“Dedicating All of Our Business Energy to Society”
“Dedicating all of our business energy to society.” These are the words of Saori Torii, CEO of Value Books, the company behind the used bookstore chain of the same name, in an interview about their journey to B Corp certification (Source: Sustainable Brands Japan, May 29, 2025).
As a small or medium-sized business owner, how do you feel when you hear this? You might think it’s just “pretty words” or “idealism.” Or perhaps you’ll dismiss it as “not relevant to my company.”
However, I believe the B Corp framework holds powerful clues for fundamentally rethinking governance in SMEs. Why? Because B Corp is not just a CSR certification; it is a governance design framework that embeds social purpose into the very DNA of a company.
In this article, using Value Books as a case study, we’ll explore how SMEs can integrate social purpose into their governance to boost competitiveness.
What is B Corp? More Than Just a Certification
B Corp is an international certification system run by the U.S. non-profit organization B Lab. It is awarded to companies that commit to contributing to society and the environment, not just pursuing profit.
A key requirement for certification is that companies must explicitly state their social purpose in their articles of incorporation. This means it’s not just a superficial “we do good things” claim, but a legal integration of social purpose at the governance structure level.
Value Books obtained B Corp certification in 2024. CEO Torii says, “B Corp shows us a way of management that doesn’t separate ‘making money’ from ‘contributing to society.'”
This philosophy aligns perfectly with what we advocate: governance as a high-level management design concept. Governance isn’t just about compliance; it’s about optimizing rules from a holistic perspective to achieve your business purpose.
3 Design Principles SMEs Can Learn from B Corp
Here are three crucial perspectives for applying the B Corp framework to SME governance.
1. The Courage to Write Your “Social Purpose” into Your Articles of Incorporation
Many SMEs use boilerplate templates from the Legal Affairs Bureau for their articles of incorporation. They list abstract purposes like “sale of goods” or “provision of services,” with no trace of the founder’s passion.
B Corp requires you to write your social purpose into your articles. For example: “To contribute to the sustainable development of our local community” or “To prioritize the well-being of our employees above all else.”
This isn’t just decoration. By putting it in the articles, you create a legal obligation to consider the social purpose in shareholder resolutions and board decisions. In other words, you can no longer manage solely for profit.
For SMEs, amending the articles is possible through a special resolution at a shareholders’ meeting (requiring two-thirds or more of voting rights). Why not start by articulating “why you continue to run this company” and embedding it in your articles?
2. Expand Your Stakeholders from “Shareholders” to “Society as a Whole”
Traditional corporate governance prioritizes maximizing shareholder value. But B Corp treats responsibility to all stakeholders—employees, local communities, the environment, suppliers—equally.
CEO Torii defines Value Books not as “a company that sells books,” but as “a company that creates value for society through books.” This shift in definition broadens the scope of governance.
For SME owners, this is a fundamental re-evaluation of “who you are running the company for.” If you only think about shareholders (often yourself or family), you risk overlooking issues like employee turnover or loss of trust in the community.
Concretely, I recommend regularly including items like “employee satisfaction,” “community contribution,” and “environmental impact” on your board meeting agenda. Set numerical targets and create a system to monitor progress.
3. Don’t Treat “Profitability” and “Social Contribution” as a Trade-off
A common misconception is that “social contribution reduces profit.” But data from B Corp-certified companies shows otherwise.
Value Books also participates in “1% for the Planet,” donating 1% of its sales to environmental organizations. While this might seem like a cost, CEO Torii says, “This initiative enhances our brand value and, as a result, leads to increased sales.”
The key is to abandon the idea of “social contribution = cost” and reframe it as “social contribution = investment.” Improved employee engagement, stronger customer loyalty, and attracting top talent—all of these directly contribute to long-term corporate value.
From a governance perspective, you need a system to properly evaluate this “investment.” Instead of KPIs that only chase short-term profits, develop metrics to measure the ROI of your social contribution activities and report them in management meetings. This is the first step to dissolving the trade-off.
A Concrete Action Plan: 3 Steps You Can Start Today
Getting B Corp certified might seem like a high hurdle. But incorporating its essence into your own governance is not difficult. Here are three steps we propose.
Step 1: Translate Your Management Philosophy into Your “Articles of Incorporation”
First, translate your company’s management philosophy and vision into a legally meaningful form. The goal is not just a slogan, but language that serves as a standard for directors’ duty of care.
For example, instead of “pursue customer satisfaction,” write “prioritize customer safety and satisfaction, and refrain from business activities that contradict this.” This creates a basis for holding directors accountable if a quality issue arises.
It’s easiest to do this with your corporate lawyer. However, don’t just leave it to them; the essence is for you, the owner, to put into words “why you are running this company.”
Step 2: Add “Social Purpose” to Your Board Meeting Agenda
At your monthly or quarterly board meetings, be sure to allocate time to report on “progress toward your social purpose.” Even five minutes is fine to start.
Examples of items to report:
- Average employee overtime hours and turnover rate
- Number of community engagement activities
- Environmental impact (electricity usage, waste volume)
- Number of supplier complaints and their resolution status
By building a habit of monitoring these figures alongside financial metrics, the management policy that “profit is not the only goal” will permeate the entire organization.
Step 3: Set “KPIs” for Your Social Contribution Activities
Finally, set KPIs to manage your social contribution activities as an “investment” rather than a “cost.”
For example, instead of tracking “donation amount,” measure the “advertising-equivalent value of brand exposure gained from the donation” or the “change in engagement scores of employees who participated in CSR activities.”
I also recommend creating a spreadsheet to calculate the “ROI of your social contribution activities” and reporting it in management meetings. While the effects may be hard to see in the short term, accumulating data over the long term will provide valuable input for management decisions.
Conclusion: Governance as a Path from “Constraint” to “Possibility”
Value Books CEO Saori Torii’s words, “Dedicating all of our business energy to society,” get to the heart of governance. Governance is not a constraint to avoid violations; it is a design technique for “giving your all for society.”
Many SME owners tend to see “governance = troublesome rules.” However, as the B Corp framework shows, embedding social purpose into governance boosts employee motivation, builds customer trust, and ultimately improves competitiveness.
Why not open your company’s articles of incorporation today and add “why you continue to run this company”? That could be your first step toward sustainable growth.
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