IATP is proud to announce that our for-profit subsidiary, Peace Coffee, was among the first Minnesota businesses to file as a public benefit corporation (PBC). This is the state’s newest form of business incorporation for for-profit and socially minded businesses.
These filings took place earlier this month on the last day of Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie’s tenure in office. Prior to his election to state office, Mark founded the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy in 1986, and ten years later, under his leadership, IATP founded Peace Coffee as a way to demonstrate that the policies we advocate for internationally can support fair trade businesses that provide fair prices to growers, benefit to the environment and an excellent product for consumers.
Businesses incorporating as a PBC pledge to pursue public benefits among their primary objectives. The new law (Minnesota Statutes 304A) allows for more flexible uses for profits than only dividends for shareholders. Minnesota joins at least 26 other states that provide businesses the option to file as a PBC.
Minnesota PBCs will be required to submit a public annual report that details how they met their public benefit to the Office of the Secretary of State. The public benefit of each corporation is self-defined by the corporation itself and is proclaimed in the articles of incorporation so that investors and the public know the public benefit mission of the business.
“Many Minnesota businesses are eager to file as a public benefit corporation to demonstrate to their community and customers that they want to make a positive impact on society, and not just a profit,” says Ritchie in a press release put out by the Secretary of State’s office.
In the words of Peace Coffee Queen Bean Lee Wallace, “We are thrilled to have a legal structure that allows us to state that we measure the success of our company by the positive benefits we aim to have on coffee-growing communities, as well as our bottom line.”
Peace Coffee started in 1996 as a pilot project of IATP. Owning a for-profit business has added an interesting perspective to IATP's work, as it allows us to fully understand the on-the-ground ramifications of the international trade policies we work on. It now employs 47 people, with three retail locations and a roastery that purchased 681,200 pounds of premium fair trade coffee from farmers in 11 countries in 2014. As Peace Coffee's sole shareholder, IATP's work is not only informed by their fair trade experience but every cup sold helps advance our mission of socially responsible trade and supports us financially.
Peace Coffee shops can be found at: Peace Coffee Wonderland Park
3262 Minnehaha Ave. S., Minneapolis; Lyndale Gardens Lakewinds Food Co-op
6420 Lyndale Ave S., Richfield, MN; and the newly opened counter on the first floor of Capella Tower, 225 S. Sixth Street in Minneapolis. Beans are available in area co-ops, Kowalski’s, Lunds, Byerly’s and Target stores, in various coffee shops and restaurants, and by mail order. For a full list, check out www.peacecoffee.com.
The Secretary of State press release contained a complete list of companies filing for Public Benefit Corporation status in Minnesota.
