Revealed: The changes to B Corp Certification

B Lab have announced some changes to the standards for B Corp Certification. In this blog, 5D Net Zero will help you answer the following questions: What are the changes to B Corp Certification? Why have B Lab changed their Certification Standards? When are the B Corp standards changing? Read on to understand all the answers…

What’s a B Corp Certified business?

First of all, let’s start with the basics. What exactly does it mean when a business has B Corp certification? B Lab, the non-profit organisation behind B Corporations, define a B Corp business as:

“Certified B Corporations are businesses that meet the highest standards of verified and social environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. B Corps are accelerating a global culture shift to redefine success in business and build a more inclusive and sustainable economy.”

To give you some extra context, according to B Lab’s website, there are over 8,600 B Corps in the world, in 162 different industries, throughout 99 countries, with more than 795,000 workers involved. 5D Net Zero are proud to be part of the B Corp community since the start of 2024 – read more about our inclusion here.

What changes are being made to B Corp Certification?

Previously, businesses had to achieve an 80-point minimum score on the B Impact Assessment, but a clear shift has been made. B Corp certification will now focus on foundation requirements and performance requirements.

Judy Rodrigues, who is the Director of Standards at B Lab, said: “We want to have aspiring and existing B Corps understand they have to commit to the B Corp legal requirement, which is the stakeholder governance model, within a certain period of time.”

The foundation requirements of becoming a certified B Corp will also rely heavily on whether a company has an impact business model, and will assess how its model is performing.

When describing the move from the previous 80-point score to the new 9 impact topics, Rodrigues added: “We’re moving toward an approach where all B Corps will have to meet specific requirements across nine impact topics … and continuously improve upon their impact management across these environmental, social and governance key topics.”

The 9 impact topics being implemented by B Lab in their proposed plans are: Purpose and Stakeholder Governance, Human Rights, Climate Action, Fair Wages, Environmental Stewardship and Circularity, Workspace Culture, Government Affairs and Collective Action, Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, Complementary Impact Topics.

Why are B Lab changing their standards?

Speaking at Champions Retreat 2024, B Lab’s Standards Project Manager Susmita Kamath explained: “We launched this at the end of 2020 in response to the growing social and environmental crises that we are seeing across the world, with the intention of exploring the question, ‘What does leadership by businesses in this new world today look like?’”

Judy Rodrigues added “It’s about listening and responding and making sure that we are creating something that’s impactful, clear and attainable for what it means to be a B Corp and a leader in the marketplace as a force for good for people and the planet.”

Don’t let these changes worry you about recertification or initial certification though, B Lab have confirmed that the standards will include additional help in order to support businesses and offer more of an understanding of the latest expectations.

When are the B Corp standards changing?

It’s important to note that these changes are currently in the proposal stage, however, if all goes to plan for B Lab, their aim is to publish the completed standards by the end of 2024. If a B Corp has a submission date in 2025, they’ll be (re)certified on the current standards. The aim for B Corps with submission dates later than January 1st 2026, is that they’ll work to meet the new standards to achieve recertification or initial certification.

It’s also important to note that from July 2024, B Lab’s preference is for the majority of recertifying companies to submit their B Impact Assessment six months before it’s due. The reason for this is to ensure enough time is afforded with the introduction of the new standards.

5D Net Zero are Carbon Management specialists who can help you reach Net Zero.

5D Net Zero are pleased to see that B Lab are updating their processes in order to keep the B Corp certification something to strive towards and celebrate.

5D Net Zero, a certified B Corporation, are specialists in Carbon Management, and we want to help your business reduce its Carbon Footprint, to help improve your operational efficiency, reduce costs, improve employee/customer satisfaction, and much more.

It all starts with a free 15 minute discovery call to see how we can help you. Get in touch now to see how we can help your business. We look forward to hearing from you!

The primary source of information and quotations in this blog can be found at the following link, with thanks to B Lab: https://usca.bcorporation.net/zbtcz5z24zthe-evolution-of-the-standards-for-b-corp-certification-why-what-and-when/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=btc_weekly