Social Purpose Corporations

Social purpose corporations (SPCs) are similar to benefit corporations, but SPCs are more flexible in purpose. In fact, California’s SPC form was previously called a flexible purpose corporation (FPC). SPCs can adopt a specific public purpose, such as combatting climate change, without the requirements of considering or balancing the interests of all other stakeholders. SPC statutes require annual social reporting and public posting, but they do not require use of a third-party standard to measure social good.

SPC laws have not been supported by B Lab and have only been adopted by a few states. Washington was the first state to adopt a SPC statute, effective in 2012. Beginning in 2015, Minnesota law allows entrepreneurs to choose between a B Lab Model entity called a “general benefit corporation” and a SPC entity called “specific benefit corporation.”