Benefit corporations and ESG factors. A legal and financial comparative analysis

The paper aims to explore benefit companies and bcorporations. There are three ways for a corporation to comply with ESG factors: to be a traditional company, to become a benefit company or a bcorp. In doing this companies may face some critical points, such as the difficult access to international capital markets, greenwashing: prevention and remedies, the risk of a lower profitability and a lower competitiveness. The paper offers a comparative analysis on the current situation in different countries, such as Italy, Africa, US, etc. by identifying benefits and disadvantages from becoming a benefit company.