Don’t Panic: The New B Corp Standards Are Doable

If you’ve felt anything from mild unease to full-blown “thousand-page PDF panic” about the new B Corp standards, you’re in very good company.

In our recent Greenheart webinar, we asked attendees to share how they were feeling about certifying or recertifying on the new standards. The answers ranged from “curious and hopeful” to “fear, rage, denial and frustration.” Many had skimmed the headlines, seen references to third-party assurance and year-zero/year-three/year-five requirements and thought: this is going to be impossible.

The reality is more nuanced – and more hopeful.

The new standards are a major overhaul. But we now have more clarity than we’ve ever had:

• Clearer rules
  

• A defined audit process
  

• Practical mechanisms for non-conformities and exceptions
  

• And, crucially, much better guidance and training resources from B Lab.
  

This blog distils the key insights from the session (full recording below) – including perspectives from B Corps Riverford, Vivobarefoot, Noble Foods and Medik8 – and sets out why we think businesses can approach the new standards with much more confidence.

What’s actually changing in the new B Corp standards?

First, a quick recap of the big shifts.

1. From points to mandatory requirements

The familiar “80 points” target is going. Instead of a flexible points-based system, the new standards introduce mandatory requirements across:

• Foundation requirements – essentially eligibility criteria (e.g. legal form, stakeholder governance commitment, risk profile)

• Seven Impact Topics – from Purpose and Stakeholder Governance (PSG) through to Climate Action (CA) and Human Rights (HR)

This is about “raising the floor” rather than rewarding outliers. All B Corps will be required to meet a minimum level of social and environmental performance, rather than assembling their own path to 80 points via a pick-and-mix of questions.

2. No more Impact Business Models (for now)

Impact Business Models (IBMs) – a much-loved feature of the current B Impact Assessment – are not part of the new standards. They proved very hard to verify consistently and robustly. B Lab has parked them for now to avoid yet more delays, but they’re still part of the long-term theory of change and may return in a future consultation round.

In the short term, this means a clear focus on minimum operational performance: what you actually do, consistently, across your operations.

3. Continuous improvement is now baked in

Continuous improvement has always been part of the movement. The difference now is that it’s formalised:

• Year 0: core requirements for certification

• Year 3: additional requirements and evidence of progress against your strategy

• Year 5: further strengthening and ongoing improvement

So you don’t have to be “perfect” on day one. You do need to have credible baselines, strategies and governance in place – and then show progress over time.

4. Third-party assurance and a more “ISO-like” process

Certification will now be delivered through independent third-party assurance and B Lab is still involved at the beginning and end of the process. Two providers have been announced:

• To-Cert – for small companies and below

• SCS Global – for medium-sized companies and above

This aligns B Corp more closely with other recognised standards and evolving EU expectations for sustainability labels, particularly around independence and robust audit processes.

If you’re used to ISO audits, the language will feel familiar: audit schedules, non-conformities, corrective action plans and surveillance audits.

New information that should lower your blood pressure

Over the last few months, B Lab has released a significant amount of new information and guidance. Three areas in particular should make life easier.

1. A clearer end-to-end audit process

We now know what the journey looks like from self-assessment to certification:

1. Register on the B Impact platform and complete the set-up questionnaire

2. Confirm eligibility and scope with B Lab (entities, track and size category)

3. Complete the self-assessment and do your impact improvements

4. Submit your assessment and documentation

5. Undergo third-party assurance with the appropriate audit provider

6. Receive your audit report, including any non-conformities

7. Address major non-conformities within agreed timelines

8. Achieve certification for five years, subject to meeting year-three and year-five requirements and addressing minor non-conformities, in line with your audit schedule

The B Impact platform now does more of the heavy lifting in terms of tailoring requirements to your size and sector, so fewer people need to manually trawl through the thousand-page PDF.

B Lab partners across the world have launched online training (including in the UK, Europe and North America) with topic-specific guidance and “what to expect from your audit” – which we strongly recommend.

2. New size definitions – and the “lesser of two” rule

One important November change is how your size track is determined. It’s now based on:

The smaller of:
– your full-time equivalent (FTE) number of workers, and
– your revenue (in US dollars).

Previously, companies were scoped using the larger of those two, which often pushed organisations – especially in the global south – into size categories whose requirements didn’t reflect their capacity. The change is intended to make the standards more equitable.

Action for you:
Re-check your size category using both FTE and revenue. If you are “bumped down” a track, you may face less stringent requirements at year zero – but you should still plan for what happens as you grow.

3. Non-conformities: why the audit is a safety net, not a trap

One of the most reassuring pieces of news is that the audit process explicitly allows for non-conformities, split into two categories:

• Minor non-conformities – temporary, isolated or less severe gaps.
  • You can certify with minor non-conformities.

  • You must resolve them by your next audit (which might be a year-three or surveillance audit, depending on size).

• Major non-conformities – systematic or high-risk issues (e.g. no fair wage methodology in place).
  • These must be resolved within six months during your first audit cycle (and within three months at later audits).

  • You work with the auditor on a corrective action plan and remain in the review process until resolved.

This again is very similar to ISO-style audits. The message is clear: B Corp wants rigour and realism. You don’t need to present perfection on day one – you need to show good faith, credible plans and the ability to fix gaps.

There is also a variance mechanism for rare cases where it is genuinely infeasible to meet a requirement for legal, technical or security reasons, and an equity mechanism for certain higher-barrier geographies. 

The “big rock” B Corp projects most companies are facing

Across our work on gap analyses for companies of different sizes and sectors, the same core “big rock” projects keep showing up as key to year-zero compliance – and to good business in general:

• Human rights and social impact assessment
  Understanding where people are most at risk in your value chain and how you’ll prevent, mitigate and remediate adverse impacts.

• Environmental impact and climate
  Moving beyond ad-hoc initiatives to a holistic view of your environmental footprint, including biodiversity and nature, not just carbon.

• Carbon footprinting and net zero strategy
  A robust greenhouse gas inventory across scopes and a credible, practical net zero plan – aligned with your business model and growth trajectory.

• Materiality assessment (ideally double materiality)
  A structured way of identifying which environmental and social issues matter most – both in terms of impacts on people and planet, and financial risk or opportunity for your business.

• Collective action
  A newer requirement that often feels abstract initially. Once you’ve done the work above, it becomes much easier to identify where your business should engage in meaningful collective efforts – whether sector initiatives, advocacy or place-based collaboration.

• Impact governance and stakeholder accountability
  The practical means by which a company operationalises and puts into practice the foundational commitment to stakeholder governance already established in its corporate structure or governing documents (the B Corp Legal Requirement). For example:
  • Public purpose statement
  • Stakeholder governance policy

  • Public grievance mechanisms

The good news? These are not “B Corp-only” exercises. They’re the foundations of resilient, future-fit organisations – the exact kind of impact architecture we believe every business will need to thrive in a more complex, constrained world.

Why some B Corps are genuinely excited about the new standards

During the webinar we heard from leaders at Medik8, Riverford, Vivobarefoot and Noble Foods about how they’re experiencing the transition in real time.

A few themes stood out:

1. A unified standard with more credibility

For Alex Florea, Head of Sustainability at Medik8, one of the biggest reasons to be cheerful is the move to a more unified, consistent standard. Being measured by the same yardstick as other B Corps increases credibility and makes comparison more meaningful. It also helps internal teams frame B Corp as a rigorous, externally-recognised benchmark – not “just another label”.

2. Permission to push the agenda internally

Because certain practices are now explicit requirements, they can unlock stalled conversations. Where sustainability teams previously struggled to secure bandwidth or budget, the new standards provide a clear mandate:

“We’ve wanted to do this for a while. Now it’s a non-negotiable.”

As Alex put it, that has helped to “push the boat out” on issues that had been circling for years without real traction.

3. Clarity turns anxiety into action

The most practical piece of advice we heard – echoed by all speakers – was simple:

Do a proper gap analysis.

Companies that have mapped their requirements in a structured way (Connor Tracey, from B Corp footwear brand Vivobarefoot, mentioned tools like Monday.com or Trello) reported that the fog lifted quickly:

• Some requirements turned out to be non-applicable

• Others needed no additional evidence

• The real “heavy lifts” became visible – and therefore plan-able

According to Alex from Medik8, much of the anxiety comes from “not knowing what you don’t know”. Once you see the gaps clearly, you might still have big rocks to move – but at least you know what they are.

4. It rewards real practice, not just policies

Louisa Hogarty, Chief People & Impact Officer at Noble Foods, a large agrifood business working towards certification, described the shift from “chasing points” to embedding robust practice as music to their ears. Rather than collecting hundreds of small policies and tweaks that may or may not change behaviour, the new standards reward:

• Clear strategies

• Strong governance

• Consistent delivery

• Evidence of real-world outcomes

For long-lived, complex businesses, that feels more honest – and closer to what they’re trying to do anyway.

Time horizons: why you likely have more time than your brain thinks

One of the most helpful reframes shared in the webinar was around timelines.

Yes, the journey can feel huge when you look at the requirements across year 0, year 3 and year 5 all at once. But remember:

• If you certify in 2026 or 2027, your year-three requirements will apply in 2029 or 2030.

• Year-five requirements will apply in 2031 or 2032.

That’s not a reason to procrastinate. It is a reminder that you have time to:

• Phase investments

• Build internal capability

• Sequence projects in a way that works with your broader commercial strategy

The big exception here is B2C B Corps affected by the EU Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition (ECGT) Directive, who will need to re-certify by September 2026 to continue using the B Corp logo in the EU. If you’re unsure whether that applies to you, clarifying your timeline is an urgent first step – and check out our blog on the subject for more information.

What we still don’t know (and how to live with that)

For all the new clarity, there are still some open questions:

• The exact submission timing for recertifications (e.g. how far in advance B Lab will expect (or allow) companies to submit relative to their due date).

• The post-2026 fee structure, especially how the cost of third-party assurance will be reflected from 2027 onwards.

• The full detail of the new brand guidelines for logo use and consumer-facing claims.

These unknowns can feel uncomfortable – especially for teams that like to plan three to five years out. Our advice is to focus on the things you can control now: governance, baselines, strategy and those big rock projects.

As more information emerges, we’ll continue to translate it into practical, no-nonsense guidance for our clients and community.

So where should you start?

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, here’s a pragmatic sequence we’re recommending to many clients:

1. Clarify your timeline
   • Are you affected by ECGT?

   • When is your current recertification due?

   • When will you first certify under the new standards?

2. Complete (or update) a structured gap analysis
   • Use the B Impact platform to scope your requirements

   • Map every applicable sub-requirement into a central tracker

   • Flag:
     • “Already in place”

     • “Needs formalisation/evidence”

     • “New + likely heavy lift”

3. Identify your “big rock” projects
   • Human rights, environmental impact, carbon, materiality, collective action, governance

   • Estimate effort, cost and internal owners

4. Secure leadership buy-in and resourcing
   • Position these projects as investments in resilience, risk management and long-term value – not just “B Corp admin”

   • Make explicit what won’t get done if these projects remain unfunded

5. Co-create an action plan with your teams
   • Spread ownership beyond sustainability and people teams

   • Involve those who will ultimately have to live with the processes and policies

6. Use external partners and your B Corp community
   • Very few companies will do this entirely alone

   • Your peers are facing the same questions – and many are happy to share what’s working

   • Where the ask is complex or time-critical, a specialised partner can save months of uncertainty and rework

Our perspective: it’s more than manageable – and it’s worth it

At Greenheart, we don’t pretend the new standards are easy. The bar is rising, and rightly so. But we also don’t believe businesses are being set up to fail.

We see the new standards as an opportunity to:

• Move beyond “sustainability as usual” and really embed regenerative thinking and practices into strategy, governance and everyday decisions.

• Strengthen long-term resilience by understanding and managing the social and environmental risks that matter most to your business.

• Build empowered internal teams who understand the “why” behind the requirements – not just the “what”.

If you’re sitting with a knot of anxiety about the new standards, you’re not alone. But with the right information and support, you build clarity, sequence the work, and turn that anxiety into confidence.

How Greenheart can help

We’ve been a certified B Corp since 2017 and have supported dozens of companies – from complex multinationals to fast-growing consumer brands – through certification and recertification.

Right now, we’re helping organisations to:

• Run B Corp new standards workshops for leadership and internal “B-Keepers”

• Complete robust gap analyses and build realistic roadmaps

• Deliver key projects like materiality assessments, carbon footprinting and net zero plans, and governance and policy design

• Navigate recertification timelines where EU regulation is adding extra pressure

If you’d like to move from overwhelm to a clear, confident plan, we’d be happy to be your critical friend and technical guide.

👉 Ready to make the new B Corp standards feel manageable?

Get in touch with our team at contact@greenheartbusiness.com or request a no-obligation callback to explore how we can support your journey.