was worried because I didn’t know what steps the assessment required. Later, I found out about the “School of B Corp” group on Discord and joined immediately. There, I also met Torii, who taught me about the certification process. In December 2022, ovgo became a B Corp. In the process, I strongly felt the need for more support and up-to-date information in Japan.”

In March 2023, “Meet the B,” a participatory fair where B Corp certified companies gathered for the first time in Japan, was held in Shibuya, Tokyo. 17 Japanese B Corps and eight global brand companies with B Corp certification participated, and the venue was filled with great enthusiasm. Torii, as one of the founders of the event, and Mizobuchi, as a speaker at the talk session, worked together with other participants to kickoff this event, which served as a catalyst for the B Corp movement in Japan to gain further momentum. By July 2023, the number of Japanese B Corps exceeded 30.

Creating a management team that embodies the philosophy of B Corp

Finally, in September 2023, B Lab Global began accepting applications from the public for a team to take on the role of “B Market Builder Japan (BMBJ),” a preparatory body for the establishment of a Japanese partner, B Lab Japan. Around that time, Torii was thinking about how the B Corp movement in Japan should be.

Torii: “I thought the team that took the B Corp movement forward needed to embody the B Corp mindset. Japan has a serious gender gap, so I thought it would be good if the representative would be a woman, especially a young woman who is in a vulnerable position. Then, in order to collaborate with as many people as possible, I wanted to form a team of people with diverse backgrounds, knowledge, and experiences.”

Mizobuchi initially intended to be involved in the management team as a behind-the-scenes person doing administrative work, and did not expect to be in a position to lead the organization.

Mizobuchi: “Until then, I was more on the receiving end of the information and benefits that Torii and everyone else gave me, rather than doing something for the B Corp community. Nevertheless, the expansion of B Corp in Japan was important to me, both as a company and as an individual. So, I decided to help in any way I could and raised my hand to take on outstanding administrative work.”

It was Torii who encouraged Mizobuchi to become a co-chairman.

Torii: “Mizobuchi and I had been discussing various issues for some time, and I felt kinship in our awareness of the problems. So, I asked her to be the co-chairman instead, when she offered to cover administrative work.”

Mizobuchi: “Torii considered fairness as the most important element of B Corp. She believed we can manifest the concept ‘Benefit for ALL,’ which means that the positive impact would benefit as many as possible, by taking into consideration all stakeholders. I also thought that it was not right to be biased toward a few topics, and that fairness should be the basis for everything. We shared basic values, inspiring me to offer my best when I was offered the position of co-chair.”

After a screening process, the team led by Mizobuchi and Torii was officially selected as the partner to take charge of BMBJ in February 2024, with the aim of establishing B Lab Japan two years later in collaboration with B Lab Global.

Diverse management members bringing expertise to BMBJ team

BMBJ’s management members are gender- and age-balanced, and have diverse backgrounds and experiences. The members have been involved with B Corp in various capacities and have come together naturally through the publication of the “B Corp Handbook” and the “Meet the B” event in 2023.

Nozomi Oka is a B Corp certification consultant who has helped numerous companies acquire B Corp certification while building a network of friends. Kenji Shino is a member of Patagonia, which was one of the first companies to acquire B Corp in 2011, and has deepened exchanges with Asia’s B Corp community since attending the first B Corp Asia Annual Conference held in Taipei in 2016. Dave Mateo was responsible for B Corp acquisition and recertification at Danone Japan and is now manager of LIXIL’s Impact Management Division.

Shinya Noda and Miho Miyashita established the B Corp information media “B Media” in 2023 and held “B Corp Certified Goods Marché” at LUCUA Osaka in November of the same year, featuring products from B Corp certified companies. Shinya Yashiro, who used to work for Cork, Inc. and the editorial department of the Japanese edition of “WIRED,” is a freelance editor who has been involved in the translation and editing of the “B Corp Handbook” and is also a director of YASHIRONI, a kimono wholesaler established in 1720.

Each of them plays a role in BMBJ, drawing on their past experience and areas of expertise.

The fact that the BMBJ management team has organically come together through the translation of the “B Corp Handbook” and other activities, and that the team has been organized to embody the B Corp philosophy in an autonomous and decentralized manner for some time, has attracted the attention of B Lab Global and other B Labs in other countries.

Even so, they do not consider their current team to be perfect in terms of DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion). For example, the current team does not have a member with disabilities, which may lead to decision making that does not take into account the position of people with disabilities. In two years, when B Lab Japan is launched, the number of people on the management team will need to increase, so they will use these two years to create transparent governance rules to realize an “inclusive, fair, and regenerative society,” such as how to select members and what kind of people to put in which positions.

BMBJ launch allows Japanese voices to be heard globally

BMBJ’s daily work now includes collaboration with B Lab Global and B Labs in other countries, formation of B Corp community in Japan, information dissemination, and support for the B Corp certification process. While each management team member has their own job, they basically communicate online, holding a weekly online meeting and a once every other month offline meeting.

They are now able to represent Japan at various B Lab-sponsored events held around the world. Torii participated in an event hosted by B Lab U.S. & Canada in Vancouver in March soon after BMBJ was launched, and almost all members of the BMBJ management team participated in an event held in Taiwan for B Corp, B Lab, and global partners in Asia and Oceania in May.

Torii feels that being closely connected to the global B Corp community has been a major benefit of the BMBJ launch.

Torii: “B Lab global has various networks and meetings where various decisions are made and important information is shared. Until BMBJ launch, Japan has not been able to participate in them. So it’s great that we can now reflect Japanese opinions on a global scale, and we try to raise our hands when recruiting members for short- to mid-term projects. Even if B Lab Global wants to incorporate diverse opinions, Japanese opinions won’t be reflected unless we raise our hands.”

In addition, BMBJ has already taken on some of the responsibility for auditing B Corp’s certification process. While B Lab Global’s assessors are in charge of the online interview, BMBJ is responsible for checking the assessment responses and submitted documents.

In the past, after submitting a BIA, it was necessary to communicate in English with the auditor, who might say, “This option might be the correct answer to this question,” or “There is a missing piece of evidence, so please submit it.” Now we can communicate with the BMBJ in Japanese. The auditor will also be familiar with the situation of Japanese companies and can proceed with the confirmation smoothly. Above all, for companies seeking B Corp certification, the hurdle has been lowered considerably.

B Corp is a worldwide movement, not just a certification system

“Our own understanding of B Corp has changed since we started working as BMBJ,” Mizobuchi said.

Mizobuchi: “Looking back, I used to see B Corp from the perspective of a company. Now that we are working with B Lab Global and leading the Japanese B Corp community from the same perspective, we understand that B Corp is a community for system change toward a new economy, and certification is only one part of it.”

In the direction of improving society through business, various other movements have emerged in addition to B Corp, such as impact startups and zebra companies in Japan. Although their approaches are different, the worlds they each envision are quite close. Therefore, they are thinking of collaborating on areas where they can work together without dabbling with their own axes.

B Corp’s standards are also important when considering collaboration with other movements.

Mizobuchi: “The uniqueness of the B Corp movement is that we are working with the same standards globally. The existence of clearly stated standards allows companies from diverse countries, industries, and business sizes to come together as members of the same community, and to collaborate with other movements without wavering on their axis.”

Aiming to benefit for all stakeholders equitably

BMBJ’s goal, in collaboration with the B Corp community at home and abroad, as well as with other movements, is to create an “inclusive, equitable, and regenerative society. The goal is to ensure that all stakeholders, including employees and local communities, benefit in an equitable manner. In other words, it is a movement that will greatly benefit the general public.

Mizobuchi: “I would really like more people to know what B Corp cares about. Maybe they will subsequently be inspired to adopt some concept of B Corp to their life or work, and begin to give support to companies which have B Corp certification.”

Torii: “If you take a look at one of the B Corp standards and try to incorporate what you can, you are already part of the B Corp movement. I want to make it a movement that as many people as possible can get involved in. Even if your company is not aiming for B Corp certification, it doesn’t mean you can’t do anything about it.”

Editor’s note

There have always been many companies in Japan that embody the B Corp concept of running a business with respect for the local community and employees. Until now, it has been a hurdle for such companies to become B Corp due to language barriers and social and cultural differences.

However, now that the BMBJ has been launched, it is possible to convey the B Corp concept to Japanese companies in line with Japanese society and culture. It is also possible to encourage global companies to conduct screening more in the context of Japanese society and culture. It will be very meaningful for the world to see the practices and ideas of Japanese companies that have made steady efforts reflected in the B Corp’s thinking.

At the end of the interview, Torii shared, “What we are working on is not finding the right answer, but creating the answer together.” There is no answer yet as to how we can create an “inclusive, fair, and regenerative society. I hope that more people from Japan will join the journey to reach the answer, and participate in the growth of the B Corp movement in Japan and around the world together with BMBJ.

*The article opening and speaker profile photos are provided by B Market Builder Japan / Photographer: Kaori Nishida
[Website] B Market Builder Japan
Originally published on IDEAS FOR GOOD.