Producing happiness is possible. No, this is not an affordable item on supermarket shelves or in pills. Happiness is not bought a lot to the kilo, but it is created. Where? In the enterprise, for example. As long as it is a b-corp. That is, a benefit corporation, a for-profit company able to put sustainability and well-being at the heart of its own chain (and its statute).

The soul of non-profit thus contaminates the enterprise, which in this case pushes far beyond the concepts of cooperation and social responsibility now known. The b-corp are in fact profitable companies that provide in their statutes something more than profit. They invest in the environmental impact, on society, on the lives of their workers. An attention that finds its declination in every step of the production chain, from the creative stage to the distribution without neglecting the impact on society and the environment. And so the economy takes on an ethical dimension.

"Benefit corporations have a dual purpose and will have better economic results than all other companies," said Nobel Prize in Economics Robert Shiller. So far the only official (and possible) recognition was the American one. The US non-profit organization "B-Lab" has certified around 1800 b-corp in 50 different countries around the world. A model particularly widespread in Italy, the first European country to provide a law on this subject. Thanks to the latest law on stability, at the beginning of 2016, this new legal form encouraged the establishment of profit-making societies that act for the benefit of people, communities and the environment.

And it is no coincidence that the European Summit of b-corp took place in Rome last few days (more than 500 attendances, about 150 benefit corporations present). At this moment, Italy is in fact the "leading" country among European ones. The numbers are: in Europe there are 250 recognized b-corp and 30 are in our country; Another 161 will receive US certification within a few weeks, while more than 60 benefit societies are (or are) transformed in compliance with the new national law.

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