B Corp: what it is and how to certify your company

The minute

• B Corp certifies the whole company. Since 2026, new applicants certify against B Lab Standards V2.1, which replaced the minimum score of 80 out of 200 on the B Impact Assessment with mandatory requirements
• The standards cover 7 Impact Topics: purpose and stakeholder governance, fair work, justice, equity, diversity and inclusion, human rights, climate action, environmental stewardship and circularity, and government affairs and collective action
• Certified companies must amend their legal governing documents to formalise a legal commitment to impact, not just environmental goals
• B Lab, the nonprofit behind the certification, operates through regional partners in more than 40 countries

Why it matters: The certification tests the entire business model, which sets it apart from labels that assess only one product or line.

Who runs B Corp certification

B Lab is the nonprofit organisation that developed the B Impact Assessment (BIA) and now sets the B Lab Standards. Since the April 2025 update, certification is verified by independent third parties based on ISO 17021-1 requirements. It does not certify companies directly in every country. Instead, it works through regional partners that handle outreach, local guidance and, in some cases, verification support. The standards themselves remain global and are set by B Lab’s Standards Advisory Council, an independent body.

How the assessment works, step by step

The process starts with a free online self-assessment on the B Impact platform. Any company can complete it without committing to certification. Requirements adapt to company size, sector and geography (B Lab calls this the company’s “track”), so two companies in different industries will not face identical requirements.

1. Meet the foundation requirements

The company must be legally incorporated, in operation for at least 12 months and compliant with local laws, adopt the B Corp legal requirement and complete a risk assessment with B Lab’s Risk Tool, which can add due-diligence sub-requirements.

2. Meet the Impact Topic requirements

The company then shows that it meets the requirements of each applicable Impact Topic, supported by documents such as policies, payroll records, supplier contracts or energy bills. Under the previous model, companies needed at least 80 of 200 points on the B Impact Assessment; V2.1 replaces that single score with requirements that must be met topic by topic.

3. Independent verification

An independent third-party certifier, working to ISO 17021-1 requirements, reviews the evidence with the company. If evidence does not support a claim, the requirement is not met, and the company must improve practices and resubmit.

4. Legal amendment

Before certification is granted, the company must amend its articles of incorporation, bylaws or equivalent governing document to state that directors must consider the interests of all stakeholders (not only shareholders) when making decisions. The exact legal mechanism depends on the jurisdiction.

5. Signing and publication

The company signs the B Corp Agreement and the Declaration of Interdependence, pays the annual certification fee (scaled by revenue) and is listed in the public B Corp directory.

How long it takes

From first assessment to certification, the process usually takes anywhere from a few months to over a year, depending on company size and how much remediation work is needed to meet all applicable requirements. The verification queue also affects timing; periods of high demand have historically lengthened wait times.

The legal commitment in detail

The legal amendment is the feature that most surprises applicants. Unlike voluntary pledges or internal policies, it changes the legal duties of directors. In jurisdictions that have enacted benefit corporation statutes (several US states, for example), incorporating as a benefit corporation satisfies this requirement. In jurisdictions without such legislation, the company amends its existing charter to include stakeholder governance language. It is important to note that “benefit corporation” (a legal status created by statute) and “Certified B Corp” (a third-party certification granted by B Lab) are not the same thing. A company can be one without the other.

B Corp in Brazil

In Brazil, the regional partner is Sistema B Brasil. The assessment is available in Portuguese, and Sistema B provides local support during the certification process. Brazil does not have a benefit corporation statute equivalent to those found in some US states. Brazilian companies typically satisfy the legal requirement by amending their contrato social (the equivalent of articles of incorporation for limited liability companies) to include stakeholder consideration language. This amendment must be registered at the relevant Junta Comercial. The practical consequence is that the company’s founding document formally states that profit is not its sole purpose, which can affect how disputes among partners are resolved in court.

The most common mistake

Many companies assume the assessment is primarily about environmental practices. In reality, governance and work-related topics carry as much weight as climate. Under V2.1 each applicable Impact Topic has its own requirements, so strong environmental credentials cannot make up for weak governance (no independent board oversight, no ethics policy, no financial transparency) or weak labour practices.

What remains unresolved

B Lab spent several years developing updated certification standards, and the transition faced delays and generated debate within the B Corp community about how rigorous the bar should be. The new standards were launched in April 2025, and companies applying from 2026 certify against V2.1; how existing B Corps adapt at recertification is still being worked through. Another open question is enforcement of the legal amendment: in most jurisdictions, no regulator actively monitors whether directors of a certified company actually weigh stakeholder interests in every decision. The accountability mechanism is, for now, primarily reputational (the risk of losing certification at recertification) rather than regulatory.

Frequently asked questions

Is B Corp the same as a social enterprise?

Not necessarily. B Corp is a third-party certification; a social enterprise is a business model, with or without that certification.

Do I need to recertify later?

Yes, recertification happens every 3 years, with a full new assessment.

Is certifying expensive?

There is a certification fee based on company revenue, plus internal time dedicated to the process.

Is the B Impact Assessment only for companies seeking certification?

No. Any company can complete the assessment for free as a diagnostic tool, without submitting for certification. Some companies use it to benchmark their practices and identify areas for improvement before deciding whether to pursue the full process.

Read next: how to write the sustainability report.

Read next: what ESG means.

Primary sources: About B Corp Certification (B Lab, 2026); B Lab Standards V2.1, performance requirements (B Lab, 2025); The legal requirement for Certified B Corporations (B Lab, 2026).