B Corp certification: what it is and the new standards

What B Corp is

B Corp is a holistic certification: rather than measuring one environmental metric, it assesses a company's whole impact across governance, workers, community, environment and customers 61. The certification addresses both performance (what the company does) and accountability (how it governs itself and makes decisions).

A defining feature is the legal requirement to amend corporate governing documents to adopt stakeholder governance — committing the company to consider all stakeholders, not only shareholders 61. This legal commitment distinguishes B Corp from other certifications that focus solely on performance measurement without governance change.

B Corp certification is awarded by B Lab, a non-profit organisation, and requires ongoing compliance with standards that are regularly updated to reflect evolving expectations for business impact 6162. The certification creates accountability through public transparency and peer comparison within the B Corp community.

The new standards — what changed in 2025/2026

This is the big shift. For years certification required scoring 80+ on the flexible B Impact Assessment, letting strengths offset weaknesses 61. Companies could achieve certification by excelling in some areas while underperforming in others, creating inconsistency in B Corp performance across different impact areas.

The new standards (V2), published 8 April 2025, end the points system and instead require companies to meet baseline performance across seven mandatory Impact Topics — Purpose & Stakeholder Governance, Fair Work, Justice/Equity/Diversity & Inclusion, Human Rights, Climate Action, Environmental Stewardship & Circularity, and Government Affairs 6162.

Requirements scale by company size and sector, certification now involves a third-party assurer, and performance benchmarks escalate at years 3 and 5 6162. Climate Action is now mandatory, including, for larger companies, science-based net-zero targets — a direct tie to carbon reporting 61. Most existing B Corps transition to the new standards through 2026 62.

The B Impact Assessment platform now integrates better with reporting frameworks like GRI, CDP and SBTi, reducing the administrative burden for companies already engaged with sustainability disclosure 62.

Requirements under V2 standards

Every company first meets universal Foundation Requirements (eligibility, transparency, a risk-profiling step), then the tailored requirements across all seven Impact Topics, then the legal stakeholder-governance amendment, and produces an impact report 6162.

Unlike the old system where companies could compensate for weak performance in one area with strong performance in another, V2 requires baseline compliance across all relevant Impact Topics 61. This ensures consistent performance across B Corp's scope rather than selective excellence.

Requirements are tailored by company size and sector, recognising that a small service business faces different challenges than a large manufacturer 6162. However, all companies must address the foundation elements of each relevant Impact Topic.

• Foundation Requirements: Eligibility assessment, transparency commitments, risk profiling
• Seven Impact Topics: Mandatory baseline performance across all relevant topics
• Legal Amendment: Stakeholder governance commitment in corporate documents
• Impact Reporting: Annual impact report demonstrating progress and performance
• Third-Party Audit: External verification of compliance and performance
• Escalating Benchmarks: Higher performance requirements at years 3 and 5

What it costs

B Corp involves an annual certification fee (scaled to revenue) plus the internal cost of meeting requirements; B Lab UK froze its fees through 2026 to support companies transitioning to the new standards 62. Exact fees depend on company size — check B Lab UK's current schedule for specific amounts 62.

Internal costs include staff time for assessment completion, policy development, system implementation, legal amendment processes, and ongoing compliance monitoring 61. The new third-party audit requirement adds external audit fees to the total cost of certification 62.

Many companies find that B Corp requirements align with other sustainability initiatives, allowing shared investment across multiple frameworks rather than duplicated effort 6162. The integration with GRI, CDP and SBTi reporting reduces some administrative overhead for companies already engaged with sustainability disclosure.

B Corp and UK reporting obligations

The new mandatory Climate Action topic means B Corp now expects the kind of emissions measurement and target-setting that SECR and UK SRS also require — so a company's carbon reporting data increasingly serves its B Corp certification too, and vice versa 61101.

For larger companies, Climate Action requires science-based net-zero targets aligned with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) 61. This overlaps directly with the climate transition planning and science-based target setting that UK SRS S2 climate disclosure expects from listed companies 4.

The governance requirements under Purpose & Stakeholder Governance align with the governance disclosure that sustainability reporting frameworks require, while the Environmental Stewardship & Circularity topic addresses resource efficiency and environmental impact measurement that feeds regulatory environmental reporting 611.

B Corp's integration with CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project) means companies can use their CDP climate disclosure to support both B Corp Climate Action requirements and SECR regulatory compliance 6210.

Seven mandatory Impact Topics explained

The V2 standards require baseline performance across seven Impact Topics, each with specific requirements that scale by company size and sector 6162. Unlike the old points system, companies cannot skip topics — all must demonstrate minimum performance in relevant areas.

Climate Action represents the most significant change for many companies, moving from voluntary environmental measurement to mandatory science-based target setting and climate risk assessment 61. This shift aligns B Corp with the climate disclosure requirements emerging from UK SRS and other regulatory frameworks.

Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (JEDI) reflects increased focus on social equity within business operations, while Government Affairs addresses political engagement and lobbying transparency — both areas of growing stakeholder attention 61.