The B Corp Certification standards are evolving. The development process has been long and isn’t yet complete, but we now know enough to bring you an update on what its likely to mean for B Corps, current and aspiring. The changes will affect companies certifying from 2026 onwards.
This information is based on the most up to date documentation from B Lab and is naturally subject to change as the standards are finalised.
What is B Corp certification?
B Corporation (or B Corp) Certification is available to companies that have been assessed to meet strict standards across all aspects of social and environmental impact. Due to the growth of the global B Corp movement, and the many changes in the state of our world, B Lab, the non-profit behind the B Corp movement, has made a commitment to continuously improve and evolve their standards to ensure the certification remains relevant and innovative. Currently, the B Impact Assessment (BIA) is based on Version 6 of the B Corp standards, and B Lab has been in the process of evolving the standards to develop the new Version 7 of the B Corp standards since 2020.
On 16 January 2024, B Lab released a draft version of the new standards for public consultation which closed on 26th March 2024; the draft standards are still available to read and linked here.
What’s changing?
The new standards are expected to introduce several significant changes. Perhaps the most notable change is the evolution from the current flexible approach (where companies need to achieve a minimum of 80 points across five impact areas) to a set of “minimum performance requirements” across 8 Core Impact Topics, as well as Complementary Impact Topics and Foundation Requirements.
This is the first time companies will be unable to certify unless they meet a minimum threshold on all aspects of their impact.
B Corp performance requirements (Credit: B Lab Global)
What is B Corp certification likely to look like from 2026?
A company will first be evaluated against ‘Foundation Requirements’ before its practices are reviewed against ‘Performance Requirements’ .
The foundation requirements mirror the existing eligibility criteria for pursuing B Corp certification, namely:
- that the business must have at least 12 months of operations;
- they must be operating within industries and practices that are not controversial; and
- they must agree to the principle that B Corps are transparent about their performance.
The foundation requirements also include the commitment to meet the legal requirement for B Corp Certification which solidifies in a company’s governing documents its commitment to the B Corp community’s mission to measure the triple bottom line (people, planet and profit) and work towards an economy that is equitable, inclusive, and regenerative.
Each impact topic within the Performance Requirements is composed of requirements, themselves divided in sub-requirements. Each sub-requirement details the compliance criteria as well as advisory and evidence guidance.
Under the current standards, companies only need to maintain a score above 80 points to recertify so there is not much motivation for continuous improvement. The new standards will encourage companies to continuously improve their social and environmental performance as they will outline criteria for companies to first “meet” and later progress to “exceed” the mandatory requirements. Companies’ performance on the eight Impact Topics (either meet or exceed) could then be displayed on their B Corp Public Profile.
How will B Corp accommodate different companies?
While the new standards will clarify a set of minimum requirements all businesses need to comply with, B Lab is working to tailor those requirements to company context, taking into account this prominent feedback theme from the previous stages of the standards development.
The main proposed change is to update the ‘size’ criteria to take into account not only the number of workers (FTEs) but also revenue, creating a new ‘size table’ which absorbs large enterprises and multinationals into an harmonised approach.
Other tailoring strategies in the draft standards include some options in how to meet certain sub-requirements whilst ensuring the desired impact is still achieved. For example the company can choose to implement the two most relevant out of 23 Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion actions informed by stakeholder views.
B Corp standards based on size and sector (Credit: B Lab Global)
Will companies still get a score?
The current proposal is for the new standards to move away from the current scoring system and instead companies will be able to distinguish the extent of their positive impact in the following ways:
- Performance Requirements: A company would be evaluated as “Does not meet”, “Meets” or “Exceeds” each Impact Topic’s sub-requirements, with the minimum expectation from companies being to “Meet” all applicable sub-requirements in order to certify as a B Corp.
- Impact Business Models (IBMs) are special areas of the B Corp Certification recognising how some businesses are designed to create a specific positive benefit/outcome for one of its stakeholders. IBMs will remain under the new standards and options for recognising IBM achievements may include a visual badge shown on the B Corp Public Profile.
When will my company have to meet the new standards?
The latest information from B Lab states that companies who submit for B Corp Certification for the first time after 1 Jan 2026, and B Corps with a recertification submission date after 1 Jan 2026 will be part of the first cohort of companies to engage with the new standards.
If your recertification date is on or after 1 July 2026 then we anticipate your company will need to recertify to the new standards, due to the current rule to submit 6 months prior to their posted recertification date. Example: The submission date is the date you’re required to submit which is currently 6 months before the recertification date shown on your BIA. So therefore, a recertification date of July 2026 will be required to submit in January 2026 and therefore subject to being assessed against the new standards.
For more information from B Lab on the timelines for being assessed against the new standards, please see the B Lab FAQs New Standards.
How can we help?
As you’d expect, we are staying very close to the evolution of the B Corp standards. We are now offering a gap analysis service to see how your current performance is lining up with the draft version of the new standards. We will check which draft requirements apply to your business according to the size categories and report back on your company’s preparedness to meet the draft version of the new B Corp standards. We can also offer a comprehensive improvement plan to advise on actions your company needs to take to meet the evolving B Corp standards.
The draft version of the new B Corp standards provide a solid indication for the direction of travel and topics to pay close attention to when prioritising and developing your impact strategy and initiatives.
To explore your company’s readiness for the new B Corp standards, reach out to daisy@greenheartbusiness.com.
