There’s a good chance you’ve never heard of the Triple Bottom Line. Don’t worry…until I was hired by a TBL company, I hadn’t either. Anyone who supports the Occupy movement, though, should take note. We talk a lot about the corporate greed that’s at the root of our current protests — but we don’t hear too much about companies that are doing business the right way.

The Triple Bottom Line is a business model that measures success through three criteria: People, Planet and Profit. These companies believe they can do more good as for-profit ventures than they can within the restraints of being a non-profit. They go out of their way to treat employees fairly and help the local community. They make the extra effort to minimize (or even positively affect) their impact on climate change. They want to make money, but profit motive doesn’t give them tunnel-vision. In short, they do business in a manner they can be proud of.

Until recently, TBL companies were a little hard to find. There are a lot of businesses that give social issues lip service, and the amount of greenwashing in corporate America is frankly ridiculous. A few years ago, however, B Corporations showed up (in this case, “B” stands for “benefit”). They’re spearheaded by the non-profit B Lab, a group that puts companies through a rigorous assessment, examining community and environmental impacts along with a slew of other business practices. Interested businesses have to hit a score threshold to be a B Corp — it’s a way to ensure companies that talk the talk can actually walk the walk. Not all B Corps consider themselves to be TBL companies, necessarily, but there are certainly a lot of similarities.

There are already more than 475 B Corps and counting nationwide, and they span dozens of industries. These companies literally change their corporate language to include Triple Bottom Line objectives…and the hope is that those goals become legally binding. B Corp legislation has already been passed in seven states, and B Corp bills are being introduced in a handful of others, too, including North Carolina. Once they become law, companies are legally required to stick to their B Corp goals, even if the business is bought out by outside interests.

B Lab has already said “we get it” when it comes to Occupy Wall Street. They actually wrote an op-ed in Forbes back in October, when the movement was still young, saying: “Business is the most powerful force on the planet and can be a positive instrument for change. However, current corporate law makes it difficult for businesses to take employee, community, and environmental interests into consideration when making decisions. To address this, B Corporations have a different legal DNA that requires them to make decisions that are good for society, not just for their shareholders.”

To borrow a B Corp mantra: that’s the change we seek!

There are all sorts of ways to make those little changes. After more than 15 years as a Bank of America customer, I’ve recently switched to GreenChoice, a B Corp out of Chicago that does distance banking. It just takes a few minutes to dig around the B Corp listings to find dozens of other companies you might want to do business with.

Occupy Raleigh is fighting interests that only listen to dollar signs, and here is a chance to speak in the one language those corporations want to hear: with our wallets. When you’re doing your holiday gift shopping, rather than going to the mall and buying a shirt from Abercrombie & Fitch, a gift basket from Starbucks or the latest skin care products from L’Oreal — try and give TS Designs, Larry’s Beans or JustNeem a little love instead (note: those three are ALL based right here in the Triangle!). And if you’re a business owner, take a minute and see about becoming a B Corp yourself.

I’ll protest as loudly as anyone against the corporate greed that’s killing the American dream — we should be just as enthusiastic in our support of companies that are trying to do things right.

In the interest of full disclosure, ChrisC is gratefully employed by a B Corp. His company is not listed in this post, however, and his opinions do not necessarily reflect those of his employer. ChrisC would also like to point out that this post is his personal opinion, and should not be considered an endorsement of B Corps by Occupy Raleigh.