• B Corp: Certified Benefit Corporations, or B Corps, are companies certified by B Lab as organisations that meet high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability.
• B Lab: A non-profit organisation that created and manages the B Corp certification. Its mission is to transform the global economy for the benefit of all people, communities, and the planet.
• B Leader: An individual who has completed a training program designed by B Lab to support and guide companies throughout the certification process.
• BIA: Stands for B Impact Assessment. It is a free and confidential platform used as a tool to help measure and manage a company’s impact on its stakeholders. The company first defines its scope to receive a questionnaire suited to its size and sector, and then completes it.
• B Hive: A free platform that the B Corp community can use to connect, collaborate, access resources, share knowledge, and benefit from discounts.
• B Work: A free platform that anyone can use to search for jobs within B Corp certified companies.
•  

Known as the B Global Network, B Lab is made up of a global organisation and regional or national partners that drive the B Corp movement locally. They develop, engage, and mobilise their communities and ecosystems, while fostering regional B Corp partnerships.

B Corp certification is open to for-profit businesses of any size, sector, or location.

To be eligible, a company must:

• Be a for-profit entity (nonprofits and public institutions are not eligible)
• Have been operating for at least 12 months
• Be willing to meet B Corp requirements on all pillars
• Commit to embedding stakeholder considerations into its legal structure (where required)
• Some industries or activities may be ineligible or subject to additional scrutiny due to their potential negative impacts.

The goal is to certify businesses that use profit as a means to create positive impact, regardless of size or sector.

The bar is equally high for everyone, but it is applied proportionately. Certification is designed to be fair and rigorous for organizations of all sizes, while recognizing the greater responsibility that comes with greater scale.

It depends on who controls what.

• If the parent company controls policies or operations across subsidiaries, B Lab usually requires group-wide certification, covering the parent and relevant subsidiaries together.
• If subsidiaries are legally and operationally independent, they may be certified separately.

In all cases, the certification scope must reflect the real decision-making and impacts across the group.

Yes. Your detailed answers in the B Impact Assessment (BIA) are confidential and are used by B Lab only for verification and certification purposes.

Only high-level, aggregated information (such as your overall score and impact profile) is made public once a company is certified. Sensitive business data, documents, and detailed responses are not shared publicly.

B Lab also applies data protection and confidentiality standards to safeguard company information throughout the process.

B Corp is widely recognised as the most comprehensive and robust ESG certification currently available.

There are also many other certifications that assess specific aspects of a company’s performance (such as Fairtrade, ISO, CDP, GRI, etc.). These certifications or standards are generally considered complementary to B Corp, but do not replace it. This is due to several key reasons:

• Cross-sectional analysis. When exploring the BIA, you will find questions divided into five stakeholder-focused impact areas: Governance, Workers, Community, Environment, and Customers. This is where B Corp certification truly stands out — it enables a 360-degree assessment of your impact.
• B Corp is already widely known among consumers and younger employees, giving it a significant reputational advantage.
• The journey doesn’t end once you achieve certification — it’s just the beginning. B Corps form a strong global community where peers openly share best practices rather than competing in isolation.
• Score motivation. The fact that each question contributes to a score is highly motivating and encourages companies to continuously improve.

That said, companies do not have to choose between B Corp certification and other standards. In fact, some certifications are acknowledged and rewarded in various sections of the BIA.

B Lab views other certifications as complementary. If your company already adheres to other standards, it will likely make your B Corp journey easier, as you already have data collection systems and performance indicators in place.

B Lab also works in close collaboration with GRI, and we can provide you with a comparative study highlighting the alignment between the BIA and GRI frameworks.

You are not required to work with an external consultant, but many companies choose to do so to gain expertise and guidance.

B Lab runs a training programme for consultants, known as B Leaders. These are sustainability professionals trained in the tools and methodologies needed to guide companies throughout the B Corp certification process.

Working with B Leaders ensures that you follow the correct approach using the BIA version suited to your company, successfully navigate the more complex parts of the assessment, and properly demonstrate your Business Impact Model, where applicable.

Many companies start the BIA process with enthusiasm but lose momentum after a few weeks. The certification requires full project management within the organisation, as well as expertise in HR, legal compliance, and environmental impact. Engaging a professional can save significant time and increase your chances of success.

We have observed several benefits to working with a B Leader:

• Implementing effective project management with a clear timeline and internal resource allocation (even if you do not hire a B Leader, assigning the right people at the right time is a major advantage).
• Navigating the BIA easily and efficiently (defining your HR and organisational scope, understanding key concepts, and avoiding misinterpretations, especially those related to terminology).
• Mobilising and supporting your teams at their own pace to help them manage their time and your resources efficiently.
• Gaining an external perspective on your operations and impact — it’s easy to lose objectivity when you’re too close to your daily work. Being challenged and hearing from other companies in your sector can be an opportunity to step back and reimagine your approach.

B Corp certification should be seen as the beginning of your company’s journey as a responsible business.

For your first certification, you will have gathered resources, compiled data, measured your impact, and set objectives. Once certified, we recommend two key steps:

• Appoint an internal responsible person or work with a B Leader to maintain oversight of your impact strategy.
• Continuously integrate the reflection and improvement process around the five B Corp impact areas.

This approach pays off in the long term: by the time recertification comes around, your goals and data will already be embedded in your operations, making it much easier to complete the questionnaire again.

Many B Corps have successfully integrated the BIA framework and its objectives into their daily management, so that certification becomes a habit rather than something to be revisited every three years.

In the new version of the standards, which will come into effect on 1 March 2026, the certification will cover seven key themes:

• Purpose & Stakeholder Governance
• Fair Work
• Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
• Human Rights
• Climate Action
• Environmental Stewardship & Circularity
• Government Affairs and Collective Action

1. 1. The company registers on B Impact.
   2. The company completes the Foundation Requirements.
   3. B Lab works with the company to confirm the scope of certification.
   4. The company completes its self-assessment.
   5. The company submits for certification, after which B Lab assigns an assurance provider.
   6. The assurance provider schedules the audit.
   7. The company receives an audit report listing any nonconformities.
   8. The company implements the necessary corrective actions.
   9. The company is certified and receives a certificate valid for five years.
   10. The company is audited several times (depending on its size and sector) throughout the certification cycle, with a recertification audit at year 5.
   • Not all companies follow the same audit schedule within the five-year cycle: the frequency and type of audits depend on the company’s specific characteristics (such as its size and sector).

    

   • Not every company site will necessarily be audited.

    

   • Micro and small companies are audited only in Years 0, 3, and 5, while larger companies are generally audited annually.

• A minor nonconformity refers to a single, observed deviation. During an initial audit, the company must carry out a root cause analysis and submit a corrective action plan. These issues must be resolved before the next audit. If a minor nonconformity is not addressed, it is reclassified as a major nonconformity.
• A major nonconformity refers to a more significant deviation, such as a systemic failure to meet a specific requirement.

1. Ongoing surveillance audits and a specific one-off audit in Year 3 are required, covering both Year 0 and Year 3 requirements.

   Not all companies follow the same audit schedule within the five-year certification cycle: the frequency and type of audits depend on each company’s specific characteristics (such as its sector and size). Not every company site will necessarily be audited.

   Micro and small companies will only be audited in Years 0, 3, and 5, while larger companies are generally audited annually.

From submission to certification, the entire process takes between 2 and 6 months, mainly depending on the number of major nonconformities identified.

Once the certification request is submitted, an audit is scheduled. This audit is a time-bound activity, lasting between 1 and 10 days, depending on the size of the company.

B Corp certification has three main types of fees, and the exact amounts depend on your company’s annual revenue and complexity (based on the current pricing structure from B Lab Europe):

1. Submission Fee: a one-time payment when you formally submit your B Impact Assessment. This is usually a few hundred euros and increases with company size.
2. Verification Fee: also a one-time cost that covers the third-party verification of your assessment. Larger companies generally pay more for verification than smaller ones.
3. Annual Certification Fee: a recurring yearly fee you pay once certified. This fee scales with your revenue and reflects your company’s size and market.

Since fees are tied to revenue and can vary (especially for very large or complex organisations), it’s best to consult the official pricing page for exact numbers and the latest details: https://bcorporation.eu/pricing/pricing-2/