The H Corp - why we need an entirely new type of company

Across the United States, many of our communities are taking the first steps toward reopening. That also means more workers are returning to work and more customers are interacting with businesses. However, without a vaccine, we know the threat of disease is still very real. And if companies address health at all, few make a serious commitment to employees' wellbeing and most merely pay it lip service. Now, we have an opportunity to reconsider that. What we need is a new type of company, something we're calling an H Corp.

In 2006, the founders of B Labs envisioned a new corporate model called the B Corp. The idea was that companies could choose to maximize social benefit in addition to profit — doing well and doing good. Today, we need organizations that choose to maximize the health and wellbeing of their employees, customers, and communities — doing well and being well. What does it look like for a company to think about its physical spaces in a way that maximizes the health of employees? What does it look like for essential businesses to prioritize the health of workers along with customers?

Of course, this also means broadening our definition of health. While safe distancing, ergonomics, and OSHA requirements certainly matter, so too do the mental health and food security of employees. Access to transportation, for example, is a key impactor of health. So for a company, keeping customers safe is as much about reducing spread as it thinking about their access to transportation. Holding this broad view and putting it on par with profit won't be easy, but it can be done.

This is a sea change in how we share accountability for our social health and wellbeing. Working openly across organizations will help share the load. As a large corporation learns how to prioritize health, they'll have lessons for smaller businesses. When restaurants learn how to support the holistic health of workers, they will have things to teach other service-oriented businesses. Any business or organization can be an H Corp — it's about putting the wellbeing of society first.

To build the new normal — a more optimistic future — we need companies that will adopt the H Corp mindset. Maybe it isn't a new type of legal entity, but the companies who go beyond lip service and truly embrace the concept will be the ones that thrive.

The H Corp idea originated from EDC project leader Soren DeOrlow as part of a strategic brainstorm. It has become our of our guiding principals.