Capitalism With a Conscience—Andrew Kassoy and the Creation of B Lab
Andrew Kassoy—who passed away on June 22, 2025, at the much too young age of 55—was not a household name, but he deserves to be.
For me personally, and for thousands of other entrepreneurs and business leaders around the world, Kassoy’s vision of capitalism with a conscience was an inspiration. He believed that change needed to start with business, because business is the primary driver of our society.[1]
Kassoy argued that to achieve the goal of building a more inclusive and sustainable economy, profit needs to be balanced with purpose and married to values. B Lab, the global nonprofit that he co-founded in 2006, provides a framework for running companies that care not just about the conventional mission of earning profit for shareholders, but also consider the interests of employees, clients, community, and the environment–what is sometimes described as the “triple bottom line” of people, planet, and profit.[2]
B Lab sets the certification requirements for companies wishing to become Certified B Corps. Through a rigorous assessment and verification process, B Lab determines whether companies meet the necessary standards of social and environment performance, public transparency, and legal accountability.
Once certified— a process that can take as long as a year— a company joins the ranks of corporations around the world working to make business a force for good.
Well known Certified B Corps include Patagonia, Ben & Jerry’s, Etsy, Toms, The Body Shop, Kickstarter, Danone, and Warby Parker.[3]
“Care” was a word Kassoy used frequently. He believed it is incumbent on corporate leaders to take responsibility for the effect of their business on the world around them and to be deliberate in working to improve that world. He spoke of the “duty of care” that every business had: the moral obligation to assure the safety and wellbeing of others and to avoid doing harm.[4]
In a world facing environmental degradation, social disintegration, and economic inequality, Kassoy understood that capitalism could be part of the solution, rather than the source of the problems.
He defined his philosophy in simple terms: “you’re here to care—for your workers, your community, the planet, the other people in your supply chain.”[5]
In New Mexico, that impulse has taken shape in firms like Taos Ski Valley, the first ski resort in the world to earn Certified B Corp status. TSV’s certification involved significantly reducing greenhouse gasses, embracing local hiring and living wages, investments in fiber‑optic infrastructure, forest stewardship, and zero‑waste practices—all in service of both community and environment.[6] It exemplifies Kassoy's vision of firms rooted in values that protect the planet and empower local economies.
Other New Mexico Certified B Corps in different industries include Meow Wolf, Shine Pet Food, Verdacity, City Different Investments, Upspring, Falling Colors, Delta Management Group, Agenda LLC, and the investment advisory firm that I started in 2000, LongView Asset Management, LLC.[7]
In my own trajectory as an entrepreneur, Kassoy’s vision has been a guiding light. The B Lab Assessment process has also provided an invaluable framework for defining our company’s local community engagement, sustainable business practices, and responsible investment principles.
Kassoy’s goal was systems change. He insisted that change had to be structural. That meant not only certifying businesses but rewriting the narrative about the purpose of business “so that people come to have an expectation that business doesn’t exist to create profits only for investors, but actually to create value for society.”[8]
He was strategic and understood that this also meant rewriting laws: popularizing benefit corporation statutes and embedding accountability into corporate charters rather than relying on goodwill alone.
The movement Andrew Kassoy and his co‑founders launched has grown into a global community of over 9,700 certified B Corps across more than 100 countries, working under measurable standards of social and environmental performance. Two hundred thousand additional companies now use B Lab’s Impact Assessment to benchmark and improve their practices—even if they don’t become certified.[9]
Kassoy believed that capitalism unmoored from moral values is a threat to the planet, but that if business is tethered to values—care, equity, transparency—it can become a force for regenerative change.
In this time when social, political, and environmental protections are under threat, when science is denied by an administration that views profit as the supreme imperative, and when care for the vulnerable in society is disdained as weakness, Andrew Kassoy stands out for his visionary compassion.
Thank you, Andrew, for your many contributions to the well-being of others.
Rest in peace.
This material is intended for education purposes only. LongView Asset Management, LLC (referred to as "LongView") does not warrant that the provided information will be free from error. None of the information provided is intended as investment, tax, accounting or legal advice, as an offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or as an endorsement of any company, security, fund, or other securities or non-securities offering. This information should not be relied upon for transacting securities or other investments. Under no circumstances shall LongView be liable for any direct, indirect, special or consequential damages that result from the use of, or the inability to use, the materials provided. In no event shall LongView Asset Management, LLC have any liability to you for damages, losses, and causes of action for accessing this commentary. Past performance is not indicative of future results. This content not reviewed by FINRA. Photo by Nick Russill on Unsplash .
[1] https://whatsworkingsolutions.org/resource/interview-with-andrew-kassoy-b-lab/
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_bottom_line
[3] https://sustainabilitymag.com/top10/top-10-b-corps-in-the-us
[4] https://www.lawdistrict.com/legal-dictionary/duty-of-care
[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Kassoy
[6] https://www.skitaos.com/sustainability
[7] https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us/find-a-b-corp/?query=new%20mexico&sortBy=companies-production-en-us
[8] https://whatsworkingsolutions.org/resource/interview-with-andrew-kassoy-b-lab/
[9] https://whatsworkingsolutions.org/resource/interview-with-andrew-kassoy-b-lab/