histor ofbenefit corporation

The chartering of benefit corporations is an attempt to reclaim the original purpose for which corporations were chartered in early America. Then, states chartered corporations to achieve a specific public purpose, such as building bridges or roads. Their legitimacy stemmed from their delegated charter, although they could still earn profits while fulfilling it.
Over time, however, corporations came to be chartered without any public purpose, while being legally bound to the singular purpose of profit-maximization for its shareholders. Advocates of benefit corporations assert that this singular focus has resulted in a variety of societal ills, including the thwarting of democracy, diminished social good, and negative environmental impacts.[2]
In April 2010, Maryland became the first U.S. state to pass benefit corporation legislation. Hawaii, Virginia, California, Vermont, and New Jersey soon followed. Additionally, as of November 2011, benefit corporation legislation had been introduced or partially passed in Colorado, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Michigan.[3] In December 2011, New York became the seventh state in the United States to pass benefit corporation legislation.[4]